Seesaw
Author: Timothy Ogene
Format: Paperback
Number of Pages: 256
A 'recovering writer' - his first novel having been littered with typos andselling only fifty copies - Frank Jasper is plucked from obscurity in PortJumbo in Nigeria by Mrs Kirkpatrick, a white woman and wife of an American professor, to attend the prestigious William Blake Program for EmergingWriters in Boston. Once there, however, it becomes painfully clear that he and the other Fellowsare expected to meet certain obligations as representatives of their 'cultures.'His colleagues, veterans of residencies in Europe and America, know how toplay up to the stereotypes expected of them, but Frank isn't interested in beingthe African Writer at William Blake - any anyway, there is another Fellow,Barongo Akello Kabumba, who happily fills that role. Eventually expelled from the fellowship for 'non-performance' and 'non-participation,' Frank Jasper sets off on trip to visit his father's college friend inNebraska - where he learns not only surprising truths about his father, but alsohow to parlay his experiences into a lucrative new career once he returns toNigeria: as a commentator on American life... Seesaw is an energetic comedy of cultural dislocation - and in its humour, intelligence and piety-pricking, it is a refreshing and hugely enjoyable act ofliterary rebellion.
Format: Paperback
Number of Pages: 256
A 'recovering writer' - his first novel having been littered with typos andselling only fifty copies - Frank Jasper is plucked from obscurity in PortJumbo in Nigeria by Mrs Kirkpatrick, a white woman and wife of an American professor, to attend the prestigious William Blake Program for EmergingWriters in Boston. Once there, however, it becomes painfully clear that he and the other Fellowsare expected to meet certain obligations as representatives of their 'cultures.'His colleagues, veterans of residencies in Europe and America, know how toplay up to the stereotypes expected of them, but Frank isn't interested in beingthe African Writer at William Blake - any anyway, there is another Fellow,Barongo Akello Kabumba, who happily fills that role. Eventually expelled from the fellowship for 'non-performance' and 'non-participation,' Frank Jasper sets off on trip to visit his father's college friend inNebraska - where he learns not only surprising truths about his father, but alsohow to parlay his experiences into a lucrative new career once he returns toNigeria: as a commentator on American life... Seesaw is an energetic comedy of cultural dislocation - and in its humour, intelligence and piety-pricking, it is a refreshing and hugely enjoyable act ofliterary rebellion.
Description
Author: Timothy Ogene
Format: Paperback
Number of Pages: 256
A 'recovering writer' - his first novel having been littered with typos andselling only fifty copies - Frank Jasper is plucked from obscurity in PortJumbo in Nigeria by Mrs Kirkpatrick, a white woman and wife of an American professor, to attend the prestigious William Blake Program for EmergingWriters in Boston. Once there, however, it becomes painfully clear that he and the other Fellowsare expected to meet certain obligations as representatives of their 'cultures.'His colleagues, veterans of residencies in Europe and America, know how toplay up to the stereotypes expected of them, but Frank isn't interested in beingthe African Writer at William Blake - any anyway, there is another Fellow,Barongo Akello Kabumba, who happily fills that role. Eventually expelled from the fellowship for 'non-performance' and 'non-participation,' Frank Jasper sets off on trip to visit his father's college friend inNebraska - where he learns not only surprising truths about his father, but alsohow to parlay his experiences into a lucrative new career once he returns toNigeria: as a commentator on American life... Seesaw is an energetic comedy of cultural dislocation - and in its humour, intelligence and piety-pricking, it is a refreshing and hugely enjoyable act ofliterary rebellion.
Format: Paperback
Number of Pages: 256
A 'recovering writer' - his first novel having been littered with typos andselling only fifty copies - Frank Jasper is plucked from obscurity in PortJumbo in Nigeria by Mrs Kirkpatrick, a white woman and wife of an American professor, to attend the prestigious William Blake Program for EmergingWriters in Boston. Once there, however, it becomes painfully clear that he and the other Fellowsare expected to meet certain obligations as representatives of their 'cultures.'His colleagues, veterans of residencies in Europe and America, know how toplay up to the stereotypes expected of them, but Frank isn't interested in beingthe African Writer at William Blake - any anyway, there is another Fellow,Barongo Akello Kabumba, who happily fills that role. Eventually expelled from the fellowship for 'non-performance' and 'non-participation,' Frank Jasper sets off on trip to visit his father's college friend inNebraska - where he learns not only surprising truths about his father, but alsohow to parlay his experiences into a lucrative new career once he returns toNigeria: as a commentator on American life... Seesaw is an energetic comedy of cultural dislocation - and in its humour, intelligence and piety-pricking, it is a refreshing and hugely enjoyable act ofliterary rebellion.
Seesaw