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As part of the Tejumola Olaniyan Creative Writers-in-Residence Fellowship program, The Africa Institute hosted a workshop led by award recipient Jamal Mahjoub, a distinguished Sudanese-English novelist, on Tuesday, September 20, 2023. Mahjoub presented his upcoming novel and delivered a talk titled “The Invention of Place: On the Impossibility of Writing about Sudan and Why We Keep Doing It,” providing a platform for engaging in literary discussions that explored the complexities of Sudanese identity in literature.
Mahjoub is one of the three writers selected to be part of the 2023 cohort of the Tejumola Olaniyan Creative Writers-in-Residence Fellowship program, which aims to honor the late Nigerian Professor Tejumola Olaniyan’s profound contributions to African literature and critical theory.
Born in London and raised in Khartoum, Mahjoub boasts a prolific writing career, including eight novels and one non-fiction book, all with a focus on Sudan. His rich and diverse life experiences, spanning various countries, have significantly influenced his storytelling. Additionally, Mahjoub has authored ten crime fiction novels under the pseudonym Parker Bilal, including the popular Makana series.
Mahjoub, known for his literary exploration of cultural identity and human connections, discussed his current novel project provisionally titled, “Songs of the Dispossessed” which explores a compelling narrative structured as a triptych in three parts. The first section transported readers to an unnamed interrogation center in Northern Syria, immersing them in the experiences of a captured young man following the collapse of Daesh. Drawing inspiration from real-life figures like El Shafee el-Sheikh, a Sudanese-origin individual living in the UK, this section provoked thought-provoking questions.
The second section transported readers back to Khartoum during the early 1970s, the Cold War era. It revolved around a passionate romance between Talal, a Sudanese architect, and Eve Holden, an American CIA operative, against the backdrop of a siege at the Saudi embassy.
The final section of the novel follows the Khartoum revolution and its aftermath, primarily through the perspective of Amal, a young woman embarking on a journey to Europe with a group of friends. The interwoven stories of the characters added depth and complexity to the narrative.
Meg Arenberg, Assistant Professor of Comparative Literature at The Africa Institute, moderated the session, providing valuable insights into the literary and cultural dimensions of Mahjoub’s work.
As part of the Tejumola Olaniyan Creative Writers-in-Residence Fellowship program, The Africa Institute hosted a workshop led by award recipient Jamal Mahjoub, a distinguished Sudanese-English novelist, on Tuesday, September 20, 2023. Mahjoub presented his upcoming novel and delivered a talk titled “The Invention of Place: On the Impossibility of Writing about Sudan and Why We Keep Doing It,” providing a platform for engaging in literary discussions that explored the complexities of Sudanese identity in literature.
As part of the Tejumola Olaniyan Creative Writers-in-Residence Fellowship program, The Africa Institute hosted a workshop led by award recipient Jamal Mahjoub, a distinguished Sudanese-English novelist, on Tuesday, September 20, 2023. Mahjoub presented his upcoming novel and delivered a talk titled “The Invention of Place: On the Impossibility of Writing about Sudan and Why We Keep Doing It,” providing a platform for engaging in literary discussions that explored the complexities of Sudanese identity in literature.
Mahjoub is one of the three writers selected to be part of the 2023 cohort of the Tejumola Olaniyan Creative Writers-in-Residence Fellowship program, which aims to honor the late Nigerian Professor Tejumola Olaniyan’s profound contributions to African literature and critical theory.
Born in London and raised in Khartoum, Mahjoub boasts a prolific writing career, including eight novels and one non-fiction book, all with a focus on Sudan. His rich and diverse life experiences, spanning various countries, have significantly influenced his storytelling. Additionally, Mahjoub has authored ten crime fiction novels under the pseudonym Parker Bilal, including the popular Makana series.
Mahjoub, known for his literary exploration of cultural identity and human connections, discussed his current novel project provisionally titled, “Songs of the Dispossessed” which explores a compelling narrative structured as a triptych in three parts. The first section transported readers to an unnamed interrogation center in Northern Syria, immersing them in the experiences of a captured young man following the collapse of Daesh. Drawing inspiration from real-life figures like El Shafee el-Sheikh, a Sudanese-origin individual living in the UK, this section provoked thought-provoking questions.
The second section transported readers back to Khartoum during the early 1970s, the Cold War era. It revolved around a passionate romance between Talal, a Sudanese architect, and Eve Holden, an American CIA operative, against the backdrop of a siege at the Saudi embassy.
The final section of the novel follows the Khartoum revolution and its aftermath, primarily through the perspective of Amal, a young woman embarking on a journey to Europe with a group of friends. The interwoven stories of the characters added depth and complexity to the narrative.
Meg Arenberg, Assistant Professor of Comparative Literature at The Africa Institute, moderated the session, providing valuable insights into the literary and cultural dimensions of Mahjoub’s work.
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