asked novelist Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor to choose five books by Anglophone African writers. From the beginning, she stumps me. “I cheated a little,” she says. “I included one from so-called Francophone Africa and another from Lusophone, but they’re translated into English.” When I ask her why, she returns readily, “I want to get away from the silos. Even within our own spaces, [I want to] elevate the story no matter where it is from, from within the continent.” She smiles. “We miss out on the immensity and diversity of stories that come from the other language areas. [There’s] incredible literature, say from the Francophone or Lusophone world, that informs and actually speaks to the so-called African
