Veronique Tadjo On Stage - Ake Festival 2022 Headliner

Academic and artist Veronique Tadjo has been on the scene for some time and it is an absolute honour to have her here with us as the Aké Arts and Book Festival 2022 headliner. Kinna Likimani will discuss her journey as a writer, whilst focusing on In the Company of Men which has won The Los Angeles Times Book Prize; Harper's Bazaar's Best Book of the Year; Boston Globe's Best Book of the Year; Boston Globe's Best Book of the Year; Ms. Magazine's Best Feminist Book of the Year and Words Without Borders' Best Translated Book of the Year. Drawing on real accounts of the Ebola outbreak that devastated West Africa, this poignant, timely fable reflects on both the strength and the fragility of life and humanity's place in the world. Two boys venture from their village to hunt in a nearby forest, where they shoot down bats with glee, and cook their prey over an open fire. Within a month, they are dead, bodies ravaged by an insidious disease. Told in a series of moving snapshots, Véronique Tadjo illustrates the terrible extent of the Ebola epidemic, through the eyes of those affected. In the Company of Men explores critical questions about how we cope with a global crisis while combating fear and prejudice. Veronique Tadjo's novels and books of poems include Latérite, As The Crow Flies, A mi-chemin, The Blind Kingdom; The Shadow of Imana: Travels in the Heart of Rwanda; Queen Pokou; Far from My Father and In the Company of Men. She has written ten children’s books.