The doctor sits me on a table and asks me to stick out my tongue.
I do.

I ask him if he sees the paintings I carry in the back of my throat.
He laughs as if I’m telling a joke,
I’m not.

I’ve got Basquiat, Schiele, Van Gogh, and Da Vinci
so when I laugh, I taste brushstrokes.

I ask him if he can stick out his tongue
so I can see what he has trapped inside of him.

He hesitates a little then he does and I see a man who
struggles for acceptance and chokes on the word
Love.

- Lacey Roop, from “The Parts of Humans Science Can’t Explain”

So this Zengeza MP is sure the explosion was witchcraft. I keep saying it: 98% of Zimbabweans are literate. The other 2% are politicians. (via Cynic Harare)

You don’t get to choose who handles your heart. There are simply people who were born with it in their teeth. When you meet them, it is best to build a bomb shelter. Tara Hardy (via fleurishes.tumblr.com)

“Lightning ruled out in Chitungwiza blast”

This is a headline, which appeared in a local tabloid as a follow up on the mysterious blast that leveled a house and killed five people in Chitungwiza on Monday. Some shoddy journalism suggested that lightning might have caused the blast. Media houses capitalized on Zimbabwe’s information hunger pushing up their sales by giving half-baked stories. I noticed the competition among the media to carry the catchiest headline but as you read the stories they all pointed to the “lightning belief”. Zimbabwe is an information-starved society and this was illustrated by the rate at which this story was covered on social platforms like Facebook. Details continue to emerge from the investigations by the police. Maybe our journalists need to be on the ground to cover these investigations and close this information gap rather than rely on hearsay theories from misinformed sources.

African Guest Researchers’ Scholarship
Deadline: 1 April 2013

This scholarship programme is directed at scholars in Africa, engaged in research on the African continent. Female researchers are especially encouraged to apply for these scholarships.

The purpose of the programme
One important task of the Nordic Africa Institute is to establish and maintain relations with African research communities. This is inter alia carried out through a Guest Researchers’ Scholarship Programme, the aim of which is to provide opportunities for African scholars to pursue their own research projects, thereby indirectly strengthening the academic milieux in African countries, and promoting scholarly exchange with Nordic research communities.

Who can apply?
The Guest Researchers’ Scholarship Programme is directed at scholars in Africa engaged in research on/about the African continent and with a proven track record of extensive research experience. The applicant should be placed at or affiliated with an African university or other African research institution. We would especially like to encourage women to apply for these scholarships.

Applications are invited from scholars with research projects related to current thematic research clusters at the Institute:
-Agrarian Change, Property and Resources
-Conflict, Displacement and Transformation
-Globalization, Trade and Regional Integration
-Urban Dynamics

Find out more