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Showing posts from February, 2022

War & Love (Poem) in Support of Ukraine

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  War & Love Stephen Embleton — 27 February 2022 You bring us war, We bring you love.   You bring a weapon, We bring a dove.   You drag your rage, your hate, through mud. We bring our hearts, our souls, our blood.   You drop your bombs, We show you grace. You bear arms, We hold, embrace.   You capture, conquer and control.   To fly your flag, your only goal.   You play aggressor.   We unite as defender. You tear it down.   We build it up.   Your cycle loops on a hamster wheel.   We won’t repeat, we’ve seen the reel.   Know your history.   War is no mystery. Yet you choose the dark. You choose to fight.   We live for peace. We choose the light.   We release. We free. One word we sing.   From atop the mountain, we let “FREEDOM” ring.

Sub Migratio (2017) Short Story

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My short story, Sub Migratio , was published in April 2017 in the f irst edition of Enkare Review , the Nairobi-based literary magazine (now closed). I've posted the story here for everyone to read and enjoy. "a futuristic tale that is bleak in every sense of the word, written by Stephen Embleton" Also read the Twitter chat/interview with the Enkare Editorial Team here . Cover Image ‘Mutua in the City‘ (c) 2017 Imeldah Natasha Kondo – a self-taught photographer based in Nairobi, Kenya. Find more of her work on Behance Enkare Review Issue I  In this Issue: Editorial; An Introduction to Issue I Fiction Sub Migratio by Stephen Embleton Death of the Guava Farm by Wanjala Njalale Yellow and a Funeral by Wairimũ Mũrĩithi Itunu by Eboka Chukwudi Peter Who Will Tell This Story by Amatesiro Dore The Twenty Pa’cent Offer by Frances Ogamba Poetry Into the Sun & Other Poems by Michelle Angwenyi Gay Boy Blues & Other Poems by Romeo Oriogun Hājar in the House of Rust & Othe

There is magic in African literature: Oxford Lecture Event 14 February 2022

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 “There is magic in African literature…”  – Stephen Embleton.   This past month at Oxford has been an extraordinary experience culminating (but not ending) last night with the event I was able to participate in.  The first part having Onyeka Nwelue open the event and then interview James Currey. Followed by Professor Miles Larmer introducing me for my lecture. “There is magic in African literature.” An odd experience knowing there were many watching remotely and sending through questions for the Q&A afterwards.  ❤️📖📚🎤 Read the essay based on the lecture here . The Event: The African Writers Series and the Future of African Writing   Monday 14 February, 5:00pm Investcorp Lecture Theatre, St Antony's College and online

Oxford Guest Lecture: Monday 14 February, 5:00pm

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Oxford Guest Lecture: Monday 14 February, 5:00pm I will be participating in this event, speaking on the legacy of the original African Writers Series and its ongoing impact on African literature – in all its genres. The African Writers Series and the Future of African Writing   https://www.africanstudies.ox.ac.uk/event/the-african-writers-series-and-the-future-of-african-writing Monday 14 February, 5:00pm Investcorp Lecture Theatre, St Antony's College and online Top: James Currey and Onyeka Nwelue Bottom: Stephen Embleton   The Heinemann African Writers Series (AWS), which published 359 books between 1962 and 2003, published most of the works today recognised as the classics of African literature – novels, non-fiction, poems and short stories by (among many others) Chinua Achebe, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, Wole Soyinka and Sembène Ousmane.   This event celebrates the achievements of the AWS and its most important editor, James Currey, who went on to found James Currey, a leading Oxfor