I had not heard about the Nigerian Nobel Laureate in Literature-Wole Soyinka untill Daddy gave me his autobiography to read. Though the book is still work in progress for me, I got a chance to see Kongi (as he is lovingly called) live a book discussion at the Goethe Institute recently. Gerd Meuer, a german "Jack of All Trades" published a book called "Journeys Around and With Kongi-Half a Century on the Road with Wole Soyinka." The "BND" inscribed on the spine of the book expanding to "Books Nobody Demands" was funny, Gerd had to publish the book himself after facing two rejections from publishers. Wole's arrival at the event caused quite an unwanted stir, especially since Wole chose to sit among the audience (just 2 rows in front of me), Gerd being the centre of attention at the event. Later with casual mingling over drinks and suya, I wanted to go and talk to Wole, but decided not to coz I couldnt think of anything meaningful to say. Though one needs to know more about Wole and have read his books to really follow the book, the few chapters Gerd read out were quite intriguing for me and I bought a copy and got Gerd's autograph.
In the photos, you see Gerd reading passages from his book, and Wole asking a question from the audience!
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