After 25 Years, Wasafiri Still Pushing Britain's Literary Boundaries By Belinda Otas for Publishing Perpectives


LONDON: The Southbank is one of Europe's largest arts centers and is celebrated worldwide for the diversity of its artistic programs. Similarly, a wide diversity of races, ethnicities and nationalities gathered in late October to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Wasafiri, the acclaimed London-based magazine of contemporary international writing.

Wasafiri is a Kiswahili word and translates as "travelers." Susheila Nasta says the name was chosen "because many of those who created the literatures in which Wasafiri was interested have all been cultural travelers, either through migration, transportation or else in the more metaphorical sense of seeking an imagined cultural 'home.'"
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Bonus Material: Are African and Asian Writers Compromised by Writing in English?
By Edward Nawotka

In our profile of the international literary magazine Wasafiri, Kenyan novelist Ngugi wa Thiong'o suggests that Africans and Asian writers who want a global audience need to be published in English.
English does offers both a gateway to a broader international readership and a larger pool of potential translators. That said, it's also a form of compromise for some: "Obviously, for Africans and Asians, our base is our languages, and we want visibility without becoming invisible in our own languages," said wa Thiong'o "At present we are visible by being invisible in our own languages."
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