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half_book_and_co's review against another edition
4.0
"The conversation about the geographical proximity of Nigeria and Cameroon is a trite one belied by rivalry that spans from the Bakassi Peninsula to the now-famed African Nations' Cup final match between the two countries in 2000. Cross-cultural engagements are incredulously scanty; it is baffling that only a few hours by the waterway will take you from Calabar to Tiko," write the three editors, Dami Ajayi, Dzekashu MacViban, and Emmanuel Iduma in the introduction of Limbe to Lagos. Nonfiction From Cameroon and Nigeria. This book is the outcome of a The Literary Exchange Project organized by the Goethe-Institut and the literary magazines Bakwa (Cameroon) and Saraba (Nigeria). The anthology brings together ten writers who write about themes such as friendship, loss, and travel, from strictly personal approaches to the more broader strokes.
I love good creative/ narrative non-fiction (there are so many diffuse terms). And I am always on the lookout for nonfiction from the continent. I loved the anthology Safe House. I really liked Emmanuel Iduma's A Stranger's Pose. (Both books were published by @cassavarepublicpress.) So of course, I picked up this anthology and I was not disappointed. My favourite essay by far was Lucia Edafioka's Daddy. Her writing is utterly beautiful. She portrays the consequences of the Delta Steel Company's breakdown through her relationship with her father and her family in general. This is a memorable text weaving together the complexities of human emotions with shifting socio-economic contexts. There are other very tender texts in this collection which I really appreciated (though I will admit that I will never not have conflicted feelings about texts by men pretty much idealizing women who get no say in the way the story is told). Another essay which was particularly memorable is Nkiacha Atemnkeng's Impossible n'est Pas Camerounais which tells the story of Cameroon Airlines which he parallels with the story of Cameroons national men's football team. I found the content absolutely fascinating and it made me think a lot about the politics of flight connections and airlines. Here, unfortunately, I wished for a bit more from the writing. Atemnkeng has opted to take himself totally out of the text (which is fair enough, though I think it could have been a great thing to also include his work at an airport) but at times I wasn't sure where he took his information from: Did he watch a particular interview? Did he do the interviews? But still, I felt I learned a lot reading the text (and actually got interested in a topic I had not held any interest in before which is no small feat!).
All in all, I am very glad this collection exists and it put some writers on my radar whose work I had not encountered yet.
I love good creative/ narrative non-fiction (there are so many diffuse terms). And I am always on the lookout for nonfiction from the continent. I loved the anthology Safe House. I really liked Emmanuel Iduma's A Stranger's Pose. (Both books were published by @cassavarepublicpress.) So of course, I picked up this anthology and I was not disappointed. My favourite essay by far was Lucia Edafioka's Daddy. Her writing is utterly beautiful. She portrays the consequences of the Delta Steel Company's breakdown through her relationship with her father and her family in general. This is a memorable text weaving together the complexities of human emotions with shifting socio-economic contexts. There are other very tender texts in this collection which I really appreciated (though I will admit that I will never not have conflicted feelings about texts by men pretty much idealizing women who get no say in the way the story is told). Another essay which was particularly memorable is Nkiacha Atemnkeng's Impossible n'est Pas Camerounais which tells the story of Cameroon Airlines which he parallels with the story of Cameroons national men's football team. I found the content absolutely fascinating and it made me think a lot about the politics of flight connections and airlines. Here, unfortunately, I wished for a bit more from the writing. Atemnkeng has opted to take himself totally out of the text (which is fair enough, though I think it could have been a great thing to also include his work at an airport) but at times I wasn't sure where he took his information from: Did he watch a particular interview? Did he do the interviews? But still, I felt I learned a lot reading the text (and actually got interested in a topic I had not held any interest in before which is no small feat!).
All in all, I am very glad this collection exists and it put some writers on my radar whose work I had not encountered yet.
lauren_endnotes's review against another edition
LIMBE TO LAGOS: Nonfiction from Cameroon and Nigeria, edited by Dami Ajayi, Dzekashu MacViban, and Emmanuel Iduma, 2018 / 2020
An idea conceived to support and amplify the works of Cameroonian and Nigerian nonfiction writers/journalists - 10 essays that focus on daily and situational stories and events, rather than "being invested in the inglorious", as noted by the editors in the intro, encouraging the writers to explore humanity through nonfiction. The transnational culture shared by many Cameroonians and Nigerians is also discussed here.
Highlight essays for me: Godwin Luba's "A Trip to Koto" - travel notes and observations of a quack doctor he meets on the way ; Howard M.B. Maximus's "Today I Am Riding Alone" - growing up in Cameroon and childhood memories coming back after hearing news in the present day; and Lucia Edafioka's "Daddy" - a fragmentary memoir of her father through her childhood - his work in the oil and steel industries in 90s-00s Nigeria and his interactions with family at home.
An idea conceived to support and amplify the works of Cameroonian and Nigerian nonfiction writers/journalists - 10 essays that focus on daily and situational stories and events, rather than "being invested in the inglorious", as noted by the editors in the intro, encouraging the writers to explore humanity through nonfiction. The transnational culture shared by many Cameroonians and Nigerians is also discussed here.
Highlight essays for me: Godwin Luba's "A Trip to Koto" - travel notes and observations of a quack doctor he meets on the way ; Howard M.B. Maximus's "Today I Am Riding Alone" - growing up in Cameroon and childhood memories coming back after hearing news in the present day; and Lucia Edafioka's "Daddy" - a fragmentary memoir of her father through her childhood - his work in the oil and steel industries in 90s-00s Nigeria and his interactions with family at home.
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