African Exile

Venice Film Festival 2026 / 15 September 2026 ‘We don’t question the CIA activity as much as we ought to’ 15 September 2026 RITA DI SANTO assesses the winners of the most politically charged festival to date

KATARZYNA KOSMALA introduces a retrospective by one of the most significant figures in contemporary US photography

MAYER WAKEFIELD is entertained but let down by an audacious production that, sadly, doesn't ring true

MARY CONWAY is disappointed by drama that, despite accomplished performances, cannot overcome an unfocused script

New releases from Sam Carter, Spell Songs and Les Thomas

Dragged from her home. Shipped like a commodity, put up for sale, auctioned off as property. Passed from hand to hand. Always a temporary place.

Shadows on the glittering eyes. Sun warming palm-oiled surfaces. Tender care of years, Lustre of love.

Now she stands on the edge of my table. Solemn statue, frozen in the act of remembering. Eyes looking through walls at scenes of lost innocence. Joyous songs of community lacing the paths. Flower-laughs of children, planted along the way. A canopy of dancers weaving histories. Stories of Anansi, and the kings of old.

There, in the still evening, forest voices flow. The barking cry of Mokele Mbembe, mingling with the crackling fires. A chorus of creatures in the softer darkness. From far away, The reassuring hornbill. Singing her home.

The object referred to is a fertility statue of the Fang people of Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Cameroon.

M Chambers is a professional archaeologist and writer from Guisborough, Yorkshire. 

21st Century Poetry / 2 September 2026 To be a Woman - in Afghanistan 2 September 2026 by Marwa Paikan