My guest today is Maaza Mengiste, an incredible writer whose first novel Beneath The Lion's Gaze was the first work of historical fiction about the Ethiopian revolution I had ever read, and a book that had me in tears since it was so very close to home. Her second novel, The Shadow King, was another work of historical fiction inspired by the many different roles women played in the second Ethiopian-Italian war, and in 2020 Maaza edited an anthology titled Addis Ababa Noir featuring some of the most brilliant writers in the Ethiopian diaspora today. Just last year, Maaza had a life changing experience at the Palestine Festival of Literature, and she has been an outspoken advocate for the Palestinian cause ever since. We talk about all that and more in today's episode of the Worldwide Underground.
What I thought would be a music podcast, has evolved into long-form conversations on the art and politics of storytelling, across all mediums. Thank you to everyone who has been here for the ride.
Maaza Mengiste and the art of storytelling as a form of resistance