I spoke to the Institute of Arts and Ideas about the below key themes in Sensuous Knowledge. What is sensuous knowledge compared to euro-patriarchal knowledge? How can black feminism provide a critique of euro-patriarchal knowledge? How is joy inherently political for black women, and how does it arise? Can euro-patriarchal knowledge be changed within the…
The question of blackness in writing
How do contemporary African artists, curators and writers deal with the question of blackness in our work? How does blackness inform the creative process? I’m really looking forward to sharing these discussions in an event titled “Blackness in Contemporary Art Practice” taking place online at the Tate Modern on Tuesday, 2 June. Join us as…
A Black Feminist Approach to Life
I had a fun book event at Columbia University last week titled “A Black Feminist Approach to Life” where I spoke to the lovely Abigail Ony Nwaohuocha about Sensuous Knowledge and SO much more. You can catch the talk on Vimeo or watch it below.
Without feeling, knowledge becomes stale. Without reason, it becomes indelicate.
I grew up in Lagos in Nigeria, in a multifaith household, where I lived with my parents and my extended family. Lagos is a very cosmopolitan city, drawing in many different ethnicities of Nigeria, but also from Africa and around the world. My mother was Finnish, and my father is Nigerian Yoruba. He is a…
Goldilocks Syndrome – A creative nonfiction essay about decolonisation
I’m delighted to have a creative nonfiction essay about decolonisation in the spring issue of World Literature Today titled Goldilock Syndrome. The issue commemorates the centennial of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre but also emphasizes the current state of black multicultural vitality in the 21st century, anchored in the US but rippling out on a…
MsAfropolitan curates “Oya’s Daughters: Connecting Black African Feminisms Around the World”
I’m thrilled to be collaborating with the Africa Centre in New York on an event titled Oya’s Daughters: Connecting Black African Feminisms Around the World. Although there are many important Black feminists conversations taking place in Africa, in the UK, in the US, in Latin America and the Caribbean, I have long craved more cross-regional…
De-centring whiteness in black liberation
Most eras end imperceptibly – and most eras also end abruptly. It may seem a contradiction that social change is both barely noticeable and drastic, but history teaches us that this frequently is the case. All of a sudden there is a shift, and long-held cultural symbols, social patterns, or value systems are no longer…
A better way to talk about oppression is as a ‘crisis of relationship’
This blog is the English version of an OpEd I wrote for EL PAÍS published 21.12.20. The original version in Spanish can be read here. Let’s begin by saying that we are living through a time of peak oppression. This fact can’t be denied. After the disastrous events of 2020, even those who may be…
Exousiance – a series of essays on love and power
I’m producing a series of essays on love and power for Emerge, a platform highlighting ways of thinking that are sowing the seeds of a new civilisation. The series are centred around Exousiance, a concept I coined in Sensuous Knowledge with the purpose to reimagine power. Exousiance interweaves the nonhuman natural world, feminist theory, mythopoetic…
Sensuous Knowledge audiobook narrated by Robin Miles
I’m thrilled to share that actor Robin Miles is the narrator of Sensuous Knowledge. Robin is a multiple-award-winning, grammy finalist whose impressive list of book performances include N.K. Jemisin’s “Broken Earth” trilogy, Aminatta Forna’s “Happiness”, Chimamanda Adichie’s “Half of a Yellow Sun”, several bell hooks books, Maaza Mengiste’s “The Shadow King” and Nnedi Okorafor’s “Binti”….
New questions for the world, old pleas for black feminism
A poem by the Somali-British poet, Warsan Shire, goes, “later that nighti held an atlas in my lapran my fingers across the whole worldand whisperedwhere does it hurt?it answeredeverywhereeverywhereeverywhere.” Her words piercingly describe the events of the past few weeks and months. The world hurts everywhere – every region, every nation, every river, every home…
Sensuous Knowledge – launching a book in a pandemic
It is almost exactly one week since the World Health organisation declared a coronavirus pandemic. It’s as though we are living in a World War. This feeling hit me strongly when Nigeria closed its borders to UK flights, which was well overdue, but nevertheless left me with a piercing sense of estrangement. Certainly, these are…
What to do when everything seems to be falling apart? Covid-19 and more.
It’s increasingly clear that most people are dissatisfied with the governing of the world. Even those who can’t articulate exactly what disturbs them know intuitively that we’re on the wrong path. The majority of people want governments to preserve the planet. They want to be less overworked. They want to co-exist and accept others’ differences…
Blackness as a character in Queen & Slim
Steamy sex and clashing protests. Is the overlapping of a sex scene and a protest scene halfway through Melina Matsoukas’s film Queen & Slim morally correct? Unimpressed reviewers don’t seem to think so. The connecting thread in critical pieces about the movie, some deeply engaging, is the view that juxtaposing these two particular scenes was…
What quality do we need for feminist change in the future?
Happy New Year! I’m especially excited about two things in 2020. Firstly, the 10th anniversary of my blog on 16 March. Then three days later, on 19 March, the UK book launch for Sensuous Knowledge, my debut collection of interwoven essays that centre womanhood, African Studies, black feminism, philosophy, personal narrative, myth, art and culture…
Sensuous Knowledge: A Black Feminist Approach for Everyone – Cover Reveal
In Sensuous Knowledge, Minna Salami draws on Africa-centric, feminist-first and artistic traditions to help us rediscover inclusive and invigorating ways of experiencing the world afresh.
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