A Stranger’s Pose by Emmanuel Iduma

Longlisted for the RSL Ondaatje Prize 2019

A unique blend of travelogue, musings and poetry, A Stranger’s Pose draws the reader into a world of encounters haunted by the absence of home, estrangement from a lover and family tragedies. The by’s recollections and reflections of fragments of his journeys to African cities, from Dakar to Douala, Bamako to Benin, and Khartoum to Casablanca, offer a compelling and very personal meditation on the meaning of home and the generosity of strangers to a lone traveller. Alongside accounts of the by’s own travels are other narratives about movement, intimacy, the power of language and translation.

Whilst echoing the writings of Anne Michaels and John Berger, this remarkable book charts a path of its own that will redefine travel writing.