Goodbye, Dr Banda

Goodbye, Dr Banda PDF Author: Alexander Chula
Publisher: Birlinn Ltd
ISBN: 1788855795
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 280

Get Book Here

Book Description
'You may never have been, may never go, may never even have heard of the place – but Malawi will repay your attention. It is one of the smallest, poorest countries in Africa, often overlooked; but its relationship with us in the West has been extraordinary.' In a ruined dictator's palace, Alexander Chula – a classicist-turned-doctor, fresh out of Oxford – stumbles upon an oak treasure chest. Inside is a priceless, antique edition of Julius Caesar's Gallic War. This unexpected talisman of Western high culture belongs to the mercurial Dr Banda, a man of many parts: scholarly physician, anti-colonial hero, brutal tyrant, and fallen philosopher-king. Banda leads the author deep into the heart of this mysterious country, there to uncover a bizarre meeting of worlds: between one of Africa's most fascinating indigenous cultures and the best and worst of our own. Here tribal ritual collides with Greek theatre; masked dancers with roving classicists; poets and pop stars with missionary-explorers; hippies and kleptocrats with long-suffering peasants. The story is enigmatic but exhilarating, by turns edifying and deeply uncomfortable. But we would do well to examine it: Malawi presents urgent lessons which resonate piercingly in our vexed age of culture wars and identity crisis.

Goodbye, Dr Banda

Goodbye, Dr Banda PDF Author: Alexander Chula
Publisher: Birlinn Ltd
ISBN: 1788855795
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 280

Get Book Here

Book Description
'You may never have been, may never go, may never even have heard of the place – but Malawi will repay your attention. It is one of the smallest, poorest countries in Africa, often overlooked; but its relationship with us in the West has been extraordinary.' In a ruined dictator's palace, Alexander Chula – a classicist-turned-doctor, fresh out of Oxford – stumbles upon an oak treasure chest. Inside is a priceless, antique edition of Julius Caesar's Gallic War. This unexpected talisman of Western high culture belongs to the mercurial Dr Banda, a man of many parts: scholarly physician, anti-colonial hero, brutal tyrant, and fallen philosopher-king. Banda leads the author deep into the heart of this mysterious country, there to uncover a bizarre meeting of worlds: between one of Africa's most fascinating indigenous cultures and the best and worst of our own. Here tribal ritual collides with Greek theatre; masked dancers with roving classicists; poets and pop stars with missionary-explorers; hippies and kleptocrats with long-suffering peasants. The story is enigmatic but exhilarating, by turns edifying and deeply uncomfortable. But we would do well to examine it: Malawi presents urgent lessons which resonate piercingly in our vexed age of culture wars and identity crisis.

Goodbye, Dr Banda

Goodbye, Dr Banda PDF Author: Alexander Chula
Publisher: Birlinn
ISBN: 9781846976278
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
'You may never have been, may never go, may never even have heard of the place - but Malawi will repay your attention. It is one of the smallest, poorest countries in Africa, often overlooked; but its relationship with us in the West has been extraordinary.'In a ruined dictator's palace, Alexander Chula - a classicist-turned-doctor, fresh out of Oxford - stumbles upon an oak treasure chest. Inside is a priceless, antique edition of Julius Caesar's Gallic War. This unexpected talisman of Western high culture belongs to the mercurial Dr Banda, a man of many parts: scholarly physician, anti-colonial hero, brutal tyrant, and fallen philosopher-king.Banda leads the author deep into the heart of this mysterious country, there to uncover a bizarre meeting of worlds: between one of Africa's most fascinating indigenous cultures and the best and worst of our own. Here tribal ritual collides with Greek theatre; masked dancers with roving classicists; poets and pop stars with missionary-explorers; hippies and kleptocrats with long-suffering peasants.The story is enigmatic but exhilarating, by turns edifying and deeply uncomfortable. But we would do well to examine it: Malawi presents urgent lessons which resonate piercingly in our vexed age of culture wars and identity crisis.

All the Time We Thought We Had

All the Time We Thought We Had PDF Author: Gordon Darroch
Publisher: Birlinn Ltd
ISBN: 178885022X
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 215

Get Book Here

Book Description
How do you start a new life when the person you love is about to die? At the age of thirty-six, Gordon Darroch's wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. It was a devastating blow just as he, and their two children with autism, were preparing to move to her native Holland. Eighteen months later, as their plans seemed to be back on course, came the second blow: Magteld was terminally ill and possibly had only a few months to live. As her health rapidly deteriorated, they became caught up in a race against time to get a dying mother home and give their children a future in a country they hardly knew. How could they build a new life in the midst of grief and loss? How would their two sons adjust to such enormous changes? And what would remain of Magteld once she was gone? A ll the Time We Thought We Had is a story of love and loss and a meditation on grief and memory. It's about how events shape our lives and how we cope with them. And it raises important questions about what we value in life and the legacies we leave behind.

Found at Sea

Found at Sea PDF Author: Andrew Greig
Publisher: Birlinn
ISBN: 0857905872
Category : Poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 77

Get Book Here

Book Description
Andrew Greig recounts in poetic sequence the tale of his open dinghy voyage from Stromness in Scapa Flow and an overnight stay on Cava (an island formerly inhabited for over twenty years by two unusual women) in poetic sequence. In sailing small boats in scary open waters Andrew Greg found a new activity and a new metaphor for life. Written in six weeks, Found at Sea is a 'very wee epic' about sailing, male friendship and a voyage. Bon voyage!

Fugitive Colours

Fugitive Colours PDF Author: Liz Lochhead
Publisher: Birlinn Ltd
ISBN: 0857903365
Category : Poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 150

Get Book Here

Book Description
This stunning collection features never before published work along with poems written during her time as Scots Makar, and marks the end of her term as Scotland's Poet Laureate (2011-2016). Whether commissioned works, such as 'Connecting Cultures', written for the Commonwealth Games in 2014 or more personal works, 'Favourite Place', about holidays in the west coast with her late husband, this collection is beautiful, sensitive and brilliant. Throughout her career Liz Lochhead has been described variously as a poet, feminist-playwright, translator and broadcaster but has said that 'when somebody asks me what I do I usually say writer. The most precious thing to me is to be a poet. If I were a playwright, I'd like to be a poet in the theatre.'

The Glamour Chase

The Glamour Chase PDF Author: Tom Doyle
Publisher: Birlinn
ISBN: 0857900617
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 357

Get Book Here

Book Description
A first-rate charmer with a devilish twinkle in his eye, Billy MacKenzie was a maverick figure within the music industry whose wild and mischievous spirit possibly did him more harm than good. As frontman of the Associates, gifted with an otherwordly, octave-scaling operatic voice, MacKenzie, together with partner Alan Rankine, enjoyed Top Twenty chart success in 1982. At the height of their success, however, they split. Over the ensuing years, MacKenzie gained a reputation for his unhinged career tactics, generous spirit and knack for squandering large amounts of record-company money. Born in Dundee in 1957 he was the eldest son in a large Catholic family. He was bullied at school and sought refuge in music. He was a schemer and dreamer, a breeder of whippets and a bisexual who kept quiet about his private life. During his lifetime, his unique vocal gift attracted the attention of Shirley Bassey, Annie Lennox and Bjork. However, in the tradition of Scott Walker, Syd Barrett and Nick Drake, MacKenzie's tale is one of thwarted talent and, ultimately, tragedy. He was found dead, aged 39, at his father's home in Scotland, on 22 January 1997, having taken an overdose.

Goodbye, England

Goodbye, England PDF Author: James Barlow
Publisher: Hamish Hamilton
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 184

Get Book Here

Book Description


This is Malawi

This is Malawi PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Malawi
Languages : en
Pages : 536

Get Book Here

Book Description


African Writers

African Writers PDF Author: Bridgette Kasuka
Publisher: African Books
ISBN: 998716028X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 432

Get Book Here

Book Description
This work looks at some African writers, including those who are not well-known, to show the potential and diversity in the works produced by Africans. Included is a profile of Chinua Achebe and commentaries on his works soon after he passed away.

Malawian Writers and Their Country

Malawian Writers and Their Country PDF Author: Bridgette Kasuka, Editor
Publisher: Lulu.com
ISBN: 1300691689
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 222

Get Book Here

Book Description
This is a general survey of writers from Malawi and the books they have written. The book is also a general introduction to Malawi as a country and as a nation.