nthposition online magazine

Ron Singer

SingerSinger's interviews, essays, and reviews on African subjects have appeared in publications including Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Evergreen Review, The Georgia Review, nthposition, opendemocracy.net, Pambazuka News, Poets & Writers and The Wall Street Journal. During 2010-2011, he made three protracted visits to Africa to interview pro-democracy leaders for a book, Uhuru Revisited (Africa World Press/Red Sea Press, forthcoming).

That old-time (South African) religion

[ places - november 10 ]

"Forty-five minutes of teeth-jarring potholes, a left turn, a bounce or two up a rutted path, and there I am: Matol Guest House"

Heard on the road in South Africa

[ places - september 10 ]

"What's the difference between a black and a white cricket? The black ones are noisier." (Are there really white crickets?)

Nobody's fault

[ places - july 10 ]

We fail to notice many shades of grey in Africa

Conversations with a continent

[ politics | places - february 10 ]

A series of panels of experts on Africa was held in New York. We present summaries of these panels.

The parents we deserve

[ fiction - march 09 ]

"After eleven busy years, his wife's frequent wit, with its ambivalent edge, was finally getting to him."

Culture wars/war cultures

[ bookreviews ]

The zweikampf of the so-called Cold War has now been succeeded by a multitude of horrendous conflicts in the name of a multitude of plausible causes.

The rented pet

[ fiction - april 08 ]

"She recited her lead question quickly and matter-of-factly, before irresolution could mis-word it or falsify the intended tone. 'Do you rent dogs - or do you just train and sell them?'"

Sabo

[ places - march 08 ]

"When I began reading about the sabo, I was hoping to have unearthed a microcosm of Nigerian unity. Now I just hope the sarkin and his waziri are still in business..."

Norman's cousin

[ fiction - october 07 ]

"I do not keep photographs of people I detest, so I relied on my visual memory and a few quick viewings from crowds."

Taxi to (the) heaven(s)

[ fiction - september 07 ]

A short story about meetings.

A king's progress

[ places - august 07 ]

"The Yoruba word for 'white person' is oyinbo , which literally means 'peeled skin.' The joke was that I was literally an oyinbo ."