Category: Inkazi Blogpost
Before a reader encounters your prose, your characters, or your ideas, they encounter your name. It sits on the cover, tops the byline, and becomes the first signal of what kind of story they’re about to enter. So what happens when the name on your birth certificate doesn’t feel like the right name for your […]
- Siona Lootu
- May 14, 2026
There is a specific kind of embarrassment that every Kenyan who grew up in a certain household knows. You are at school. The teacher has announced, with the energy of someone delivering divine law, that English only will be spoken within these walls. You nod. You agree because you know the punishment would be walking […]
- Siona Lootu
- Apr 30, 2026
So, you’ve heard the buzz about African literature. Maybe you saw Americanah on a bestseller list, or a friend couldn’t stop talking about The Middle Daughter. You’re intrigued, but perhaps a little unsure of where to start. Well, you’ve come to the right place! Welcome. Think of African literature not as a single, monolithic entity, […]
- Siona Lootu
- Mar 26, 2026
We need to talk about descriptions. Specifically, we need to talk about how we describe skin, and the subtle, often unintentional ways that language can reinforce harmful stereotypes, even in our favourite romance novels. Recently, a specific line in a book by Elsie Silver sparked a necessary conversation in the bookish community. The description in […]
- Siona Lootu
- Mar 25, 2026
