by Nana Nkweti
To the Clarion 2015 crew: Huw Evans (for encouraging me to write where the joy is), Neile Graham (for sci-fi poems and delicious scotch), and all my fellow nerdren writers who proudly wear a T-shirt emblazoned with the immortal words “I Like Stories Where All the Men Are Dead,” thank you Christine Neulieb, Rebecca Campbell, Margaret Killjoy, Julia Wetherell, Evan Peterson, Samuel Kolawole, Laurie Penny, Mike Sebastian, Leo Vladimirsky, Justin Key, Tegan Moore, Nibedita Sen, Dinesh Pulandram, Jake Stone, Garrett Johnston, Thersa Matsuura, and Mimi Mondial.
To the wonderfully inquisitive students I have had the honor of teaching at the University of Alabama, the University of Iowa, and Coe College as well as the incredibly supportive faculty and staff therein, particularly Dr. Gina Hausknecht, unfailing writer of many a recommendation letter and warm intellect, you all challenged me to be my best.
To all my fellow travelers and friends along this circuitous path: Dr. Jacky Amadu Kaba, Malik Vassel, Lilian Oben, Lorraine Oben, Davis Enloe, Tigi Kanu, Christopher Hundley, Khary Russell, Rachelle Taylor, Felicity Tsikiwa, Idongesit Daniel, Rachel Achebodt, Catherine Essoka, Edinam Oton and the AFRican magazine fam, Bob and Lajuana Carabasi, the Ngangmuta familia: Aunty Hilda, Ngam, Ngong, Tosam, and Fulei—all the thanks in the universe.
Heartfelt thanks to my dearest friends, Sheryl Byfield, Chae Sweet, and Abosede George, who have been through the fire with me hand in hand. We’re gilded and glorious now.
To the best road dogs a gal could have hoped for on this journey called life: Andzifor Kaba, smarty-pants, modelesque mother of giants, you are more than you know; Dr. Fongalla Ngoche Nkweti, chief by name, dopest conversationalist and old soul; Numbisi Loweh Nkweti, brightest star, effortless fashionista, and provoker of belly laughs, thank you all for your tireless, “by any means necessary” support: butt-kicking, pep talks, epic burns—you got the job done. I love you all on a cellular level. Dynasty time.
To all my kinfolk in the Nkweti clan, especially Clemence “Mother Teresa” Onana, Grace and Afo Ngu-Mbi and in the Nana bloodline, particularly Dr. Nana Jack Mofor, Stanley and Cecelia Withers, my deepest thanks for your prayers, for koki corn and achu, for raising me up to be the woman I am.
To God Almighty and all my ancestors in the afterlife, this work is pouring one out for you in words.
Illustration Credits
“Subway Katana.” Credit: Rossowinch Art.
Jungle Jitters film still, Warner Bros., 1943. Used under public domain.
“If It Bleeds, It Ledes,” and “Africa Is Not a Country.” Credit: Idongesit Daniel.
“Shaka Zulu Queen Mother,” January 1999. Copyright © Joshua Sinclair. Reproduced courtesy of the artist, Ouarzazate, Morocco.
In Memoriam
This is a tribute to my friend, “High Poetess” Paula Pryce Bremmer—beloved wife and mother, inspirational counselor to legions of students finding their way, and a gifted writer whose creative voice was snatched away from this world all too soon. She is one of so many souls senselessly lost to the pandemic. She made her mark on many hearts. She is loved.
Author’s Note
Portions of this work cite real criminal cases, bearing witness to stories of trauma and lessons that should not be forgotten.
Nana Nkweti is a Cameroonian American writer, AKO Caine Prize finalist, and alumna of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Her work has garnered numerous fellowships, from the MacDowell Colony, Kimbilio, Ucross, and the Wurlitzer Foundation, among others. As a professor of English at the University of Alabama, she teaches courses that explore her eclectic literary interests ranging from graphic novels to medical humanities on to Afrofuturism.
The text of Walking on Cowrie Shells is set in Adobe Garamond Pro.
Book design by Rachel Holscher.
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