Yejide Kilanko Writers in Residence Archives
Yejide Kilanko was born in Ibadan, Nigeria, and lives in Ontario, Canada, where she practices as a social worker. Kilanko’s debut novel, Daughters Who Walk This Path, is a Canadian national bestseller. The novel was longlisted for the 2016 Nigeria Literature Prize. Kilanko’s work includes a novella, Chasing Butterflies (2015), and two children’s picture books, There Is An Elephant in My Wardrobe (2019) and Juba and the Fireball (2020). You can find Kilanko’s short fiction on Brittle Paper, Joyland, New Orleans Review Issue 43, 2017: The African Literary Hustle, and Agbowó. Her latest novel, A Good Name, is out now. When she’s not busy with life, you’ll find Kilanko online playing simultaneous games of Scrabble.
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October 29, 2021SOLITARY FANTASIES
If one is lucky, a solitary fantasy can totally transform one million realities.― Maya AngelouWe have arrived at my final writer-in-residence blog post. For me, it was indeed an October to Remember. I ...
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October 25, 2021WE MOVE
While doing life, Nigerians use the slang “we move” to capture the dogged determination needed to plow through difficult situations. It’s a clarion call for better.Over the years, I have come across ...
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October 22, 2021RIDING THE WAVES
Marigold stood, held up her fist and struck a defiant pose as she recited William Ernest Henley’s “Invictus.” Out of the night that covers me,Black as the pit from pole to pole,I thank whatever ...
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October 18, 2021MUSICAL MAGIC
Welcome back. Today, I am talking about magic, soul-stirring musical magic.My idea of a relaxing evening is these achy feet raised on my dependable ottoman, a big mug of hot milky tea nestled in my hands, ...
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October 15, 2021MUSE ON THE LAM
Today’s post is about what to do when your muse goes AWOL. When your muse is a contrarian like mine is, getting them to show up for work often requires lengthy debates. Who has that extra time?The ...
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October 11, 2021PECULIAR TIMES
Write at the edges of the day.― Toni MorrisonI was a thirty-four old woman with three children under the age of eight when I got the bright idea to write my first novel. I was also working outside the ...
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October 04, 2021BIRTHDAY GIRL
I like living. I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow; but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing.― Agatha ChristieIt ...
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October 01, 2021AN OCTOBER TO REMEMBER
Odò ti ó bá gbàgbé orisun gbi gbẹ ló ngbẹ.― Yoruba ProverbWelcome to my October To Remember! It is an absolute pleasure to be Open Book’s October 2021 writer-in-residence. If you missed ...