Presenting at the English Academy of Southern Africa conference

A few weeks ago, I attended the The English Academy of Southern Africa conference in Pretoria, on the theme of Peripheral Identities and Entanglement, and presented a paper on Akwaeke Emezi’s debut novel, Freshwater.

There was something particular about walking back onto the campus where I studied from undergraduate to master’s, and worked for 9 years. I felt very emotional walking around on campus and seeing spots that are both very familiar and feel very far away. The conference itself was a wonderful experience, and I loved being there as a confident PhD, as opposed to the wide-eyed youth I once was.