Binyavanga Wainaina (1971–2019) was a pioneering voice in African literature, a memoirist and essayist remembered as one of the most vital chroniclers of contemporary African life. His posthumous collection How to Write About Africa brings together his groundbreaking essays and stories, including the viral satirical classic of the same name first published in Granta.

This panel brings together Achal Prabhala, editor of the collection, novelist Hemley Boum, and critic Jeremy Harding for a wide-ranging conversation on Wainaina’s art, activism, and global legacy. Together they will reflect on how his words continue to shape literature, culture, and the ways we see Africa today. This conversation will be moderated by Rachel Donadio, Curator of Cultural Programs.

About the speakers:

Achal Prabhala is a public health activist, filmmaker and writer based in Bangalore, India. He has written for small literary magazines around the world, including Transition, Bidoun and Chimurenga, and edited collections of Indian writing (The Best of Quest, 2011 and Civil Lines 6, 2012). He is the editor of How to Write About Africa, the first instalment of the collected work of Binyavanga Wainaina, published posthumously after the writer’s death in 2019.

Hemley Boum is a novelist, poet, and essayist. Born in Cameroon, she studied anthropology before continuing her studies in international business in Lille. After her first job in Paris, she lived in several African countries before settling in France to write. Hemley Boum’s novels depict urbanity, tradition, and history as captured in the everyday life of intimate relationships.

Jeremy Harding is a contributing editor at the London Review of Books. His books include Border Vigils: Keeping Migrants Out of the Rich World and Mother Country, a memoir. His essay collection, Analogue Africa: Notes on the Anti-Colonial Imagination, is due next year.

About Binyavanga Wainaina:

Binyavanga Wainaina was the founding editor of Kwani?, a leading African literary magazine. He won the 2002 Caine Prize for African writing, and has written for Vanity Fair, Granta and the New York Times. He passed away in 2019 in Nairobi at the age of 48.

Important information: The discussion will be available both online and in person. While the conversation will happen in person (the speakers will appear in the Reading Room), the Library will stream the conversation on Zoom for a live viewing experience. Both in-person and online attendees will be able to pose questions.

Attendance at this event constitutes permission for your photograph or video to be taken at the event and used by the American Library in Paris for marketing, promotional, pedagogical, or other purposes.