A Mental Tyranny…

Ndidi Dike. Lagos (Detail), 2009–10. Acrylic on Wood, 91 cm x 122 cm.

Here’s an important article from the British writer Ben Okri published in the Guardian of London. It is generating a lot of ink online as artist(e)s argue for and against its basic premise, that black/African writers’ works too often reflect a perception that they should focus on weighty issues, and are therefore less significant for doing so. Okri writes that black/African writers “should not be expected to write about slavery, poverty or racial injustice. The greatest literature comes not from the heaviest subjects but from freedom of thought” (read more).