Ondjaki biography

He has written poetry, children's books, short stories, novels, drama and film scripts.
Ndalu de Almeida is a writer born in Angola who uses the pen name Ondjaki.
Ondjaki, born in Luanda, Angola in 1977, is the author of nearly twenty books, including novels, collections of short stories and poems, and children's.

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Lecture by Ondjaki: “History and War in Angolan Literature”

Speakers): Ondjaki

Ondjaki is a young Angolan writer and actor who has already achieved tremendous critical acclaim internationally. We are privileged to host him at Stanford and look forward to an unusual and exciting presentation on a literature that is often overlooked.

Abstract: Beginning with historical facts, it is possible to find both political and literary bridges between reality and fiction in Angolan literature. This seminar will demonstrate an approach to historical occurances through some of the most significant figures in Angolan history. It begins with the commencement of the Armed Struggle in 1961, explores the later participation of Cuban troops in the consolidation of independence and finally considers the last period of the civil war, from 1992 – 2002. It is a brief journey though the history and literature of Angola.

Bibliography: Ondjaki was born in Luanda in 1977. A writer and poet, he also works in film and has recently co-directed a documentary about entitled “Oxalá cresçam pitangas – hi

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Ondjaki, chosen by The Guardian in 2012 as one of their "Top Five African Writers," is one of the most widely read younger writers in Africa. Born in 1977, he is the author of more than twenty books which have been published in more than a dozen languages. Ondjaki's latest novel, Transparent City, a wrenching, sometimes surreal and always deeply human portrait of his native city of Luanda, Angola, won the coveted José Saramago Prize in Portugal, the Best African Novel Prize in France and a World Literature Prize from the St. Malo Literary Festival. As part of an extensive North American tour, Ondjaki will be visiting The Bookshelf in Guelph, where he will discuss Transparent City with his English translator, Stephen Henighan.

Upcoming TALK:

Writing the African City

A conversation with Angolan novelist Ondjaki about his
multiple-award-winning novel Transparent City

Tuesday October 23, 7:00 p.m

The Bookshelf - 41 quebec Street, Guelph

FREE AND OEN TO THE PUBLIC

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Ondjaki

— I change my literary language with each book I write. It depends on the tale I want to tell, the era it belongs to, the style and who the characters are. I don’t need to use my Portuguese language to defend something or take action against something. I was born into a Portuguese language which was, and is, Angolan. But many Portuguese languages exist in Angola. It’s not just the difference between Luanda and other places. The way of speaking varies according to social class, also, or according to place, or according to the personal interpretation that each person makes of their language. The Portuguese language in Angola, whether used by a citizen in daily life, by a child, by a woman who sells things in the street, by a sea-shell seller, a politician or a writer, is a singular instrument of self-expression and creation. It’s even each person’s private theatre.