This was a surprise addition to my order from the generous publishers at Silhouette Press. A deep red sunset boomed from the package, tribal masks and shields protecting its contents. I could hear the voices inside. The Africa In My House is a book of poetry, stories and events, touching through the troubled country of Rwanda, picking at time and looking at events that author Andrea Mbarushimana experienced there, the echoes of genocide and trying to fathom why, hoping that it will never occur again. Andrea manages to beautifully mingle legend, mythology and her experiences to help herself and those who want to know, understand and cope with a country she now has a better understanding of.
I was lucky enough to be interviewed by Sarah James 'In the Booklight' Series, about writing The Africa In My House. Problems with the html have led me to copy and paste the interview here, but please, please check out her website, which is a treasure trove. In my twenty-eighth interview for In the Booklight, I talk to Andrea Mbarushimana about her poetry, art and fiction collection The Africa in my House (Silhouette Press)… ‘The Africa in my House’ is a beautiful and also heart-breaking book. Could you tell us how and why the collection came about? Thank you, Sarah. The poems began as far back as 1999, when I was a VSO volunteer in Rwanda. They chart a kind of awakening – living in another
Somehow in the space of 24 hours the people of Cork had already carved a home out for me in words, pebbles and standing stones. After meeting Paul at the airport we took a look at the city from on high, a hotel balcony with a panoramic view of the city in summer sunlight. Stabled in the Handlebar B and B we walked, funnelled by narrow streets towards the beautiful Cathedral where I found a strange stone that turned out to be a (probably human) bone and slept under a tree in the sun. It was that kind of visit. Full of humanity and history and weight. Cork is a vibrant and fascinating place, surrounded by water in the same way Coventry city center is surrounded by the ring-road. The center is
