NON-FICTION

WHAT NOT TO WEAR

GROWING UP, I WAS NEVER A FORMAL KIND OF GUY. As early as ten, I preferred to wear neon green, latex tights with a tie-dye T-shirt and flip flops – usually with
disastrous results. I envied the more put-together boys, effortless in their tailored pants dressed up with crisp golf shirts. But at heart, I was a hipster, always rooting through bargain bags at flea markets for, say, a snakeskin vest, which for some reason I just had to own.

Beyoncé’s “Love Drought” Video, Slavery and the Story of Igbo Landing

Beyoncé’s LEMONADE is filled with incredible artistry and stunning imagery. For me, one of the most striking images on the visual album occurs in the video for “Love Drought”. Much has been said about how LEMONADE draws influence from Julie Dash’s Daughters of the Dust,

A Disreputable Love

“I never intended to hurt my husband. I loved this man in my own way, but I loved him nonetheless. Of all the women I met, none were ever able to love me the way he did. For that
I was very grateful to him, but I couldn’t help it that my love for women was stronger than anything.

Letter to my Grandma

Tonight the voices in my head won’t shut up, so I figured a little tribute to your legacy would be fitting under the circumstances – today marks exactly thirteen years since you left this world. For some strange reason, I have convinced myself that you and I were very close and that we would have been the best of friends if you were still in this world. For some strange reason, I have convinced myself that you and I were very close and that we would have been the best of friends if you were still in this world.

It’s A Girl

Nothing ever felt like being in her arms. She was my first love… and as the rumors around me started spreading and I lost most of my conservative friends (nothing dramatic. They just stopped asking me to spend time with them and I got the hint) she became my world. That’s when the double life I’m still leading started. At home, I was still the good daughter, the good sister. No-one suspected anything.

Reflections: I still remember

we didn’t use to have many moments of interaction where we could share such love between parents and children. We were not allowed to express our feelings. By tacit agreement, we should not make them public.