I’m currently in Ann Arbor, Michigan as part of the Little Brown Mushroom World Tour. Tonight my host dropped me off at Dawn Treader Book Shop. The treasure for the day was ‘How to Avoid Corner Corner Love and Win Good Love From Girls.’ It isn’t a photobook, but it has an excellent photographic cover and only cost me $6.50.
The book comes from Onitsha, Nigeria. It isn’t dated, but probably comes from the mid-1960’s. It exemplifies the genre called African Market Literature. It represents Africa’s first popular literature and is closely tied to their oral storytelling tradition. Part of the pleasure of this genre is what the African Market authority Kurt Thometz calls ‘Mad English.’ Note some of the other fantastic titles in the series (click to enlarge):
Damn you.
My previous post on African Market Literature mentioned Kurt Thometz. I did a little research on Mr. Thometz and found out that (1) He is a Minnesota native (2) he is an interesting guy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ix9KqIn-1Z4
How to Get a Lady In Love!!!
amazing
alec:
got two famous translations quotes which should be African Market novels….
from a temple in Bangkok, in English:
“It is forbidden to enter a woman even a foreigner if dressed as a man.”
and my favorite, from a car rental place in Tokyo than my student once sent me…
“When passenger of foot heave in sight, tootle the horn. Trumpet him melodiously at first, but if he still obstacles your passage then tootle him with vigor.”
i’m working on a photo essay entitled
“if he still obstacles your passage, tootle him with vigor” :))))
running
b
Thanks Bob. If we ever meet, I hope you’ll tootle me with vigor.
Dawn Treader is a great bookstore. I found and purchased a nice copy of Carl de Keyzer’s “East of Eden” there in 98 or so.
what? NO WAY!
“Money hard to get because the World is Hard”
only you Alec, only you!
Alec Soth claims to be on a World tour, but I have my doubts.
This has recently come up:
http://wcco.com/local/police.boy.scout.2.1464881.html
And I have personally received a report that the crack Brown Mushroom staff has been trying to pin this crime on a drifter that plays the violin and sleeps inside a fridge.
Is this so called “world tour” just a cover? Will we soon see that the poor Boy Scouts have been used so Mr Soth can make another of his well known videos?
L.R.M.
Alec ;))
well, if my wife allows (she will, she’s totally openminded) and your wife allows, i’ll toot u with vigor when we meet :))))
but only if we can exchanged hand-made books :))))…
i’ve made one too :))
tootles ;))
b