Mukoma Wa Ngugi: How music inspired my writing

The Cultural Frontline

In his new book Unbury Our Dead With Song, Kenyan-American author Mukoma Wa Ngugi celebrates Ethiopian musicians in exile in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, as they search for the perfect performance of the iconic song of their homeland, the Tizita.

Sri Lankan Kanya D’Almeida has written a short story which is the Asia winner of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize and in the running for the global prize announced at the end of June. Kanya shares her story I Cleaned The – and reveals how it addresses universal issues such as motherhood, class and how we deal with our own bodily waste, as well as being firmly anchored in the country of her childhood.

In Lebanon, new public art has emerged from economic and political crisis. The street art movement, Art of Change, has been using murals as a powerful voice against corruption, inequality, high unemployment and increasing poverty. Reporter Frank McWeeny speaks to the artists behind the project.

Plus Nigerian Afrobeats star Joeboy talks about recording his debut album Somewhere Between Beauty and Magic during lockdown and why the music of Burna Boy inspires him

Presenter: Colleen Harris Producers: Paul Waters, Kirsty McQuire, Anna Bailey, Frank McWeeny and Nancy Bennie

(Photo: Mukoma Wa Ngugi. Credit: Cornell University)