The First Woman – Reading with Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi

03.02.2023 / 19:00 – 21:00
With Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi

Moderated by Dzekashu Macviban

At the heart of Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi’s literary work is an unwavering commitment to genuinely African storytelling. Influenced by Ugandan myths and oral narration, her novels and short stories are primarily written with African readers in mind. Western audiences are also invited to join in reading—but under different conditions. With each book, Makumbi has therefore managed to push the boundaries of what qualifies as a universal story. Her latest novel, Die erste Frau (The First Woman), renews feminism as an African concept by placing a Ugandan myth at the center of a powerful story about a community of women. Drawing on folklore, mythology, and historical records, Makumbi shows that African women have always had a rich language to not only talk about patriarchy but also oppose it.

She has been an Artists-in-Berlin Program fellow since summer 2022 and is currently working on a new novel. In conversation with author, editor, and curator Dzekashu Macviban, Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi will present her latest book The First Woman, published for the first time in German last fall.

In cooperation with Interkontinental Verlag

Reading and conversation will be held in English.

Free admission

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