‘Madonna is our Mother’: Notes from Malawi’ at Zomba City Festival and in Blantyre
Logos Open Culture took author Muti Phoya of ‘Madonna is our mother’: notes from Malawi on a book tour of southern Malawi this past weekend.
On Friday, with an intimate audience, Muti read from and discussed his latest work – a collection of essays that reflects on postcolonial Malawi – at Malawi’s oldest standing building, Mandala House, in Blantyre. The event was hosted by the art gallery, shop and cafe, La Caverna.
The next evening, at KwaHaraba Art Gallery and Cafe in central Blantyre, Muti sat head to head with John Lwanda, Malawian social historian and author of the seminal work Making Music in Malawi that Logos Open Culture published in 2021. Hopeful and reflective discussions on Malawi’s journey in nation building took the audience into the night.
On Sunday, the M3 took Muti from Blantyre to the Zomba City Festival. Logos Open Culture was there the whole weekend selling wonderful books and content on and from Malawi. Muti joined poets at The Heritage Centre for a book reading and discussion.
Am I even on vacation if I don’t splurge on books?
Just got these three beauties after @mutiphoya‘s Book Reading made me realize how little work I have read on Malawi?. #ZCF23 pic.twitter.com/f5pzHRRn9E
— Mquzama Reviews (@MquzamaReviews) April 30, 2023
‘Madonna’ book events in picture
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- Muti Phoya reads at La Caverna
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- Muti Phoya at KwaHaraba in Blantyre for readings of ‘Madonna is our Mother’: Notes from Malawi
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- Muti Phoya at The Heritage Centre for Zomba City Festival
About the book
In the collection of essays, Muti Michael Phoya reflects on the shifting character of postcolonial Malawi. Focusing mainly on the land and memory, the book paints a nuanced picture of a modern African country through its fascinating history.
African Arguments and Brittle Paper has listed ‘Madonna is our Mother’: Notes from Malawi among the most anticipated books out of Africa this year.
About the author
Author, Muti Michael Phoya
Muti, the author, has been engaging with Malawi’s story since 2000. He has written several books of fiction and non-fiction, including the best-selling Malawi, Lake of Stars. Muti contributed to the Society of Malawi Journal, and the influential pan-African blog, Africa is a Country. He won the Peer Gynt literary award in 2005 and was the Goethe-Institut Moving Africa scholar in 2011.
