"This charismatic memoir by an acclaimed artist and academic brims with energy as it interweaves his personal coming-of-age story with socio-political insights."
In The Jive Talker, artist, author and academic Samson Kambalu has created an illuminating memoir that follows his journey from a Malawi-born boy who loved philosophy, football and fashion, to a globally-acclaimed artist, associate professor of fine art at Ruskin College and fellow at Magdalen College, Oxford.
Amidst the exuberance and turmoil of childhood in Malawi, Kambalu is clear that he “began to regard myself as an artist when I was seven years old, a few days after I started school at Chitawira Full Primary. We were learning how to read clock faces. In one arithmetic exercise, my answers were all wrong but my teacher still gave me ten out of ten because my clock faces looked good. She said I was an artist.”
This artist’s eye permeates the entire book, with splendidly descriptive writing showcasing Kambalu’s artistic verve. Heart-breaking on the loss of his father, with the preface highlighting how his deceased mother’s presence permeates the book, The Jive Talker dances with wit — this is autobiography at its immersive, illuminating best.
| Primary Genre | Biographies & Autobiographies |
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