Ber Anena
@beranena.bsky.social
THE LIES WE TELL FOR AMERICA, a memoir, out in fall 2026 from Flatiron Books.
PhD student @ University of Nebraska-Lincoln ll Author of A Nation in Labour 📚 ll Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature in Africa 🏆
PhD student @ University of Nebraska-Lincoln ll Author of A Nation in Labour 📚 ll Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature in Africa 🏆
What l #read in #May
ON EARTH WE’RE BRIEFLY GORGEOUS by Ocean Vuong. Started reading his new novel but put it aside to try this one and Gosh was l moved! I’ve never read a book with such beautiful language. “Sometimes being offered tenderness feels like the very proof that you’ve been ruined.”
ON EARTH WE’RE BRIEFLY GORGEOUS by Ocean Vuong. Started reading his new novel but put it aside to try this one and Gosh was l moved! I’ve never read a book with such beautiful language. “Sometimes being offered tenderness feels like the very proof that you’ve been ruined.”
May 31, 2025 at 6:58 PM
One of the books l read as a child was by Ngugi wa Thiong’o. He was among the authors who stirred my love for writing. I’m sad to hear of his passing today. What a loss to the world and to literature. May God receive him with mercy.
Photo: UCI Podcast
Photo: UCI Podcast
May 28, 2025 at 7:48 PM
One of the books l read as a child was by Ngugi wa Thiong’o. He was among the authors who stirred my love for writing. I’m sad to hear of his passing today. What a loss to the world and to literature. May God receive him with mercy.
Photo: UCI Podcast
Photo: UCI Podcast
6/6: GIOVANNI’s ROOM by James Baldwin. I love Baldwin’s mind, and his intellect is quite visible in this novel. He doesn’t try to impress because he doesn’t need to. Totally enjoyed this one.
May 2, 2025 at 12:28 AM
6/6: GIOVANNI’s ROOM by James Baldwin. I love Baldwin’s mind, and his intellect is quite visible in this novel. He doesn’t try to impress because he doesn’t need to. Totally enjoyed this one.
5/6: THE YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING by Joan Didion. She’s an expert in interiority. How she intellectualizes her storytelling, even one about the death of loved ones, elevates the nonfiction genre in a great great way.
May 2, 2025 at 12:27 AM
5/6: THE YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING by Joan Didion. She’s an expert in interiority. How she intellectualizes her storytelling, even one about the death of loved ones, elevates the nonfiction genre in a great great way.
4/6: THE NAMESAKE by Jhumpa Lahiri. Had only read her short stories. This novel reinforces Lahiri’s great great storytelling. So much world-building. So much details! So much immersion! This is one to reread.
May 2, 2025 at 12:26 AM
4/6: THE NAMESAKE by Jhumpa Lahiri. Had only read her short stories. This novel reinforces Lahiri’s great great storytelling. So much world-building. So much details! So much immersion! This is one to reread.
3/6: PHASES by Tramaine Suubi! I loved the idea of exploring various emotions and experiences while anchoring them to the phases of the moon. Brilliant poems!
May 2, 2025 at 12:25 AM
3/6: PHASES by Tramaine Suubi! I loved the idea of exploring various emotions and experiences while anchoring them to the phases of the moon. Brilliant poems!
2/6: EVERY THING IS FINE HERE is by Iryn Tushabe. I read this in two days. I’m a terribly slow reader so this speaks to the strength of this novel and Iryn’s impressive storytelling. A real page turner. Oh and the subtle humor was a great icing!
May 2, 2025 at 12:24 AM
2/6: EVERY THING IS FINE HERE is by Iryn Tushabe. I read this in two days. I’m a terribly slow reader so this speaks to the strength of this novel and Iryn’s impressive storytelling. A real page turner. Oh and the subtle humor was a great icing!
Tulips @ the #TulipFestival at Nelson Produce Farm
April 27, 2025 at 11:50 PM
Tulips @ the #TulipFestival at Nelson Produce Farm
2/2
Read in Jan, Feb, March
Read in Jan, Feb, March
April 2, 2025 at 4:12 AM
2/2
Read in Jan, Feb, March
Read in Jan, Feb, March
1/2
Read in Jan, Feb, March
Read in Jan, Feb, March
April 2, 2025 at 4:10 AM
1/2
Read in Jan, Feb, March
Read in Jan, Feb, March
#NowReading…
Enjoying this quite a bit
Enjoying this quite a bit
December 12, 2024 at 2:13 AM
#NowReading…
Enjoying this quite a bit
Enjoying this quite a bit
🕊️
Luckily, your words are alive. Rest in power, Nikki Giovanni.
Luckily, your words are alive. Rest in power, Nikki Giovanni.
December 11, 2024 at 1:13 AM
🕊️
Luckily, your words are alive. Rest in power, Nikki Giovanni.
Luckily, your words are alive. Rest in power, Nikki Giovanni.
#NowReading…
Migrations. A novel about a complex subject like climate change handled so artfully & movingly.
Here, you’ll dive into the world of birds, fish & fisherfolk, the ocean & its allure, mothers & daughters, husbands and wives — all linked around one thing, our earth & its current state.
Migrations. A novel about a complex subject like climate change handled so artfully & movingly.
Here, you’ll dive into the world of birds, fish & fisherfolk, the ocean & its allure, mothers & daughters, husbands and wives — all linked around one thing, our earth & its current state.
December 4, 2024 at 6:44 PM
#NowReading…
Migrations. A novel about a complex subject like climate change handled so artfully & movingly.
Here, you’ll dive into the world of birds, fish & fisherfolk, the ocean & its allure, mothers & daughters, husbands and wives — all linked around one thing, our earth & its current state.
Migrations. A novel about a complex subject like climate change handled so artfully & movingly.
Here, you’ll dive into the world of birds, fish & fisherfolk, the ocean & its allure, mothers & daughters, husbands and wives — all linked around one thing, our earth & its current state.
New poetry anthology cover reveal! Congratulations to all the authors and editors Rasaq Malik Gbolahan and Jide Salawu for the great work! Thank you for featuring my poetry in this monumental book! Excited for the Winter release.
#PoetryfromAfricancities
#WritingCommunity
@jidesalawu.bsky.social
#PoetryfromAfricancities
#WritingCommunity
@jidesalawu.bsky.social
November 27, 2024 at 11:17 PM
New poetry anthology cover reveal! Congratulations to all the authors and editors Rasaq Malik Gbolahan and Jide Salawu for the great work! Thank you for featuring my poetry in this monumental book! Excited for the Winter release.
#PoetryfromAfricancities
#WritingCommunity
@jidesalawu.bsky.social
#PoetryfromAfricancities
#WritingCommunity
@jidesalawu.bsky.social
November 27, 2024 at 2:59 AM
November 23, 2024 at 5:20 AM
Educated by Tara Westover is one of the most gripping, masterful, heartbreaking and important memoirs l’ve read (yet).
#BookSky
#WritingCommunity
#BookSky
#WritingCommunity
November 17, 2024 at 3:19 PM
Educated by Tara Westover is one of the most gripping, masterful, heartbreaking and important memoirs l’ve read (yet).
#BookSky
#WritingCommunity
#BookSky
#WritingCommunity