The 26th Lagos Book & Art Festival (LABAF 2024) is set to feature a keynote address by Akin Adesokan, a professor of Comparative Literature and Cinema and Media Studies at Indiana University, Bloomington, USA. Adesokan, an acclaimed novelist, poet, translator, and essayist, will deliver his address on Friday, November 15, 2024, at the Freedom Park, Lagos Island.
His keynote, titled “The Pitfalls of Memory from Hope to Despair and Reckoning,” will explore themes from Wọle Ṣoyinka’s Nobel lecture “This Past Must Address Its Present” and the 2003 documentary “The Return of Sara Baartman.” This will be Adesokan’s second appearance at LABAF in 11 years, having previously participated in 2013.
LABAF 2024, dubbed the “country’s biggest culture picnic,” will run from November 11 to 17, 2024, with a focus on books that examine the theme BREAKOUT: HOPE IS A STUBBORN THING. The colloquium, where Adesokan will speak, is the main plenary of the festival. Following the keynote, a panel discussion with the subtheme Reclaiming the Moment will review Ayi Kwei Armah’s wat nt shemsw: The Way of Companions and Mark Manson’s Everything Is Fcked: A Book about Hope.*
The festival, dedicated to Professor Wọle Ṣoyinka, will highlight books that discuss hope, resilience, and perseverance, important themes in navigating Nigeria’s current societal challenges. Other notable figures participating in LABAF include Kunle Ajibade, who will chair Adesokan’s address, as well as Deji Toye and Dipo Ogunbiyi on the colloquium panel.
With the inclusion of books by authors like Chigozie Obioma, Mukoma Wa Ngugi, Laila Lalami, and Chibundu Onuzo, LABAF 2024 promises to be an insightful gathering of literature and intellectual discourse.