Obi Nwakanma, Ph.D. was among a group of writers invited to read at the annual International Literature Festival in Berlin, September 9-15. Nwakanma read with the poet Charles Bernstein at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele and gave a talk on “Contradictions and Misinterpretations: Reflections on the Present Situation in Nigeria”. He also participated in a conversation with the Canadian writer Madeleine Thien at the Heinrich Boll Foundation House as part of the literature event.
The festival is an annual gathering of leading writers and emerging voices in world literature. Participants in this year’s event include Isabella Allende, Priya Basil, Elisa Biagini, Charles Bernstein, Ann Cotton, Teju Cole, Raj Kamal Jha, Ha Jin, Ngugi Wa Thiongo, David Mitchell, Liao Yiwu, Laura Restrepo, Carol Birch, Sabina Berman, and Kiran Nagarkar.
This summer, Nwakanma spent six weeks as a fellow of the Civitella Ranieri Writers Fellowship in Italy.