Podcasts about Chinelo Okparanta

Nigerian-American writer Chinelo Okparanta joins host Bhakti Shringarpure for an episode of BookRising as part of our Trailblazing African Feminists series. Okparanta was born in Nigeria and moved to the United States when she was 10 years old. She rose to prominence with her short story collection Happiness, Like Water (2013) which was a bittersweet reflection on the lives of Nigerian women living in Nigeria and in the US. Her next book Under the Udala Trees (2015) told the story of desire between two young girls as the war rages in 1960s Nigeria. This novel of queer, forbidden love established Okparanta as a fearless writer who could tackle difficult, politically charged topics. She has been the winner Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Fiction in 2014 and 2016 and the Publishing Triangle's inaugural Betty Berzon Emerging Writer Award. Her books have been shortlisted for the Caine Prize for African Writing, the Etisalat Prize for Literature and many others, and she was selected by Granta for their Best of Young American Novelists list which is announced every decade. Okparanta's most recent novel is Harry Sylvester Bird which is a searing meditation on race in the United States and in which Okparanta writes through the consciousness of a liberal, white American male. In this podcast, she spoke honestly about her motivations for taking on this complicated experiment. Undergirding all her writing is her experience as a migrant in the US and challenges she is forced to navigate on a daily basis. Okparanta admits that her writing has always been motivated by a sense of social justice and a desire to work through all kinds of societal problems that plague her deeply. Bhakti Shringarpure is the Creative Director of Radical Books Collective.

Chinelo Okparanta was born and raised in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Her debut short story collection, Happiness, Like Water, was nominated for the Nigerian Writers Award, long-listed for the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award, and was a finalist for the New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award, as well as the Etisalat Prize for Literature. Her first novel, Under the Udala Trees, was nominated for numerous awards, including the Kirkus Prize and Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, and was a New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice. Her new novel is Harry Sylvester Bird. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In conversation with Asali Solomon Nigerian American author Chinelo Okparanta's acclaimed debut novel Under the Udala Trees celebrates the act of loving fearlessly, even amidst the strife of prejudice and civil war. Selected for more than a dozen periodicals' 2015 ''best of'' lists, it won a Lambda Literary Award, was a finalist for the International Dublin Literary Award, and was nominated for an NAACP Image Award in fiction. Okparanta is also the author of the short story collection Happiness, Like Water, winner of an O. Henry Prize, and a finalist for the New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award and the Etisalat Prize for Literature. The director of the creative writing program at Swarthmore College, she has published fiction in various publications, including The New Yorker, Granta, and Tin House. Her latest novel delves into a young white man's journey from his prejudiced smalltown to a life of freedom in New York City. Asali Solomon is the author of the novels The Days of Afrekete and Disgruntled, the short story collection Get Down, and stories published in a wide array of periodicals, including McSweeney's, Essence, and O, The Oprah Magazine. A professor of fiction writing and literature of the African diaspora at Haverford College, she is the recipient of a Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers' Award and the National Book Foundation's ''5 Under 35'' honor.  (recorded 7/12/2022)

Chinelo Okparanta reads from the third chapter of her novel Harry Sylvester Bird, published in July 2022 by Mariner Books.

A deep dive into this collection of short stories and a reflection on our lives with our hosts: Dumebi, Comfort and Temi. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/caught-readhanded/support

Heyyyyyy, I'm back with another review! Let me know your thoughts on the book on Instagram (@heavensmellslikebooks) or on Twitter (@stillsombre). Enjoy!

Guest host Jane Kaczmarek presents two very different stories about the overlap of aspirations and dreams.  In “Fairness,” by Nigerian-born writer Chinelo Okparanta, a young girl from a well-to-do household is obsessed with the idea of having lighter skin, an obsession shared by all the women in her family circle. The reader is Chinasa Ogbuagu.  In Rachel Simon's eerie “Little Nightmares, Little Dreams,” a husband wants to share everything with his wife of fifty-four years, including their dreams.  The story is performed by Maria Tucci. Join and give!: https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/symphonyspacenyc?code=Splashpage See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We are wrapping up Pride Month! Join Haley and Kayla as they cover Under the Udala Trees by Chinelo Okparanta.

Hello and welcome to Episode Twenty Six of Page Turn: the Largo Public Library Podcast. After missing a month due to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic we're back and so happy to be! I'm your host, Hannah! If you enjoy the podcast subscribe, tell a friend, or write us a review! The Spanish Language Book Review begins at 17:42 and ends 21:43 at The English Language Transcript can be found below But as always we start with Reader's Advisory! The Reader's Advisory for Episode Twenty Six is Speak No Evil by Uzodinma Iweala. If you like Speak No Evil you should also check out: Happiness, Like Water by Chinelo Okparanta, Every Kind of Wanting by Gina Frangello, and Where We Come From by Oscar Casares. My personal favorite Goodreads list Speak No Evil is on is Oooh Shiny! March 2018. Today’s Library Tidbit is all about tabletop gaming and Dungeons & Dragons. Tabletop game covers a very wide array of types of games, including chess, shogi, backgammon, mahjong, and go. However, Dungeons & Dragons specifically developed out of wargames. Wargames started as military training tools. The Prussian were the first known people to use tabletop wargaming and they did so for military training. Once the Prussian beat the French in the Franco-Prussian war wargaming became a more widely used training strategy and also spread to be a fun hobby. One of the more well known early wargames players was author H. G. Wells who created a rule book for a game called Little Wars that used toy soldiers, a large open area like a living room floor or a lawn, and spring loaded cannon to attack opponents with. Gary Gygax, a well known wargaming enthusiast, developed Dungeons & Dragons with Dave Arneson by adapting wargames by adding in fantasy elements. Some fantasy authors that influences Dungeons & Dragons include, but are very not limited to, J. R. R. Tolkien, Poul Anderson, Jack Vance, Fritz Leiber, and Lewis Carroll. Dungeons & Dragons is set up and the narrative run by a person called a Dungeon Master. This person is responsible for creating the dungeons (maps that the players go through), writing a narrative the players will be following, guiding the players using the narrative along the story path, playing the non-player characters and monsters, and oh yeah, keeping the rules. Players before starting the game role up a character sheet. A character sheet is where a player keeps track of their characters stats and inventory. Although D&D is famous for being played in person and on a shared “tabletop”, the game has a devoted online game scene in the modern day. Online D&D groups function the same as their offline counterparts with a Dungeon Master and a handful of players except instead of sharing a table, the group members meet over voice and video chat programs like Discord, Google Hangouts, Skype, or Zoom. If you're interested in playing Dungeons & Dragons online you can see if any friends have a group you could join, check out social media, and online discussion boards. Groups looking for new members or Dungeon Masters could post on D&D Beyond or the Looking For Group sub-reddit. You can also check out Facebook groups too! Several library workers here enjoy a variety of different types of tabletop gaming and we hope that if you’re interested that you look into trying out one using an online service. And now it's time for Book Traveler, with Victor: Intro: Welcome to a new episode of Book Traveler. My name is Victor and I am a librarian at the Largo Public Library. Today I am going to talk to you about a fiction book that we have in the Spanish collection entitled La Fruta del Borrachero by Ingrid Rojas Contreras. Synopsis: In this captivating debut, Ingrid Rojas uses by her own life to talk about the passage from childhood to adulthood of two powerful narrative voices. An exuberant story that, framed in one of the most convulsive times of Colombia, sheds light on the unexpected ties that can be born...

A review of "Under the Udala Trees" by Chinelo Okparanta, which begins during the Biafra War in Nigeria in the late 1960’s. The book tells the story of Ijeoma, a middle-class girl living with her parents while trying to survive air raids and food shortages. And her journey to define and accept herself following the end of the war.   Show notes are available at http://noirehistoir.com/blog/under-the-udala-trees-book-review.

So many books, so little time.” ― Frank Zappa We have read so many books and have had lengthy conversations about the books that we read. A good book, like a great meal hasn't been done justice until it's been throughly savoured, every page consumed and digested. And like a great meal,whose taste is amplified by sharing we thought it would be a great idea to start this podcast and share our literary journey with you. As self proclaimed bibliophiles, our podcast will primarily focus on reviewing books interspersed with podcast or posts about poetry performance or plays or other performance we have seen. And of course since reading is a portal to ourselves in the present, those past and whom we hope to be. We will be sharing many of our own beliefs and options about these books. Lynne Pann said 'books allowed my imagination to take flight and it hasn't landed yet' We hope you'll enjoy taking flight with us. To literary infinity and beyond

comes to town and it was a great chance to interview a range of talented authors taking part in the festivities. My interviews are with: Ben Rawlence - his book City of Thorns is about Northern Kenya - the home of the world’s largest refugee camp, with half a million people. Opening Night speaker at the Perth International Arts Festival. Candice Fox - her first novel, Hades, won the Ned Kelly Award for best debut in 2014 from the Australian Crime Writers Association; she has since gone onto numerous books on crime and punishment. Hannah Kent - is the best-selling author of Burial Rites and the newly released The Good People - stories of culture, crime and history. Garth Nix -  is an award-winning sci-fi fantasy author with several series of fantasy and fiction; I asked him about his new book "Frogkisser" ahead of his appearances at the festival. Amy Stewart - an author of nonfiction books on the perils and pleasures of the natural world, including New York Times bestsellers with The Drunken Botanist, Wicked Bugs and Wicked Plants. However, her range has extended to the tales of a trio of turn-of-the-century sisters turned detectives, with the latest being Lady Cop Makes Trouble - the second book in an ongoing series. Chinelo Okparanta - this Nigerian-American author  writes stories of women and children, family life, migration, war and love; she first started with short stories, with the collection Happiness, Like Water and then her most recent novel Under the Udula Trees. Inua Ellams - London-based playwright and poet Inua Ellams' work explores the themes of identity, displacement and destiny – areas of life he’s intimately familiar with. Dan Box - the National Crime Reporter for The Australian and creator of crime podcast Bowraville. Marwa Al-Sabouni - Syrian architect Marwa al-Sabouni is battling to heal her home city of Homs, having remained there as bombs destroyed much of what she knew and loved. Her ideas to mend the city are now laid out in a visionary memoir, The Battle For Home. She is presenting the closing night address. Clementine Ford - Australian feminist columnist and author of the best selling book Fight Like A Girl. Lindy West - is a Seattle-based writer, editor and performer who’s work has appeared in a number of well-known publications - and the author of Shrill: Notes From A Loud Woman. Sukhjit Kaur Khalsa - a Perth performance poet, she’s a workshop facilitator, actor, artist and humanitarian. Her questions about notions of Australian national identity, got her to the finals of the national Australia poetry slam. Nathan Hill - short story author and author of The Nix; a tale of estrangement and displacement in both families and national politics. Adrian Todd Zuniga - creator of Literary Death Match -  touted as Def Poetry Jam meets American Idol, this competition sees four authors perform a short excerpt of their most electric work before a panel of judges. Omar Musa -  a Malaysian-Australian rapper and poet from Queanbeyan, Australia. He is the winner of the Australian Poetry Slam and the Indian Ocean Poetry Slam and has released three hip-hop albums, two poetry books, and received a standing ovation at TEDx. ************ A quick note about supporting the podcasts! Check out  – and consider  Thanks to RTRFM for their support, especially producer Peter Barr. Theme songs “Cosgrove” by Pogo, from and “Leap Second” by Milton Mermikides, of  Additional ambient music from Jukedeck – create your own at .  – they include: Steven, Andrew, Dr T, Paul, Gerry, Josh, Kathy, Linley, Gold, Iggy, Lukas, Finch and Andrew. Thanks to everyone who contributes and please consider joining to help continue these shows at  Please leave positive comments and reviews on iTunes and consider supporting the show via visiting  – and I’d love to get your feedback via tokenskeptic@gmail.com. 

Lily James and Sam Riley star as Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy in an unorthodox new film interpretation of Jane Austen: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Novelist Naomi Alderman, co-creator of the app Zombies, Run!, reviews the film.Chinelo Okparanta's novel, Under the Udala Trees, is set in Nigeria and begins during the Biafra War. It features a young Christian girl from the South who falls in love with a Muslim girl from the North, and explores the insurmountable difficulties surrounding this. The author explains how she writes with Nigerian readers in mind, and how she hopes, one day, for unity in her home country.Leonardo da Vinci may be known worldwide for his great artworks, from the Mona Lisa to the Last Supper, but he also dedicated much of his life to dreaming up machines such as his early version of the helicopter with beating wings that evoke an eagle. Curator Claudio Giorgione introduces us to the Mechanics of Genius at The Science Museum in London which celebrates Leonardo the "engineer and inventor". Steve Coogan tells us about bringing Alan Partridge back to the small screen in the second series of Mid Morning Matters for Sky Atlantic. Presenter Samira Ahmed Producer: Dixi Stewart.

Litquake is honored to present this live recording of the recent event "Writing Cultural Identity." Short story writers Chinelo Okparanta and Vu Tran discuss the fiction of cultural identity, migration, and the craft of good writing. Born in Nigeria, Chinelo is author of the collection “Happiness, Like Water” and the novel “Under the Udala Trees.” Born in Vietnam, Vu is author of many published short stories, as well as the novel “Dragonfish.” Moderated by Commonwealth Prize winner Nayomi Munaweera. Recorded live at Z Below during the 2015 Litquake festival in San Francisco.

News we discuss this week: - Meg Rosoff and her incredible wrongness regarding diversity in literature - Amy Schumer--The Nine Million Dollar Woman - Quvenzhané Wallis's six-figure book deal Then, the show is dedicated to the discussion of the beautifully written Under the Udala Trees by Chinelo Okparanta.

Feb. 3, 2015. Chinelo Okparanta read selections from her work and participated in a moderated discussion. Speaker Biography: Chinelo Okparanta is a Nigerian-American writer. For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=6662

As transnational writers who both emigrated to the United States in their youth, Nigerian author Chinelo Okparanta and Zimbabwean author NoViolet Bulawayo interrogate the meaning of home and writing across continents, and redefine diaspora literature for a new generation. Conversation moderated by Sarah Ladipo Manyika, with music provided by Emmanuel Nado of KALW’s AfricaMix. Conversation recorded live at San Francisco’s Museum of the African Diaspora during Litquake 2014. 

Join us for an afternoon of reading and conversation with Chinelo Okparanta and Sarah Ladipo Manyika co-presented by Museum of the African Diaspora and Litquake. Chinelo Okparanta will read from her highly acclaimed collection of short stories Happiness, Like Water. Born in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, Chinelo Okparanta earned her B.Sc. from the Pennsylvania State University, her M.A. from Rutgers University, and her M.F.A from the Iowa Writers' Workshop. Her collection of short stories entitled Happiness, Like Water was published this year by GRANTA in the UK and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in the US. She has been nominated for a United States Artists Fellowship in Literature, long-listed for the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award, and short-listed for the Caine Prize for African Writing. Sarah Ladipo Manyika was raised in Nigeria and has lived in Kenya, France, and England. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, and currently teaches literature at San Francisco State University. Her writing includes published essays, academic papers, book reviews and short stories. Sarah's first novel, In Dependence, is published by Legend Press.