I took my time over this gem of a read from Ladipo Manyika. It is an unusual book, featuring a mix of interviews, reflection (or “encounters,” as the author refers to them, with people and their work), and memoir. Among the literary luminaries: Toni Morrison, Wole Soyinka, Claudia Rankine, and Margaret Busby (my always-favourite). Other famous people: Evan Mawarire, Zimbabwean pastor and hero, whose interview broke my heart; Xoliswa Sithole, South African (and Zimbabwean-raised) filmmaker, an interview I very much enjoyed for its bits of history; Cory Booker, the US Senator who seems the very embodiment of hope and vision; and Henry Louis Gates Jr., historian and a man whose youthful travels managed to intersect with one of the most amazing periods in African history.

This is a very thoughtful and grounded book, centred on Manyika’s own documentary sensibilities, and her connection to these people. In that sense, it reads very much as her memoirs, a feeling reinforced by her fascinating and otherworldly account at the end of the book of her travels to the South Pole (so interesting as well for the women she met on that trip). I will admit to reading very closely for the Zimbabwean connections–something entirely unintended when I started reading, but Zimbabwe is a very small country, and she inserts things that will mean something to many Zimbabweans, also unintended on her part I’m sure. Undoubtedly, my positionality brought something extra to my thoughts on the book; however, this is still a wonderful read for what it is.

Thank you very much to Footnote Press and to NetGalley for access to this very enjoyable book.

A phenomenal book. Must read for all.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

How else can I talk about this gift of a book? I feel so enriched after reading this and I immediately placed an order for a physical copy because this is a book that deserves to be owned.

Such a concentrated amount of black excellence in this book! This is a wonderful set of interviews of some of the most influential contemporary black people, divided in three, creators, curators and changemakers. From Toni Morrison and Michelle Obama to Henry Louis Gates Jr and many others more, the selection is exquisite, the questions asked always relevent and the book perfectly edited. I found it fascinating to learn more about all these people's upbringing and how they came to do what they do best for a living but also to read about how they perceive themselves and their blackness in our current world.

I was lucky enough to be sent this Arc by Netgalley and Footnote press but I absolutely want to purchase a copy when the book comes out in October this year as I found it so inspiring!
Very timely, I highly recommend.