{"id":9869,"date":"2020-07-27T23:08:02","date_gmt":"2020-07-27T23:08:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/?p=9869"},"modified":"2020-07-28T01:38:14","modified_gmt":"2020-07-28T01:38:14","slug":"ten-questions-with-niq-mhlongo-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/ten-questions-with-chidera-muoka\/","title":{"rendered":"TEN QUESTIONS With CHIDERA MUOKA"},"content":{"rendered":"

What does Ake Festival 2019 theme \u2018Black Bodies, Grey Matter\u2019 mean to you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I think this year\u2019s theme reads to me as Black Bodies Matter. To me, it\u2019s a revolution taking charge of the narrative of black stories. There\u2019s never been a time like this in African literature. We are speaking our truth, our shame, our hurt, our pain, our crazy, our being. We are taking control over our lives, and what better way than to do it words and works that stand the test of time?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Which African or Diasporan novel do you think best explores the Black Body?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Americanah<\/em>! I can\u2019t believe I almost typed something different\u2026 We hear about the hardship of going to \u2018America\u2019 and the success and all the unspoken things. Then, Chimamanda dares to write about this unspoken truth. I love it. Ifemelu faces everything – physically – she explores her body with her love, mentally she shuts him out after \u201cthat\u201d incident, emotionally she\u2019s back to a man she never stopped loving. Americanah<\/em>, that\u2019s the tweet.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What book would you give to a dark-skinned young woman who has expressed an intent to buy bleaching cream?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Every book that has ever been written by a black woman. From the autobiographies of Maya Angelou to the debut novel of Akwaeke Emezi, there\u2019s the theme of conflict, acceptance and the strong resolve to remain in self. Read between the lines and know that your colour is part of who you are.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Does the African writer have a specific role to play in the current world order?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Through owning our narrative in every shape, form and medium, we do a thing for the representation of our community. In 2017 I vowed to read more African authors and I began to see me in black and white in Chimamanda Adichie\u2019s Purple Hibiscus<\/em>; and I saw my sisters and brothers in the North through Hadiza El-Rufai\u2019s An Abundance of Scorpions<\/em> and Elnathan John\u2019s Born on a Tuesday<\/em>. The role is the representation; the African writer represents who we were, who were are and who we hope to be.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Which person do you think best represents an African perspective in the ongoing discourse on gender?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Chimamanda Adichie. Point. Blank. Period.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

You\u2019re giving a talk at a symposium on mental health, which African novels will you reference?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Freshwater<\/em> (Akwaeke Emezi) and Americanah<\/em>. Freshwater<\/em> went there! I remember reading this with my book club and I could relate with Ada so much. A lot of them wondered why, but as someone who campaigns for mental health, Ada and I were soul sisters. Why Americanah<\/em>? Feeling everything and denying so many things is something Nigerians can relate to; Adichie brought the \u2018feelings that shouldn\u2019t be named\u2019 to the fore.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What two things should every teenager understand about mental health?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Self-actualise, so you know how to love yourself even when you don\u2019t. You also know it\u2019s fine to just take a step back and have ice cream. Pressure – don\u2019t put the pressure to be, just be free and happy.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What is your vision for the Black Body?<\/strong><\/p>\n

To matter. Truly matter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What does Ake Festival 2019 theme \u2018Black Bodies, Grey Matter\u2019 mean to you? I think this year\u2019s theme reads to me as Black Bodies Matter. To me, it\u2019s a revolution <\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10918,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9869","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tenquestions"],"yoast_head":"\nTEN QUESTIONS With CHIDERA MUOKA - Ake Arts & Book Festival<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/ten-questions-with-chidera-muoka\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"TEN QUESTIONS With CHIDERA MUOKA - Ake Arts & Book Festival\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What does Ake Festival 2019 theme \u2018Black Bodies, Grey Matter\u2019 mean to you? I think this year\u2019s theme reads to me as Black Bodies Matter. To me, it\u2019s a revolution Continue Reading\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/ten-questions-with-chidera-muoka\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Ake Arts & Book Festival\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-07-27T23:08:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-07-28T01:38:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/blog-ake.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1170\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"webmaster\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@akefestival\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@akefestival\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"webmaster\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/ten-questions-with-chidera-muoka\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/ten-questions-with-chidera-muoka\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"webmaster\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/#\/schema\/person\/6f5dfbebbe1b6f20207b3ac1c4588080\"},\"headline\":\"TEN QUESTIONS With CHIDERA MUOKA\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-07-27T23:08:02+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-07-28T01:38:14+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/ten-questions-with-chidera-muoka\/\"},\"wordCount\":543,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/ten-questions-with-chidera-muoka\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/blog-ake.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Ten Questions (Ake Review 2019)\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/ten-questions-with-chidera-muoka\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/ten-questions-with-chidera-muoka\/\",\"name\":\"TEN QUESTIONS With CHIDERA MUOKA - Ake Arts & Book Festival\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/ten-questions-with-chidera-muoka\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/ten-questions-with-chidera-muoka\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/blog-ake.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-07-27T23:08:02+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-07-28T01:38:14+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/#\/schema\/person\/6f5dfbebbe1b6f20207b3ac1c4588080\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/ten-questions-with-chidera-muoka\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/ten-questions-with-chidera-muoka\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/ten-questions-with-chidera-muoka\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/blog-ake.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/blog-ake.jpg\",\"width\":1170,\"height\":800},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/ten-questions-with-chidera-muoka\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"TEN QUESTIONS With CHIDERA MUOKA\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/\",\"name\":\"Ake Arts & Book Festival\",\"description\":\"Ake Arts & Book Festival\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/#\/schema\/person\/6f5dfbebbe1b6f20207b3ac1c4588080\",\"name\":\"webmaster\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d502908f202b3110299e2e96ebb2db5f669039a6abdbe6619b7ff6854de06ebf?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d502908f202b3110299e2e96ebb2db5f669039a6abdbe6619b7ff6854de06ebf?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"webmaster\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/author\/webmaster\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"TEN QUESTIONS With CHIDERA MUOKA - Ake Arts & Book Festival","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/ten-questions-with-chidera-muoka\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"TEN QUESTIONS With CHIDERA MUOKA - Ake Arts & Book Festival","og_description":"What does Ake Festival 2019 theme \u2018Black Bodies, Grey Matter\u2019 mean to you? I think this year\u2019s theme reads to me as Black Bodies Matter. To me, it\u2019s a revolution Continue Reading","og_url":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/ten-questions-with-chidera-muoka\/","og_site_name":"Ake Arts & Book Festival","article_published_time":"2020-07-27T23:08:02+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-07-28T01:38:14+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1170,"height":800,"url":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/blog-ake.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"webmaster","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@akefestival","twitter_site":"@akefestival","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"webmaster","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/ten-questions-with-chidera-muoka\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/ten-questions-with-chidera-muoka\/"},"author":{"name":"webmaster","@id":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/#\/schema\/person\/6f5dfbebbe1b6f20207b3ac1c4588080"},"headline":"TEN QUESTIONS With CHIDERA MUOKA","datePublished":"2020-07-27T23:08:02+00:00","dateModified":"2020-07-28T01:38:14+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/ten-questions-with-chidera-muoka\/"},"wordCount":543,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/ten-questions-with-chidera-muoka\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/blog-ake.jpg","articleSection":["Ten Questions (Ake Review 2019)"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/ten-questions-with-chidera-muoka\/","url":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/ten-questions-with-chidera-muoka\/","name":"TEN QUESTIONS With CHIDERA MUOKA - Ake Arts & Book Festival","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/ten-questions-with-chidera-muoka\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/ten-questions-with-chidera-muoka\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/blog-ake.jpg","datePublished":"2020-07-27T23:08:02+00:00","dateModified":"2020-07-28T01:38:14+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/#\/schema\/person\/6f5dfbebbe1b6f20207b3ac1c4588080"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/ten-questions-with-chidera-muoka\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/ten-questions-with-chidera-muoka\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/ten-questions-with-chidera-muoka\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/blog-ake.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/blog-ake.jpg","width":1170,"height":800},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/ten-questions-with-chidera-muoka\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"TEN QUESTIONS With CHIDERA MUOKA"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/#website","url":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/","name":"Ake Arts & Book Festival","description":"Ake Arts & Book Festival","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/#\/schema\/person\/6f5dfbebbe1b6f20207b3ac1c4588080","name":"webmaster","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d502908f202b3110299e2e96ebb2db5f669039a6abdbe6619b7ff6854de06ebf?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d502908f202b3110299e2e96ebb2db5f669039a6abdbe6619b7ff6854de06ebf?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"webmaster"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive"],"url":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/author\/webmaster\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9869","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9869"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9869\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10918"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9869"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9869"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9869"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}