In an effort to highlight the richness and beauty of African arts and culture, ONE is turning to its community of artists and friends and asking them to give us their top picks on the latest trends coming out of the continent. Our first guest contributor is Vusi Mahlasela – a South African singer-songwriter, poet-Activist and guitarist, who simply known as “The Voice” in his home country.

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I first met Nigerian author Chris Abani at a conference in Tanzania and was immediately captured by his amazing ability to tell a story and by his gift for finding a balance between good and evil– for finding the silver lining in bad situations. Abani has a lot of insight from his own experiences growing up as a refugee in exile and this insight is evident in his writing. He is one of the greatest authors from Africa and his voice should be heard throughout the world. I really recommend all of his novels, especially Graceland which I read last month.

http://www.chrisabani.com/

-Vusi Mahlasela