John Nunley: “There are no straight lines in Africa.”
Africa is all about the undulating line. Linear functions don’t apply.
Africa is all about the undulating line. Linear functions don’t apply.
Photo from Aerphant. A tidbit from my Author’s Guild Bulletin caught my eye: “Comfy: Where do you do your writing? For a book of photographs, The Writer’s Desk, by Jill Krementz and published in 1996, John Updike wrote the introduction. “He was interested that some writers seem to avoid a desk entirely. Updike wrote, ‘Walker…
This book should be required reading for all Peace Corps Volunteers!–Erwin A. Thompson, my father praising Mary Trimble’s new book “Tubob” ( My father’s written 40 novels. At almost 97 he delights in reading these on his computer screen, which helps with his failing eyesight. He rarely reads books written by others. And so it…
A refugee is a person whose heart has been broken. “My daughter, who was 11 at the time, also loves Bessie’s books and was deeply influenced by living for two years in Botswana. One of my favorite expressions from there is Ke moto fela – “I’m just a person.”–Barbara Bamberg Scott (Read her impressive bio…
Janean sent this blended memory from her childhood that made its way into a recent conversation with her older son. Today, my first big snow day in St. Louis, seemed like a good day to post this. When we were growing up on the homeplace in rural Illinois, on the bluffs above the river, all…
“The Lion and the Jewel” written by Wole Soyinka, directed by Ron Himes and presented by the Washington University Performing Arts Department, opened tonightat Washington University’s Edison Theatre in St Louis, Missouri. The play continues through April 27th. The Washington University Performing Arts Department describes the dance-drama cum social satire like this:Wole Soyinka, Nobel Laureate…
Mary Trimble has two outstanding remembrances of Africa on her blog.
Although it is obvious who built the 70 mile long straight stretch of railroad track around Dete, I wonder if Mr. Nunley would care to speculate on who is responsible for laying the chevron patterns in the walls of Great Zimbabwe. In the course of my short lifetime I have seen theories on the origins of Great ZImbabwe come and go, ranging from Arabs and Phonecians to Shahili people. Interestingly, the more recent timing of shifts in popular opinion have been coordinated directly with political changes.
“There are no straight lines in Africa,” refers more to a way of being and doing. Naturally there are geometric patterns abounding in African art and daily life.
Your comments on the walls of Great Zimbabwe are interesting. I’ll take some time to learn more.
Janet Riehl