Imaginary Worlds

African Sci-Fi Looks to a Future Climate


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When the writer Nnedi Okorafor coined the term Africanfuturism, she wanted to distinguish sci-fi written about Africa from Afrofuturism, which is focuses on the experiences of Black people in the diaspora. Africanfuturism mixes the traditional with the futuristic in a way that resembles modern life in Africa, and many of these stories grapple with climate change. Although the writer Chinelo Onwualu says cli-fi isn’t a subgenre for African writers. It’s often baked into a lot of Africanfuturism because the continent is already at the forefront of climate emergencies. And the writers Suyi Davies Okungbowa and Wole Talabi explain that Africanfuturist cli-fi isn’t as dystopian as Western cli-fi. These visions of the future may feel daunting but there is often a sense of hope and the solutions are more community focused. The actress Nneka Okoye reads from their stories, and other works by African writers.

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Reading list from this episode:

  • Works of Nnedi Okorafor
  • Wole Talabi’s anthology Convergence Problems
  • Suyi Davies Okungbowa's novella Lost Ark Dreaming
  • Chinelo Onwualu’s short story Letters to My Mother
  • Dilman Dila’s story The Leafy Man from the book A Killing in the Sun
  • Mame Bougouma’s story Lekki Lekki from Africanfuturism: An Anthology
  • Omenana Magazine
  • Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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    Imaginary WorldsBy Eric Molinsky | QCODE

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