Programs An Evening with Ben Okri - in conversation with Uzodinma Iweala
Details
- Date:
Sep 26, 2023 - End Date:
Sep 26, 2023 - Time:
6:30 PM - 8:00 PM - Location:
Hybrid Program
The Africa Center at Aliko Dangote Hall
1280 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10029 United States (map)
Tuesday, September 26th, 2023 | 6:30PM – 8:00PM
Doors open at 6PM; conversations begins at 6:30PM
On Tuesday, September 26th from 6:30PM – 8:00PM The Africa Center proudly presents An Evening with Ben Okri. This program brings together celebrated Nigerian author and poet, Ben Okri, in conversation with Uzodinma Iweala, writer and CEO of The Africa Center. Join us for an inspiring and thought-provoking evening as these two influential figures discuss Okri’s literary journey and his insights into African narratives. Okri is known for weaving together magical realism and traditional African storytelling in his works. His writing transcends ordinary perception and reveals a more profound understanding of reality, blending the mundane with the mystical, the political with the spiritual, and the contemporary with the timeless.
Ben Okri is a poet, novelist, essayist, short-story writer, anthologist, aphorist, and playwright. He has also written film scripts. His works have won numerous national and international prizes, including the Booker Prize for Fiction. His current books include the eco-fable Every Leaf a Hallelujah, the genre-bending climate fiction Tiger Work, poetry collection A Fire in My Head, and novels Astonishing the Gods and The Last Gift of the Master Artists. Forthcoming titles include an epic entitled Mental Fight and a play entitled Changing Destiny.
Uzodinma Iweala is an award-winning writer, filmmaker, and medical doctor. As the CEO of The Africa Center, he is dedicated to promoting new narratives about Africa and its Diaspora. Uzodinma was the CEO, Editor-In-Chief, and co-Founder of Ventures Africa magazine, a publication that covers the evolving business, policy, culture, and innovation spaces in Africa. His books include Beasts of No Nation, a novel released in 2005 to critical acclaim and adapted into a major motion picture; Our Kind of People, a non-fiction account of HIV/AIDS in Nigeria released in 2012; and Speak No Evil (2018). His short stories and essays have appeared in numerous publications like The New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, and The Paris Review among others. He sits on the boards of the Sundance Institute, The International Rescue Committee, and the African Development Bank’s Presidential Youth Advisory Group.
