In Africa Through Books, Movies and Crafts

Today I traveled to Africa. It only took a half hour to get there, since I was driving to the south in Tucson to the AfricanVillage, part of the Tucson Gem Show.  Great crafts, carvings, masks, beaded cloth, and a food booth with good African cooking.

African Village Food Booth at Tucson Gem Show
African Village Food Booth at Tucson Gem Show

I talked with a vendor who explained this mask to me. It comes from the Ivory coast, he said, and represents a bird who is a story teller.  How appropriate for A Traveler’s Library.

The Story Teller Mask
The Story Teller Mask. For more info go to http://www.africanmasks.ca/history-tradition

I mentioned in my post about geography, that I am rather clueless about Africa.  A whole continent, and what do I know?  I have seen a few movies. The Last King of Scotland Out of Africa with Meryl Streep. The Snows of Kilimanjaro with Ava Gardner. King Solomon’s Mine with Deborah Kerr.  I am dating myself here, so better stop.

And literature?  Well, despite the many fine books available on Africa, I do not have many in my travel library.  In my usual quest for detective stories that tell me about a country, I did read Alexander McCall Smith’s very humorous The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency and The Kalahari Typing School for Men.  There are more in the series and I will probably read them, too.

But I need to find good literature by Africans, and here is a blog that is a good source. A writer from Zimbabwe, Emmanuel Sigauke, gives not only interesting posts, but links to many African sites and blogs and writers.  I am running out of excuses for my ignorance.

Photos by VMB

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About Vera Marie Badertscher

A freelance writer who loves to travel. When she is not traveling she is reading about travel. When she is not reading or traveling, she is sharing with the readers of A Traveler's Library, or recreating her family's past at Ancestors In Aprons . She has written for Reel Life With Jane, Life is a Trip and other websites. Also co-author of a biography, Quincy Tahoma, The Life and Legacy of a Navajo Artist. Contact Vera Marie by e-mail.