Abstract

After a contextualizing introduction, the following interview with the Nigerian writer Elnathan John explores the relation of his work to some key themes of this essay cluster: religious belief, social life, and the literary representation thereof. It begins by discussing the reception of John's novel Born on a Tuesday in light of the differences between Boko Haram as an international phenomenon and the novel's more regional focus. John then explains the significance of northern Nigerian almajirai, in particular, to his imagining of both Muslim education and the Nigerian state. The interview concludes with reflections on literary multilingualism and translation.

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