Missionaries, mercenaries and misfits


Lara Pawson, currently a writer in residence at the University of Witwatersrand, has a chapter out in a new book edited by Kenyan author, Rasna Warah. Don’t judge it by the cover (unless, of course, you really LOVE the cover). Here’s what she sent me:

It’s a very readable anthology featuring some of East Africa’s best-known writers, thinkers and “developmentalists”, such as Binyavanga Wainaina (who regularly features in the Mail & Guardian) and … er, an English woman from East London. My own chapter originally appeared in Radical Philosophy (a journal also worth reading and available at www.radicalphilosophy.com).

Reviewed in The East African by Stephen Partington, the book was described as “an anthology that brings together writers from the region whose essays enable a kaleidoscopic view of developmentalism in East Africa, its discontents, its hubris, its smugness, its ability to kill through genuine and well-meant kindness.”

If you represent a media organisation, please write to Dean Shah at dshah [AT] authorhouse [dot] co [dot] uk for a review copy, and send a copy of that review to Rasnah Warah at grasp [AT] nbi [dot] ispkenya [dot] com.

If you want to support sales of the book, please forward this message to others. The book will be cheaper to buy online than through retail outlets. Go to www.authorhouse.com.


3 responses to “Missionaries, mercenaries and misfits”

  1. What, you didn’t like the cover? Sob. It’s a painting by a friend called Xavier Verhoest, and if you look closely, it does have a meaning (shadowy figures hiding behind flowers? get it?)

    Thanks for publicising the book on your blog. And please read it.