Books published by publisher Africa World Press

Temba Tupu! is a one-of-a-kind anthology brimming with a cross-section of poetic styles that represent the creative genius of Africana women from the beginning of written records. Included are selections from Queen Hatshepsut, Makeda, Queen of Sheba, Sojourner Truth, Gladys Casely Hayford, Una Marson, matriarch of Jamaican women s poetry, and Noemia Da Sousa, a revolutionary poet from southern Africa, as well as poems from contemporary poets like the former United States Poet Laureate, Rita Dove, popular people s poet, Nikki Giovanni, Ghanaian poet and dramatist, Ama Ata Aidoo, Trinidadian poet, Grace Nichols, Nigerian poet, Taiwo Olaleye-Ornene, and Brazilian poet and scholar, Miriam Alves. The poems assembled in this anthology center on Black women s consciousness: self definitions, their questions regarding the complexities and contradictions of race and gender, their spiritual and inner lives, and their search for Truth. Many of these poets write to subvert and deconstruct the wicked popular representations of themselves by others. Some of the poems are overtly political while others are not. Some poets use formal prosody, while others do not. However, they all reveal the poets philosophy and the common issues that connect Africana women throughout the Diaspora. Temba Tupu!: The Africana Woman s Poetic Self-Portrait is voluptuous, politically sassy, celebratory, and fearlessly revealing in its truth-telling as its contributors allow their poems to walk naked among us. Using a gynocentric pan-African angle of vision brilliantly, Nagueyalti Warren has gathered in a single volume the writing of more than three hundred Africana women poets from every corner of the Diaspora and has organized their poems in a way that reflects their rites of passage from girlhood to womanhood, the relationships that test and temper their identity, and the women who have inspired them along their journey. Temba Tupu! will be a treasured collection of Africana women s poetry for years to come. --Joanne V. Gabbin, Director, Furious Flower Poetry Center, James Madison University (VA)

The book aims for a grounded understanding of the complexity of coastal society. Whereas some chapters advance new theoretical interpretations, especially in regard to history, this volume does not focus on academic theory for theory s sake but rather on a detailed ethnographic and historical examination for a broad audience who seeks a better understanding of the nature of Kenyan coastal society. The work also embraces engaged research rather than insisting on the detached stance often favored by older traditions of academic research. It thus presents views of Kenyan coastal communities as well as those of Mijikenda scholars and activists and does not shy away from advocacy on behalf of the communities studied. The volume is dedicated to the late Mijikenda scholar-activist Katama Mkangi. The volume is divided into four sections. Section A: Reinterpreting the Past presents groundbreaking archaeological and linguistic evidence that sheds light on the kinds of interactions coastal populations have had with interior and hinterland peoples, and the degree to which these interactions shaped the Mijikenda and their neighbors. Section B: Perspectives on Identity examines social identity and the symbols and activities that represent ethnicity in various Kenyan coastal communities. Section C: Cultural Contestations explores structures of inequality among coastal peoples as well as challenges to such marginalization. The essays in Section D: Contemporary Movements call attention to the ways in which contemporary campaigns for cultural preservation and environmental protection are interlinked on the Kenyan coast, and how these movements are being generated from the combined efforts of local community members, Mijikenda and Western scholars, and personnel at the National Museums of Kenya.

Abiola means "Born into Honor." Abiola is very intelligent boy whose parents have taught him many great things about his African ancestry in the areas of inventions, pioneers, science, and technology. Abiola begins to realize that very little, if any, of the information about his ancestors is being used in the public school curriculum. Abiola discusses the situation with his parents who show him how to research in different areas. Abiola then shares this information with his friends and teachers, and they all become excited, especially Abiola because he is anxious to learn more about his ancestor's contribution to the world.