A Dog-Eared Ode“Queer Africa is a collection of charged, tangled, tender, unapologetic, funny, bruising and brilliant stories about the many ways in which we love each other on the continent,” writes Gabeba Baderoon in her foreword to this anthology edited by Karen Martin and Makhosazana Xaba. Having dog-eared this fascinating collection of stories I strolled back to collect my markers and celebrate that love with excerpts from each story.“That’s the idea. Let it sound bush. I sing for the peopl...

Connected, engaged, alive - strong sense of both the struggle and the joy of being queer in Africa. I loved the fine detailed observation, the fun ... This book makes gay and lesbian people, and anybody who identifies as gender queer, at home in Africa. I wish all of us in Africa can welcome this dimension of our diversity.

Loved Annie Holmes' story (my main reason for reading the book)! Also enjoyed most of the others. A real variety of stories, so many different experiences and styles. I have given at least three copies of the book to friends.

Yes, most of these stories are sad, and yes, they are definitely unequal. But this is not the point. This collection constitutes one of the rare windows over the diversity of the LGBTQ life in Africa, and as biased as the outcome might be (most of the stories remain centred over gay life in South Africa), it offers a new perspective on the different mentalities towards homosexuality on the continent; and in that process, it helps us gain a better grasp on what constitutes our true humanity. So,

I really wanted to like this book. South Africa is way less accepting of LGBT people than Europe and (at least at the school I went to there) their existence is ignored/forbidden. So, this is definitely an important book. And I did really like some of the stories. But many of them were boring, easily forgettable or not so well written.

Colección de preciosos relatos sobre diferentes experiencias en torno a la sexualidad enmarcados en el sur de África. Si bien la mayoría de las historias provienen de Sudáfrica, se aborda la temática desde distintos puntos de vista, la mayoría melancólicos, agridulces o francamente acongojantes. Me han parecido particularmente interesantes aquellos que exploran la dinámica con el (post-)colonialismo, la diferencia de clases o el racismo, así como aquellos que ofrecen una perspectiva histórica o

Fantastic collection of stories, some break your heart and others are beautiful, with a few rising up above the others as clear favorites.

There were so many good stories in this collection, but so many sad endings. I'm going to have to track down a few of the contributors books and check out their longer-form writing.

Me ha parecido una recopilación muy desigual y por eso la baja puntuaciónEn general hay una tristeza o melancolía que empapa todos ellos en mayor o menor medida. Hay variedad de autores y paises. Se entreve cuales son más permisivos y cuales más restrictivos pero ese aire de desazón los impregna a todos.Hay cuentos bellísimos, bien escritos, con situaciones más explicitas o más sugeridas Pero han habido cuatro o cinco que han hecho que por poco dejase de leerlo. Sórdidos, brutales, desagradables...

Life has been incredibly hectic lately, perfect time to read a collection of shorts. No need to follow a plot, just read each story as I have time. And what a lovely collection it is. Not one 'clunker' in the lot. There was a bit of a concern that the project's desire to get a wide range of stories would mean a sacrifice in quality to achieve their objective. But no such sacrifices were made.Wonderful book. Karen Martin, Makhosazana Xaba and all of the contributing writers should be proud of a j...

Son 18 relatos, y todos cuentan un amor que desgarra, de alguna forma u otra. Todos cuentan la perspectiva de ser negro, negra y ser homosexual. Vivir la pasión desde la perspectiva que todo esta prohibido para alcanzar la libertad. Destacan en ellos su fuerza narrativa y voces que no son del todo conocidas por estas latitudes y que vuelven a demostrar que estamos sumergidos en una realidad que nos hace opacos y, a veces, indiferentes. Cada uno de ellos cuenta desde la autobiografía, la ficción

Leído para la iniciativa #BlackHistoryJuly.2,5.Me apena un poco tener que ponerle una nota tan baja a este libro porque es muy necesario contar historias desde el margen y sobre el margen, y hacernos ver nuevas perspectivas. Pero es que muy pocos relatos me han gustado de verdad, y otros tantos me han dejado absolutamente indiferente. Creo que muchos de ellos fallaban en el final, que era muy abrupto e inconcluso en algunos casos. Para colmo, la mayoría de los relatos se centraban en historias d...

With homosexuality outlawed in 34 out of 55 African countries, an anthology such as this one plays an incredibly important role in giving a voice to the voiceless. What I particularly liked about the diverse stories collected here is that they are not strident, grandstanding, or interested in making sweeping political statements. Many are quite oblique, and focus on the quotidian details that make up lived gay experience in Africa. The people represented here live and breathe, love and act in an...

I love that this book exists- like I love that Fairytales for Lost Children exists. Queer and African, to some the two don't go together but this book collects some stories from around the continent that are about love, adventure, trials, discovery and all the shades of humanness on the continent. I loved that the stories were set in different time periods as well. Heavy on the South African stories but that is understandable being as the book was published in SA. I enjoyed most of the stories.

I liked some of the stories, but a lot of them were forgettable. I noticed that a lot of the authors were South African, and most of the stories featured white Africans as the main character. The queer representation could have been more diverse. Looking forward to reading the 2nd book, hopefully that one is better. For more reviews, check out my blog, https://thelitafrican.com :)

Last week, in a move which divided many viewers, American opera singer Jamie Barton decided to wave a rainbow flag during her performance of Rule, Britannia! at the BBC Proms. While Barton viewed the gesture as one of pride, attempting to increase queer visibility at an event which has for so long been the domain of white heterosexual men, her decision did not sit well with all. Given the colonialist theme of Rule, Britannia!, and the direct link between British imperialism and the punitive sodo...

Malo hasta decir basta. La traducción es infumable, frases traducidas literalmente del inglés sin sentido, jerga absurda que no funciona en absoluto en castellano... Aparte de eso, más que narraciones contra la homofobia son narraciones sobre homofobia, la myoría bastantre tristes y muchas sin sustancia alguna. Una gran decepción.

Too many stories written in second person (why). A small handful were enjoyable to read but the rest were either unbearably contrived or lacking in impact.

Queer Africa es una colección importante de historias sobre la condición humana y la vulnerabilidad de la comunidad queer. Si bien es un tanto predecible que muchas historias aquí sean tristes (porque esa es la realidad), también hay historias de recuperación agentiva. Somos dueños de nuestras historias y aunque otros a veces quieran robarlas, nuestras voces se escuchan.En otro plano, el texto me acercó a un conjunto de tradiciones que suelen ignorarse en México. No toda la literatura lgbt debe

Fiction Q383 2013