₦airaland Forum

Calling all storytellers, poets, and creatives!
ArtMesh is here and we are bringing stellar performances, deep conversations, and a buzzing literary chats to the space.

Expect:
- 🎤 Deep poetry and storytelling
- 🤝 Creative networking with fellow wordsmiths
- 🎨 Loads of fun and artistic magic
-
Date: 20th June 2025
Venue: American Corner, Ikeja
Come for the words, stay for the homecoming! ✨


Register at https://artmesh.eventbrite.com

North African literature stands as a vibrant and powerful reflection of the region's diverse cultures, histories, and human experiences. It captures the enduring struggles of postcolonial identity, celebrates the resilience of its people, and offers glimpses into the everyday lives that shape this rich and multifaceted part of the world.

In this blog post, we present you 20 of some of the best literatures crafted by North African authors. From poignant tales of personal identity and exile to evocative poetry and socio-political narratives, these works illuminate the essence of life across the region. They navigate the intersections of tradition and modernity, challenge authoritarianism, and reflect the deep-seated yearning for freedom and belonging.

Join us on this literary journey as we uncover the voices and stories that breathe life into the soul of North African writing. These masterpieces promise to engage, provoke thought, and inspire, offering readers a window into the heart of a remarkable literary tradition.

So Vast the Prison
Author: Assia Djebar
Published: 2001

So Vast the Prison is the double-threaded story of a modern, educated Algerian woman existing in a man's society, and, not surprisingly, living a life of contradictions. Djebar, too, tackles cross-cultural issues just by writing in French of an Arab society (the actual act of writing contrasting with the strong oral traditions of the indigenous culture), as a woman who has seen revolution in a now post-colonial country, and as an Algerian living in exile.


Season of Migration to the North
Author: Tayeb Salih
Published: 1966

After years of study in Europe, the young narrator returns to his village along the Nile in the Sudan. It is the 1960s, and he is eager to make a contribution to the new postcolonial life of his country. Back home, he discovers a stranger among the familiar faces of childhood-the enigmatic Mustafa Sa'eed. Mustafa takes the young man into his confidence, telling him the story of his own years in London, of his brilliant career as an economist, and of the series of fraught and deadly relationships with European women that led to a terrible public reckoning and his return to his native land.

In 2001, it was selected by a panel of Arab writers and critics as the most important Arab novel of the twentieth century.


The Meursault Investigation
Author: Kamel Daoud

Seventy years after that event that led to his brother's death, Harun, who has lived since childhood in the shadow of his sibling's memory, refuses to let him remain anonymous: he gives his brother a story and a name-Musa-and describes the events that led to Musa's casual murder on a dazzlingly sunny beach.
In a bar in Oran, night after night, he ruminates on his solitude, on his broken heart, on his anger with men desperate for a god, and on his disarray when faced with a country that has so disappointed him. A stranger among his own people, he wants to be granted, finally, the right to die.


The Yacoubian Building
Author: Alaa Al Aswany
Published: 2006

A vivid portrayal of Egyptian society through the lives of residents in a Cairo apartment building. A bewitching political novel of contemporary Cairo that is also an engage novel about sex, a romantic novel about power and a comic yet sympathetic novel about the vagaries of the human heart.


The Queue
Author: Basma Abdel Aziz

Written with dark, subtle humor, The Queue describes the sinister nature of authoritarianism, and illuminates the way that absolute authority manipulates information, mobilizes others in service to it, and fails to uphold the rights of even those faithful to it.


The Bastard of Istanbul
Author: Elif Shafak

Full of vigorous, unforgettable female characters, The Bastard of Istanbul is a bold, powerful tale that will confirm Shafak as a rising star of international fiction.
At its center is the "bastard" of the title, Asya, a nineteen-year-old woman who loves Johnny Cash and the French Existentialists


The Pillar of Salt
Author: Albert Memmi
Published: 1953

The Pillar of Salt the semi-autobiographical novel about a young boy growing up in French colonized Tunisia. To gain access to privileged French society, he must reject his many identities - Jew, Arab, and African. But, on the eve of World War II, he is forced to come to terms with his loyalties and his past.


In the Country of Men
Author: Hisham Matar

A semi-autobiographical novel about growing up in Gaddafi's Libya.


Leaving Tangier
Author: Tahar Ben Jelloun

Young Moroccans gather regularly in a seafront cafe to gaze at the lights on the Spanish coast glimmering in the distance. A young man called Azel is intent upon leaving one way or another. At the brink of despair he meets Miguel, a wealthy Spanish gallery-owner, who promises to take him to Barcelona if Azel will become his lover.


The Attack
Author: Yasmina Khadra

Dr. Amin Jaafari, an Arab-Israeli citizen, is a surgeon at a hospital in Tel Aviv. Dedicated to his work, respected and admired by his colleagues and community, he represents integration at its most successful. He has learned to live with the violence and chaos that plague his city, and on the night of a deadly bombing in a local restaurant, he works tirelessly to help the shocked and shattered patients brought to the emergency room. But this night of turmoil and death takes a horrifyingly personal turn. His wife's body is found among the dead, with massive injuries, the police coldly announce, typical of those found on the bodies of fundamentalist suicide bombers. As evidence mounts that his wife, Sihem, was responsible for the catastrophic bombing, Dr. Jaafari is torn between cherished memories of their years together and the inescapable realization that the beautiful, intelligent, thoroughly modern woman he loved had a life far removed from the comfortable, assimilated existence they shared.


The Blue Manuscript
Author: Sabiha Al Khemir

A quest for the legendary Blue Manuscript of medieval Islam becomes a voyage of self-discovery for characters from east and west in this fascinating, many-layered novel.
The Blue Manuscript is the ultimate prize for any collector of Islamic treasures. But does it still exist, and if so, can it be found?


The Italian
Author: Shukri al-Mabkhout

Winner of the 2015 International Prize for Arabic Fiction
A political and personal saga set during Tunisia's Bourguiba era.


The Ardent Swarm
Author:Yamen Manai

Sidi lives a hermetic life as a bee whisperer, tending to his beloved "girls" on the outskirts of the desolate North African village of Nawa. He wakes one morning to find that something has attacked one of his beehives, brutally killing every inhabitant. If he is going to unravel this mystery and save his bees from annihilation, Sidi must venture out into the village and then brave the big city and beyond in search of answers.


The Stranger (L'Étranger)
Author: Albert Camus
Published: 1942

The story follows Meursault, an indifferent settler in French Algeria, who, weeks after his mother's funeral, kills an unnamed Arab man in Algiers.
The Stranger has long been considered a classic of twentieth-century literature.
Le Monde ranks it as number one on its "100 Books of the Century" list.
Through this story of an ordinary man unwittingly drawn into a senseless murder on a sundrenched Algerian beach, Camus explores what he termed "the unclothedness of man faced with the absurd."


The Seven Veils of Seth
Author: Ibrahim Al-Koni

Isan, the novel's protagonist, is either Seth himself or a latter-day avatar. A desert-wandering seer and proponent of desert life, he settles for an extended stay in a fertile oasis. If Jack Frost, the personification of the arrival of winter, were to visit a tropical rain forest, the results might be similarly disastrous.


A River Dies of Thirst
Author: Mahmoud Darwish

This remarkable collection of Mahmoud Darwish's poems and prose meditations is both lyrical and philosophical, questioning and wise, full of irony and protest and play. "Every beautiful poem is an act of resistance." As always, Darwish's musings on unrest and loss dwell on love and humanity; myth and dream are inseparable from truth. "Truth is plain as day." Throughout the book, Darwish returns to his ongoing and often lighthearted conversation with death.


Women of Algiers in Their Apartment
Author: Assia Djebar

This collection of three long stories, three short ones, and a theoretical postface by one of North Africa's leading writers depicts the plight of urban Algerian women who have thrown off the shackles of colonialism only to face a postcolonial regime that denies and subjugates them even as it celebrates the liberation of men.
The book was denounced in its origin-nation, Algeria for its political criticism.


The Pages of Day and Night
Author: Adonis

Calling poetry a "question that begets another question," Adonis sets into motion this stream of unending inquiry with difficult questions about exile, identity, language, politics, and religion. Repeatedly mentioned as a possible Nobel laureate, Adonis is a leading figure in twentieth-century Arabic poetry.


Republic Of Love: Poems
Author: Kabbani Nizar

By far the most popular poet of the Arab Word, popular in the true sense of the word. The late Nizar Kabbani's selected poems appear here in English for the first time. So popular is he that one of his poems is the greatest love song in the Arab world, recorded by the legendary Egyptian singer Um Khalsoum and played on virtually every taxi's radius across the Middle East.


Poetic Justice
Editor: Deborah Kapchan

Poetic Justice is the first anthology of contemporary Moroccan poetry in English.
The work is primarily composed of poets who began writing after Moroccan independence in 1956 and includes work written in Moroccan Arabic (darija),
classical Arabic, French, and Tamazight.


These 20 exceptional works of North African literature showcase the power of storytelling to bridge cultures, shed light on complex histories, and highlight the universal human experience. Through their vivid narratives and evocative poetry, they invite readers into the heart of a region shaped by resilience, creativity, and profound depth. Whether you're new to North African literature or a long-time admirer, these masterpieces are sure to leave a lasting impression.

You may download the full North African Library Files FOR FREE. (@afrolit on TG)

Which of these stories or themes resonates most with you, and what other literary works have inspired your journey through diverse cultures? 📚✨

What event for writers would you be attending in October?

1. ArtMesh: Open Mic & Creative MeetUp for Storytellers // October Edition

Ikeja, Lagos

Register to join [url]artmesh.eventbrite.com[/url]

2. The Poetry Yard 5

Victoria Island, Lagos

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-poetry-yard-5-tickets-415162571427?aff=ebdssbcategorybrowse

3. Critical Workshop | Curatorial Session: The Substance of the Image

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/critical-workshop-curatorial-session-the-substance-of-the-image-tickets-409940441897?aff=ebdssbcategorybrowse&keep_tld=1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRPyzEAal0w

What is your take?

ArtMesh is a fun and open environment for writers, storytellers, spoken word artists, poets, and everyone else involved in the creative space.

Whether you are a performer, a lover of art/literature, or a friend to one, we'd love you to join us!

If you are interested in performing, kindly contact the host upon arrival or send a message via WhatsApp (+2348117230203)

We look forward to hosting new and experienced writers and performers.

Watch one performance from the August Edition

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImeFHWNwsjw

REGISTER FOR TICKETS: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/artmesh-open-mic-meetup-for-creatives-tickets-388699058347

CREATE CUSTOMIZED Profile Pictures: https://getdp.co/eyO

VENUE
American Corner, Ikeja has been home for ARTMESH and continues to house numerous creatives monthly.

Time: 2.00pm - 5.00pm [MeetUp Commences after the program]

A poetry and storytelling open mic program for creatives featuring writers, poets, storytellers, artists and lovers of art. ARTMESH holds at the American Corner, Ikeja, Lagos.

ArtMesh is a program dedicated to amplifying creativity in Lagos, Nigeria and Africa - one step at a time.

We harness the power of youthful and social interactions to promote contents shared and discussed during our programs.

Performances can be from any and everyone.

We are giving you the mic because we want to hear your story.

OUR DISCUSSION
Perhaps one of our most important REFINEMENT is that of our DISCUSSIONS, usually themed around social issues/concerns affecting creatives/youths of the contemporary age.

VENUE
American Corner, Ikeja has been home for ARTMESH and continues to house numerous creatives monthly. All coming for a piece of art from the community.

ArtMesh is gradually growing into a well-recognized and respected creative program with links to many other creative events in and out of Lagos State.


Time: 2.00pm - 5.00pm

Contact our program team
+2348117230203

The June Edition of ArtMesh is another avenue for creative in the state and in Nigeria to come share their creative works on politics.

How it affects creatives, why it does and what we can do about it.
Or are you not politicking too?

Venue is: 42, Local Airport Road, Concord Bust/stop, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria
Programs runs from: 2 pm till 4 pm

ArtMesh exists as that avenue for creatives to speak their truth, tell their stories on the theme.

Our dream for ArtMesh is that, someday is grows to be the standard for open-mic and creative sessions in Africa. Join us for this months edition and we promise you an exciting time, feel free to friend along family and friends.

...by the side, the best performances from the program shall be recorded and uploaded on our new YouTube channel.



Contact 08117230203 for further information.

When does love arrive?
Got an idea?
How does it seem?

You should watch this work by Sarah Kay and Phil Kaye then.

http://arthut.com.ng/viewBlog?hid=i8nw1gh10is7e819nt22h&data=insight

When does love arrive?
Got an idea?
How does it seem?

You should watch this work by Sarah Kay and Phil Kaye then.

http://arthut.com.ng/viewBlog?hid=i8nw1gh10is7e819nt22h&data=insight

What if the simple things are what makes life more interesting?

Visit Kushal Poddar's 'THE CHEAP TRICKS TO LIVING' via
http://arthut.com.ng/viewBlog?hid=h6s7tghei6n666ti7356&data=insight

Sometimes the love we see doesn't quite happen to us.
Visit HOLES IN OUR TICKETS by Nalini Priyadarshni via http://arthut.com.ng/viewBlog?hid=i6snl1gtoh0sh68e3i5218&data=insight

Sometimes the love we see doesn't quite happen to us.

Visit HOLES IN OUR TICKETS by Nalini Priyadarshni via http://arthut.com.ng/viewBlog?hid=i6snl1gtoh0sh68e3i5218&data=insight

How does it feel threading the earth and enjoying the blissful surroundings nature offers to us in not just black and white but radiant colors?
Adesina Ayobami Idris gives an interesting poem.

Visit via http://arthut.com.ng/viewBlog?hid=g8hi8tai983sn0217&data=insight

How far are you willing to go for the truth?

What happens when what you believe is true but the world doesn't (even though it's really true?)
Would you just let go or would you DIE FOR IT for the truth?

Visit http://arthut.com.ng/viewBlog?hid=s3n87te20i975li3ght0&data=insight

She wanted love and she did get it despite the push from family and friends but what happens next?
Junaid Ismail Oluwadamilare tells an intelligent tale.
Visit http://arthut.com.ng/viewBlog?hid=i0t6htl6n18gsu473s10i&data=insight

She wanted love and she did get it despite the push from family and friends but what happens next?
Junaid Ismail Oluwadamilare tells an intelligent tale.
Visit http://arthut.com.ng/viewBlog?hid=i0t6htl6n18gsu473s10i&data=insight

Ahmad Muhammad Jamiu tells the tale of evil ongoing in a stage, daily killings and hatred spreading in the state.
This is a call to action.

Visit #poem via http://arthut.com.ng/viewBlog?hid=23054h5si5g7tetihn67&data=insight

The night had drawn deep. The silence sung melodiously in his ears, the breeze cooled the tiny room from the open window. The candle had blown off, he felt like looking for an alternative source of light but he was scared of the darkness that had covered the sky. Seated on the creaky couch he heard a voice from outside, he thought it was his mares that had started earlier before he had retired to be.
Again he heard the voice; he felt it was no more fantasy he had to face the reality.
This time he had no choice, but to get up and see what it could be. Mose walked carefully to the door, he didn't want the source of the voice to get know of his movements, he bent to the key hole so that he could give his eyes a view of the dark night. He stood still but the voice persisted though he could not see clearly who the person was, he felt he was man enough and decided to open the door despite being scared.

He could not believe what came to his sight. You say you've seen beautiful women, those of dignity with a fine figure and the kinda women who treat men like that would be their last day, but have you had a chance to witness this charm? Maybe she swallowed a magnet and that's why he was attracted to her, may be. The magnetic fields attracted that stronger, the bonds became unbreakable, though he could only think of her, she was out of his sight again. He felt she went back to the goddess.

He went back into his room, left the door unlocked. He wondered once more ‘what an encounter he had.’.He memorized what he saw,a voice like that of a parrot, she had a clean, heart-shaped face with soft green eyes, slim and not too tall. He thought, could she be the girl next door? The one he wanted to ask her name though he couldn't really phrase his question better.Her brown hair was twisted up into a pony-tail. He drew his attention back to his cell phone...She was invisible. He wondered, she was more than invisible. When something is invisible you at least notice that there is an empty space there. If she was ugly he could have noticed her. If she was beautiful he could have noticed her. Tall or short, heavy or skinny, if there was anything distinguishable about her he would have noticed her.
The problem was that she was not in the least bit noticeable. She was a heaping mound of mediocrity whose very presence would have screamed "don't notice me," except that screaming like that attention.So maybe she's sorta hot and sorta not, but something about her fascinated him.Mose wasn't quite sure what it was about her, but he found himself unable to stop looking....


"Come on man, let's keep moving, we still have a longer way to go!"Suddenly, Mose got interrupted, it was faustin his long time friend whom they had gone through thick and thin with, they'd crossed oceans, at one time life made them fly up to meet The most high but to no vain.Unlike Mose, Faustine was taller and much built, his eyesight was sharp and he was quick in movement. " What's the time?" Mose asked, "it's past noon and we're not yet halfway the journey,"Faustine answered with a low tone.The two strangers who became brothers walked for a while without uttering a word to each other.
Faustine was deep in thoughts,he remembered how he met Mose,on the other hand Mose too was still memorizing how he came to meet the love of his life. Faustine was a young boy hardly ten years old when the Arabs attacked their home and his parents dragged into the moving houses, truely blood is thicker than water, his mother never wanted to let him go though the Arabs were really harsh, he witnessed his mother defiled and stabbed severally on the chest before being thrown into the deep waters.Tears were rolling down his cheeks though Mose realised it not. He had to flee for his safety and stayed for weeks without food or water, when hunger overpowered him he had to seek refuge in some home, where he narrated his story to the people he found there and they housed him.

After his stay for a while he met Mose and they became friends, they could play together and did actually everything together.They became more than friends, more than brothers, they were the pillars of unity that stood in the village.
The sun was high and scorching, the two grew tired and thirsty, they had eaten nothing since their journey began, no water, no food, no money but even if they could have had money there was nowhere to buy food."should we have a rest please,"suggested Mose,Faustine looked at him in disgust and said no word.They were nearly approaching a stream when Mose heard a cry of a baby in a bush nearby, Faustine heard nothing, just like a hyena put between a flock of sheep, he was confused by the presence of the cool water and the breeze from the stream, he sped off not knowing Mose was left far behind.
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Click http://arthut.com.ng/viewBlog?hid=t714giis9n1h0h68e04t&data=insight to continue reading