Donna Seaman Interviews poet Chris Abani

 Chris Abani is a poet and novelist of exceptional powers. Born in Nigeria, where he was imprisoned for his writing at the precocious and vulnerable age of 16, Chris Abani went into exile in 1991, living in England and currently, in the U.S. His poetry collections include Daphne's Lot, Dog Woman, and Hands Washing Water, and his newest book, Sanctificum. Chris Abani's novels include the searing Becoming Abigail; the extraordinary GraceLand, the story of a teenaged Nigerian Elvis impersonator; the incandescent The Virgin of Flames, a novel of post-9/11 Los Angeles and a quest for artistic expression and spiritual clarity; and Song for Night, an empathic portrait of a West African boy soldier. Chris Abani's awards include the PEN Hemingway Book Prize, a Lannan Literary Fellowship, a California Book Award, and a Hurston/Wright Legacy Award.

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