Thursday, November 12, 7:30 p.m.
Say You’re One of Them
Presentation, reading and book signing by best-selling author Fr. Uwem Akpan, S.J.
Location: 9 Lake St., Room 100, Brighton Campus
Free of charge.
Maps, Directions and Parking
From the Publisher:
Through the sanitized windows of our televisions and newspapers, the truth about the pervasive poverty and violence that exists in so many African nations comes only in fits and starts, clouded by physical distance and apathy toward what we may feel we cannot relate to or change. In his first collection of stories, Say You’re One of Them, Akpan brings to life the issues facing children in one of the most beleaguered places on earth, so that their voices will no longer go unheard.
In five separate narratives, each told from the perspective of a child from a different African country, Say You're One of Them vividly portrays the horror and beauty to be found in both the history-altering events and the mundane details of everyday life. In these stories of family, friendship, betrayal and redemption, Akpan highlights the tenacity and perseverance of his young protagonists.
After studying philosophy and English at Creighton and Gonzaga universities, Uwem Akpan studied theology for three years at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa. He was ordained as a Jesuit priest in 2003 and received his M.F.A. in creative writing from the University of Michigan in 2006.
“My Parents' Bedroom,” from his short story collection, Say You're One of Them, was one of five short stories by African writers chosen as finalists for the Caine Prize for African Writing 2007. Say You're One of Them won the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best First Book (Africa Region) 2009 and PEN/Beyond Margins Award 2009 and was finalist for the Los Angeles Times Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction. In 2007, Akpan taught at a Jesuit college in Harare, Zimbabwe. Now, he serves at Christ the King Church, Ilasamaja-Lagos, Nigeria.