Reading West Africa: An Afternoon of West African Literature
September 30th, 3:00pm-4:00pm
Library Quiet Room L-413
Sigma Tau Delta
This afternoon of readings will highlight West Africa’s diverse voices and its rich literary history. It will include selections of prose, poetry, nonfiction, and drama, with all readings in English. Enjoy selections presented by students and friends of the Missouri Southern chapter of the English honor society Sigma Tau Delta. Co-sponsored and refreshments provided by Spiva Library.
West African Folktales at Joplin Public Library Story Time
October 4th, 10:30am
Joplin Public Library
Join us for an all-ages celebration of West African storytelling at the Joplin Public Library, where MSSU students will bring to life a vibrant collection of folktales and picture books. This event will showcase read-aloud tales like the clever adventures of Zomo the Rabbit and Susan Verde’s The Water Princess that tells the story of young Gie Gie, who dreams of bringing clean water to her village, which is inspired by real-life activist Georgie Badiel. The readings highlight resilience, hope, and the power of imagination. Following the readings, families are invited to participate in an activity inspired by the characters and themes of the stories. Come join in an exploration of the richness of West African storytelling, creativity, and community.
West African Folktales at MSSU
October 9th, 10am-11am
Corley Auditorium
You're invited to a joyful, story-filled morning as students share a vibrant collection of West African folktales with Head Start children. Listeners will be transported into the magical world of trickster tales and animal adventures – including Zomo the Rabbit, Anansi the Spider, and a lively tale in which a mosquito’s tall tale sets off a chain reaction of chaos, ultimately explaining why mosquitoes are forever buzzing in our ears. These stories celebrate cleverness, community, and the wonder of imagination—and they’ve been passed down through generations by master storytellers. Whether you're a curious child or a grown-up who loves a good tale, this reading promises laughter, learning, and a chance to travel across continents without ever leaving your seat.
Chinelo Okparanta’s award-winning debut short story collection Happiness, Like Water (2013) includes ten short stories featuring women in both their Nigerian homeland and navigating new homes in the United States. These stories are quiet, beautiful, finely crafted, and sometimes haunting. As a reviewer for AFREADA writes, “Here is a world marked by electricity outages, lush landscapes, folktales, buses that break down and never start up again. Here is a portrait of Nigerians that is surprising, shocking, heartrending, loving, and across social strata, dealing in every kind of change. Here are stories filled with language to make your eyes pause and your throat catch.”
Chinelo Okparanta was born and raised in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. She has earned degrees from Pennsylvania State University, Rutgers University, and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and is currently Associate Professor of English and Director of the Program in Creative Writing at Swarthmore College. In addition to Happiness, Like Water, she has written two novels and has published work in The New Yorker, Granta, Tin House, The Kenyon Review, AGNI, and other venues.
11:00 a.m. Saturday, October 18, 2025
The Book Nook, Kuhn Annex 118, MSSU
Snacks provided
Admission: Free
Hosted by Sigma Tau Delta English Honor Society; open to all
12:00 noon Wednesday, October 22, 2025
1:00 p.m. Wednesday, October 22, 2025
Spiva Library 410
Snacks provided
Admission: Free
Sponsored by Literary Lions; open to all
Happiness, Like Water
by
A triumphant collection of stories centered on Nigerian women as they build lives out of love and longing, the struggle to stay and the mandate to leave, by an award-winning writer who “is a certainly a voice to watch, and clearly deserves a place on any bookshelf beside fellow Nigerian authors Achebe and Adichie" (Bustle). What does happiness look like for the women in this acclaimed debut collection? Here is a cast of characters, in their Nigerian homeland and abroad, who whose world is marked by lush landscapes, historical legend and lively folktales, and the search for identity at all costs. You'll meet mothers who will go to the ends of the earth for their children and daughters who will love whomever they want--even if that means risking everything, even their own lives. Spanning generations, transcending social strata, and crossing the boundaries between duty and desire, the stories in this collection are rendered with “such strength and intimacy, such lucidity and composure, that in each and every case the truths of their lives detonate deep inside the reader's heart, with the power and force of revelation" (Paul Harding). ¶ “The work of a sure and gifted new writer."--Julie Otsuka
Happiness, Like Water - Libby eBook
by
Winner of the O. Henry Award. "A haunting and startlingly original collection of short stories about the lives of Nigerians both at home and in America."--Julie Otsuka, national bestselling author Here are Nigerian women at home and transplanted to the United States, building lives out of longing and hope, faith and doubt, the struggle to stay and the mandate to leave, the burden and strength of love. Here are characters faced with dangerous decisions, children slick with oil from the river, a woman in love with another despite the penalties. Here is a world marked by electricity outages, lush landscapes, folktales, buses that break down and never start up again. Here is a portrait of Nigerians that is surprising, shocking, heartrending, loving, and across social strata, dealing in every kind of change. Here are stories filled with language to make your eyes pause and your throat catch. Happiness, Like Water introduces a true talent, a young writer with a beautiful heart and a capacious imagination. "Astonishing. Okparanta's narrators render their stories with such strength and intimacy, such lucidity and composure, that in each and every case the truths of their lives detonate deep inside the reader's heart, with the power and force of revelation."--Paul Harding, Pulitzer Prize-winning author "Intricate, graceful prose propels Okparanta's profoundly moving and illuminating book. I devoured these stories and immediately wanted more. This is an arrival."--NoViolet Bulawayo, award-winning author of We Need New Names "Okparanta's prose is tender, beautiful and evocative. These powerful stories of contemporary Nigeria are told with compassion and a certain sense of humor. What a remarkable new talent."--Chika Unigwe, author of Night Dancer
In Adwoa Badoe’s coming-of-age novel Aluta, Charlotte’s first year at university includes classes, a sophisticated and kind older roommate, parties, boyfriends and—mid-way through the year—the overthrow of the government by a military coup d’etat and the subsequent political turmoil. Set in 1981 Ghana, the novel follows Charlotte as she is drawn into the world of student politics and caught up in a dangerous nightmare when national security picks her up on a way to a clandestine meeting. The novel blends the ordinary world of a college student finding her way with the extraordinary backdrop of fraught Ghanian politics.
Adwoa Badoe is the author of 20 books for children and young adults. She is also a storyteller who has written, produced and recorded works for stage. She was raised in Ghana and attended university there and now lives in Guelph, Ontario. On her website, she explains “The reason I write is to help create a better future. I do that largely by observing daily life and exploring the past. I feel privileged to write for children and young adults because they are the future we all hope for.”
11:00 a.m. Saturday, November 15, 2025
The Book Nook, Kuhn Annex 118, MSSU
Snacks provided
Admission: Free
Hosted by Sigma Tau Delta English Honor Society; open to all
Aluta - Libby eBook
by
University life is better than Charlotte ever dreamed, but her exposure to new ideas in 1981 Ghana will be an exciting and dangerous adventure. For eighteen-year-old Charlotte, university life is better than she'd ever dreamed - a sophisticated and generous roommate, the camaraderie of dorm living, parties, clubs and boyfriends. Most of all, Charlotte is exposed to new ideas, and in 1981 Ghana, this may be the most exciting - and most dangerous - adventure of all. At first Charlotte basks in her wonderful new freedom, especially being out of the watchful eye of her controlling and opinionated father. She suddenly finds herself with no shortage of male attention, including her charismatic political science professor, fellow student activist Banahene, and Asare, a wealthy oil broker who invites Charlotte to travel with him and showers her with expensive gifts, including a coveted passport. But Ghana is fraught with a history of conflict. And in the middle of her freshman year, the government is overthrown, and three judges are abducted and murdered. As political forces try to mobilize students to advance their own agendas, Charlotte is drawn into the world of student politics. She's good at it, she's impassioned, and she's in love with Banahene. "The struggle continues! Aluta! Aluta continua!" she shouts, rallying the crowd with the slogan of the oppressed. But her love of the spotlight puts her in the public eye. And when Asare entrusts her with a mysterious package of documents, she suddenly realizes she may be in real danger. But it's too late. As she is on her way to a meeting, Charlotte is picked up by national security, and her worst nightmares come true. And in the end, she must make a difficult and complicated decision about whether to leave her education, and her beloved Ghana, behind. A heartfelt story told with uncompromising honesty, about what happens when youthful idealism meets the harsh realities of power.
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