Lutanda Mwamba’s story, Mpapa Gallery and the Lechwe Trust Exhibition

Ruth HartleyArt Process, Creativity, Education, Mpapa Gallery, Printmaking, Southern Africa, Visual Arts, Zambia9 Comments

Teaching O level art at the ISL I was teaching O level art at the International School of Lusaka in 1982 when I first noticed a student called Lutanda Mwamba. He had a gift for drawing. I praised his work but he said he wanted to be an engineer. I didn’t argue. Life was hard then in Zambia particularly for […]

The Story of a Storyteller in Zambia

Ruth Hartley Storytelling, Book Launch, Book Publishing, Books by Ruth Hartley, Creativity, Graphic Novel, Identity, Imagination, Promotion, Reading, Southern Africa, The Love and Wisdom Crimes, The Shaping of Water, The Spiral-Bound Notebooks, The Tin Heart Gold Mine, The White and Black Blues, Writing Process, Zambia2 Comments

Zambia is the home of my heart. A country I love and that I returned to for a while this year. I was honoured that Dr. Fay Gadsden of Gadsden Publishers, Lusaka generously arranged a book launch for me at the Alliance Francaise – France is my other home so that felt appropriate. Daniel Sikazwe, journalist, Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation […]

Mangoes, black tea and books for breakfast

Ruth Hartley Storytelling, Book Publishing, Books by Ruth Hartley, Reading, Southern Africa, ZambiaLeave a Comment

I haven’t forgotten my blog readers. My plans are rather awry at the moment though, so this post is a divergence from what I planned in a wintry France, to blog about in January. Since I arrived in Lusaka about 2 weeks ago, I have been reading and reading and reading. It has been an immense pleasure. Reading is not […]

The River’s Story

Ruth Hartley Storytelling, Colonialism, Illustration, Imagination, Power, Southern Africa, The Love and Wisdom Crimes, The Shaping of Water, Truth, Visual Arts, Zambia4 Comments

We all own the River. That’s what we believe. The world of nature is ours and we can do what we like with it. The River belongs to us. We can use it – we can waste it – we can worship it. Not one of these ways of looking at the River tells us what it means to be […]

Profane and Sacred – the 5th Book Festival at Lourdes

Ruth HartleyApartheid, Books by Ruth Hartley, Festival, Nuanced Thinking, Photography, Politics, Reading2 Comments

On Saturday the 30th of November, I will be taking part in the Lourdes Salon du Livre. It looks very interesting and they will be discussing self-publishing by independent authors like me! Do come and, if you can’t get to the book fair, please do read this post. I’ve cribbed an author interview from The New Statesman. I enjoy reading […]