Fifteen specially commissioned essays from distinguished authors explore the place of the writer, past and present, the value of critical thinking, and the power of the written word. Their work articulates ‘brave new words’ at the heart of battles against limitations on fundamental rights of citizenship, the closure of national borders, fake news, and an increasing reluctance to engage with critical democratic debate. Contributors include Eva Hoffman, Romesh Gunesekera, Githa Hariharan, James Kelman, Tabish Khair, Kei Miller, Blake Morrison, Mukoma wa Ngugi, Hsiao-Hung Pai, Olumide Popoola, Shivanee Ramlochan, Bina Shah, Raja Shehadeh and Marina Warner.
About the author
Susheila Nasta MBE is Editor-in-Chief of Wasafiri, the magazine of international contemporary writing she founded in 1984. A literary activist, writer and presenter, she has published widely on postcolonial and contemporary writing, and is co-editor of the first Cambridge History of Black and Asian British Writing. She was appointed MBE in 2011 for her services to black and Asian literature. In 2019 she was elected an Honorary Fellow by the Royal Society of Literature and awarded the Benson Medal for a lifetime of exceptional service to the subject. She is Professor of Modern and Contemporary Literatures at Queen Mary University of London and Emerita at the Open University. She lives in Greenwich in London.