Boniface Mwangi is a Kenyan photographer who pulls no punches in using […]
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Author Archive | Chronic
A Brief History of Presidential Libraries
by Stacy Hardy Léopold Sédar Senghor, Aimé Césaire and George Pompidou were friends […]
Will the Centre Hold?
In South Africa’s platinum belt, life and politics are as hard-scrabble as […]
Fifty Years Of African Decolonisation
by Achille Mbembe (translated by Karen Press) Here we are in 2010, fifty […]
In Praise of Complexity
by Martin Kimani Adéwálé Àjàdí is a contrary brother striving to live based […]
Pro Helvetia and SDC funding opportunity
Ant funding is made available by Pro Helvetia Johannesburg, through a mandate […]
Homeless in the Afterlife
Death in the diaspora remains a difficult part of the immigrant experience. […]
Paris-Algiers, Underground Class
by Mustapha Benfodil It’s romance landed me this job. I am a mailman […]
I Travel with the Dead
Sudirman Adi Makmur spends an inordinate amount of time alone or in the […]
The Last Angel of History
Filmmaker, theorist and co-founder of the Black Audio Film Collective (BAFC) John […]
Bakwa: Call for submissions
“The intelligentsia have always preferred more refined forms of fiction, such […]
Africa39: Call for submissions
Words from Chimurenga friend and Chronic contributor, Binyavanga Wainaina. Read on: URGENT Call for submissions: […]
Setting The Pace is a Small Town’s Big Business
The ‘mystique’ of the Kenyan long-distance runner is to be found not […]
Fuzzy Goo’s Guide (to the Earth)
Playing with words, the original Black Heretic Insider Dambudzo Marechera writes his own rulebook […]
Even the Dead
Jeremy Cronin reports of corrupt apartheid-era games; questioning our (in)ability to remember the […]
Nothing but… Grobbelaar
A line-up of football stories wouldn’t be complete without Simon Kuper. In a […]
Banyana Banyana
As footballers and coaches typically spiel, it’s a game of two halves. […]
Ready, Willing & Able
Lolade Adewuyi profiles one of the continent’s most successful football coaches – […]
Shoes
Shoeless and bible blacked, Sandile Dikeni recounts childhood kickabouts on uneven playing fields […]
You’re… Terminated
Under the parental shadow of Table Mountain, children play on the streets […]
Stickfighting Days
A good sport? Olufemi Terry summons up the spirit of (K.Sello Duiker’s) Ah-zoo-ray […]
A Three Point Shot from Andromeda
When not teaching white boy’s how to shuffle, acting Tuff, or fixing […]
Say What You Mean
Vocabulary and translation, exercises, games — lessons — from Karen Press for you to get your […]
Sammy Baloji exhibition – ‘Mémoire’
Chronic contributor and artist, Sammy Baloji has an exhibition underway in Berlin. His body […]
Americanah and other definitions of supple citizenships
Yemisi Aribisala reads the new novel by Nigeria’s ‘woman of letters’ and encounters […]
Onitsha Republic
Uzor Maxim Uzoatu visits the sprawling city of his childhood in the […]
Depth of Field
Depth of Field (DOF) collective, a group made up of six Nigerian […]
Neo Africanus: In Teju Cole’s World
Teju Cole, author of the award winning book Open City, recently announced […]
I Have Always Meant to Fail
Isoje Chou knows the road is long, winding and full of mythical, […]
When We Hear the Name of President
Nigerian poet Tanure Ojaide evokes a language of high stakes, hi-jinx, and […]
George Osodi
George Osodi is a photographer from “the oil-rich Niger Delta region”. His images […]
Lagos Underground
In the 1930s, Harry Beck published a map of the London Underground […]
Lagos: A Pilgrimage in Notations
Having lived away from Nigeria for most of his adult life – […]
Mining Sounds: Lagos – Cairo
Emeka Ogboh‘s art works require audiences to hone their listening and hearing skills. Turning […]
Altourism – Where Altruism Meets Adventure
Post Kony fall-out fatigue? Relax, pack a bag and take a break in other […]
Laugh it Off
From: “Mandisi Majavu” To: chimurenga@panafrican.co.za Subject: laugh it off/young capitalists/samething? Below is […]
Interactions: A Strategy of Difference and Repetition
Interactions Interactions is an edited excerpt from filmmaker, writer and artist Aryan […]
The Power of Wikipedia: Legitimacy and Control
The most astonishing global source of knowledge has the power to act […]
The story of a South African firm
In this edited extract from their book, Ethnicity, Inc., Jean and John […]
Guilt Trips
Kai Friese interrogates the colonial fantasy that lives on in the sententious […]
The First Lady Syndrome
Mama Chantal Biya Yves Mintoogue* traces the nepotism and political patronage that […]
Manufacturing the post-election peace: A reporter’s 2013 election diary
Parselelo Kantai watches as NGOs, the media and the state rally together […]
A Civil Society Of African States
Paula Akugizibwe assumes observer status at the African Union and finds the […]
Che
First published in 1968 in Buenos Aires, the biography of Ernesto “Che” […]
Death by Memory [of Freedom]; Truth & Reconciliation
A tryptych in honour of Steve Biko. Firstly, Graeme Arendse, as his alter-ego Ramgee, presents In […]
A Fieldguide for Female Interrogators
by Coco Fusco (illustrations: Dan Turner) This graphic story previously […]
Hauling Humans: a tricky business for trans-border truckers
Veteran long-distance driver, Aden, has been witness and participant in the business […]
Howl Marikana
Announcing his intentions with a howl that echoes Ginsberg, Aryan Kaganof offers […]
Itineraries
These maps by Philippe Rekacewicz show how the phenomenon of migration relates to […]
Who’s Free, Who’s Not, Who Was, Who Wasn’t, and Who’s Dead: And, Are You Sure You Know Which Way Is Up?
A Letter from Istanbul by Ed Pavlic Trayvon remains underground, to my […]
The Road To Wellville
The Institute of Naturopathy and Yogic Sciences occupies some seventy acres of […]
Suspect Sammy
A Letter from Toronto by Andrea Meeson It’s another Monday morning after […]
What’s Next
Socially conscious rhymes and hipster swag; sexy dance moves and magical mbira; […]
Memento Mori
A Letter from Harlem by Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts. When I came home from abroad, […]
Body Paths
The city, for many African immigrants, offers a horizon of hope, but […]
Speech to the Science Graduation Ceremony of the University of Witwatersrand, 2008
Good Evening. I will use my own life history tonight to argue […]
Home and away
Niq Mhlongo recently launched his new book Way Back Home in his […]
Senselessness
Stacy Hardy reviews the English translation of Horacio Castellanos Moya‘s Senselessness (New Directions, 2008, Katherine […]
The way back home
There are many ways back home. In South African novelist Niq Mhlongo‘s […]
Threatening the Hormonal Stability of Imbeciles
Born in Honduras in 1957 and raised in El Salvador, Horacio Castellanos Moya is […]
Way Back Home excerpt
South African novelist Niq Mhlongo has been hailed as a spokesperson for […]
Name Death & Text
Achille Mbembe unpicks the assassination, disfigurement, and attempted degrading of Ruben Um Nyobè. Ruben Um […]
The Way Back Home Article
The Way Back Home On the death of a close relative, Niq […]
Damballah
Audio/visuals from AfroSonics-sis, Harmony Holiday, originally produced for Fence Books‘ podcast series. “Loose Tracklist” Weldon […]
Rotimi Fani-Kayode (1955-1989)
Photographs by Rotimi Fani-Kayode. These photos first appeared in print in Chimurenga Vol. 4: Black […]
Rest In Peace Chiwoniso Maraire
Zimbabwean musician Chiwoniso Maraire, died on July 24, 2013, at age 37. […]
We Used To Dance
Sandile Dikeni reviews We Used To Dance, an album from Andile Yenana. Listen. […]
Dead Cow Spreads Fear and Rumour in Lagos Suburb
Jide Adebayo Begun reports from Lagos. On 9 May the residents of […]
Relaxing
Okello Sam, a dance and theatre artist (amongst other things), examines the […]
Dance of the Infidels presents: Nollywood Confidential
starring: Zeb Ejiro, Ajoke Jacobs, Tunde Kelani, and Aquila Njamah Andy learned […]
Authority Stealing: The business of crime writing in Kenya, India and Nigeria
Kenya In pursuit of some scriptwriter talent, Billy Kahora discovers that […]
10 Questions For Mukoma Wa Ngugi
A Beautiful Blonde is Dead. This image is the spark that ignites […]
Moses’ outro
Does life begin at 40? That’s the time signature Moses Taiwa Molelekwa […]
Godhead
Excerpted from Godhead, Ho Che Anderson‘s science fiction novel. A kind of class struggle […]
Ten paragraphs of Music Criticism
More Brilliant Than the Sun? Kodwo Eshun discusses ten paragraphs of music criticism. […]
In Defense Of The Films We Have Made
by Odia Ofeimun On the theme of Motion Picture as a tool […]
Bajove Dokotela
Let the good Dr [Philip Tabane] inject you in three ways; music, words, […]
Three Men, A Fence & A Dead Body
Sean O’Toole travels to the northern reaches of Limpopo where South Africa […]
The night Moses died (Parts one and two)
The night Moses died (Part one) by Nicole Turner The night […]
Everyday is for the Thief
An excerpt from Teju Cole‘s novella exploring the spectrum of crimes, wrongdoings, misdemeanours, International […]
I Smoked A Spliff With Jesus Christ
I smoked a spliff with Jesus Christ last night. Then leaned over […]
Kin La Belle
Yvonne Owuor takes a pilgrimage to Kin La Belle and finds a […]
WHO’S CALLING?
Parker Bilal is the pen-name of Jamal Mahjoub. Born in London and […]
Who Killed Christopher Okigbo
1.Night/Outside At sea. Mythic times There is a storm. We see wooden […]
Guns, Girls and Gentle People
The Afflicted Yard proudly proclaims that it is “A non-registered member of […]
Pulp!
In the Indian hinterland, crimes of passion happen every single day, and […]
Notes Towards A Question of Power
Pieces, notes really, fragmentary speculations,remnants, a sense of the feminine under assault, […]
50 Years Ago: Zeke in Nigeria
Es’kia Mphahlele and the Anti-Apartheid Association of Nigeria Moritz Isaac (Manu) Herbstein […]
Bra Tebs talks
Was Bra Tebs’ “4 Blokes & 1 Doll” show the highlight of Cape […]
The Forest and the Zoo
The Forest and the Zoo* (Aryan Kaganof with Johnny Mbizo Dyani) […]
Diary Of A Bad Year
Diary Of A Bad Year: President Mbeki’s Letters to the Nation by […]
All Roads Lead to Hendrix
Greg Tate‘s epic Hendrixian map hyperlinked to the hilt. As all roads […]
Walking through walls
Eyal Weizman reports on military tactics known as ‘walking through walls’ where […]
Cover Story
He’s been described as the “founding father of African literature”, an author […]
When history is suspended
(In memory of Ernesto Alfabeto Nhamuave) by Ungulani Ba Ka Khosa I […]
San Pedro V: The Hope I Hope
Identity, politics, rock ‘n roll, soap operas and sentimental songs; humor, hysteria and […]
New Bushs Old Ghosts
Cyber crime is a burgeoning business in West Africa, despite often primitive […]
The Afflicted Yard: The Rock
In 2004, the famously anonymous British artist Banksy visited Jamaica, and met Peter Dean Rickards, […]
EU fortifies its mission on North African frontline
Supported by Libya and Tunisia, the European Union is ringing the Mediterranean […]
Migration Business is Good Business
Jean-Christophe Servant argues that while Africa is being welcomed into the pool […]
Secret Cities
Göran Dahlberg writes that cities in and of themselves are becoming more […]
La Frontera
Klas Lundström finds himself in an isolated corner of the Amazon jungle […]
Salut Deleuze!
Culled from a comic book tribute to, and intellectual biography of, Gilles Deleuze […]
Did You Kiss the Dead Body?
Two in one: firstly Rajkamal Kahlon introduces her project, Did You Kiss the Dead Body?, then […]
An Introduction to Arithmetic Sorcery
Cyclonopedia – Complicity with Anonymous Materials (re.press, 2008), a “theoretical-fiction novel” by Iranian […]
The last words of Fela Anikulapo Kuti
In 1996, Keziah Jones visited Kalakuta Republic every day for a week […]
The Life and Death of Media
There are thousands of people who are paid to invent and publicise […]
The Boys are Doin’ it!
Fela is dead and so is his anti-materialist political message. Modern Afropop […]
Uncertainty in Cuba after the Death of Hugo Chávez
As the world bids adiós to Hugo Chávez, Ivan García (of Desde La Habana) reports on […]
Moving ‘White Man’s Deads’ is no second hand business
With no right to protection from the states between which they trade […]
The Death of Jacob Dlamini
Political analyst, Jacob Dlamini, argues that the death of another so named […]
Under the rainbow rays
Dathini Mzayiya‘s new exhibition Onder die reёnboog strale (Under the rainbow rays […]
Chicken Core: The Rise of Kings
SporeDust is a young animation studio, still a rare species in the […]
Dr Satan’s Echo Chamber
Reggae, technology and the diaspora… Louis Chude-Sokei documents the transatlantic (un)making of […]
The Adventures of Dr Evil in Dakar
President Abdoulaye Wade recently claimed intellectual property rights of the “African […]
Not Yet Uhuru
Ugandan journalist and activist, Kalundi Serumaga, reflects on his time as a political […]
The New Normal
Oscar Pistorius first gained international fame amid a raging debate over […]
Our cyborg past: Medieval artificial memory as mindware upgrade
By Ruth Evans The philosopher and cognitive scientist Andy Clark has […]
The Warm Up
The xenophobic violence sweeping many communities in the past weeks is not […]
Once There Were Humans
In the hills above Kingston, Jamaica Annie Paul unpacks some baggage in […]
Voudou Priestess Madame Evonne Auguste
Voudou Priestess Madame Evonne Auguste spoke to Sokari Ekine last August, in […]
Les Saignantes
A young woman, beautiful, 20-something, is fucking […]
This Young (Wo)man
Tumelo Khoza at Poetry Africa 16 By Rustum Kozain As […]
Platinum Dreams
Anglo American’s boardrooms at 44 Main Street, Joburg, and Carlton House Terrace, […]
The Rise Of Somali Capital
The increasingly visible presence of the Somali community in Nairobi during a […]
Yellow Fever, NKO?
Skin bleaching is often described as a manifestation of ‘colo-mentality’. However, argues […]
Folk Dancing For Beginners
Karen Press (He sets the tone) In my country the president rises […]
Do Right Women: Black Women, Eroticism and Classic Blues
By Kalamu ya Salaam 1. I’m going to show you […]
Fish Soup As Love Potions
Yemisi Aribisala lives in Calabar in Cross River State, where the scent […]
Childhood Snapshots
by Bill Kouélany We are on a bus – my sister, […]
The Quiet Encroachment of the Ordinary
Asef Bayat A traveller to Middle Eastern cities, Tehran, Cairo or Rabat […]
Black Like Us
Tunde Giwa recalls the comics of 1970s Nigeria with a nod to […]
A New Consciousness
Itumeleng oa Mahabane A man walks down a street. His shoulders […]
Discoveries of Timbuktu
Ciraj Rassool I am not a scholar of Timbuktu or Arabic or […]
Elvis on the move
Milton Papamoscito An unfamiliar congregation – in ‘a riot of electric red […]
Evidence
Brent Hayes Edwards The cell is four meters long and two meters […]
Juba ‘I will make my life here’
The metronomes of ancient history, the legacy of war, the wavering prosperity […]
In Search of Yambo
Christopher Wise Yambo Ouologuem, the Malian author of Le devoir de violence […]
If you want to see the African Game go to a Stadium
Knox Robinson If you want to see the African Game go to […]
Somewhere between a scream and a lullaby
In a city where the boundaries between life and death are laid […]
The Chronic (April 2013)
A 48-page newspaper and 40-page stand-alone books review magazine featuring writing, […]