JJ Bola
Writer | Poet | Educator
Events
Upcoming: April 18th, London - The Africa Centre
Co-winner of the Pontas x JJ Bola Emerging Writers Prize, Musih Tedji Xaviere, will be in conversation with JJ Bola moderated by Nancy Adimora (Afreada and Other Stories) for the launch of her debut novel THESE LETTERS END IN TEARS.
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I am passionate about using the power of storytelling to uplift, empower and transform. Books changed my life, and writing helped me to understand myself and the world around me on a deeper level. For the first time, I was able to see myself in a way that went far beyond the expectations or limitations imposed on me. I was able to define, for myself, what it meant to be a human being, what it meant to be free.
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No Place to Call Home
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With colourful characters and luminous prose, No Place To Call Home is a tale of belonging, identity and immigration, of hope and hopelessness, of loss –not by death, but by distance– and, by no means the least, of love.
Mask Off - Masculinity Redefined
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In Mask Off, JJ Bola exposes masculinity as a performance that men are socially conditioned into. Using examples of non-Western cultural traditions, music and sport, he shines light on historical narratives around manhood, debunking popular myths along the way. He explores how LGBTQ men, men of colour, and male refugees experience masculinity in diverse ways, revealing its fluidity, how it's strengthened and weakened by different political contexts, such as the patriarchy or the far-right, and perceived differently by those around them.
The Selfless Act of Breathing UK
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Longing to escape the shadows in his mind and start anew, Michael decides to spontaneously pack up and go to America, the mythical ‘land of the free,’ where he imagines everything will be better, easier – a place where he can become someone new, someone without a past filled with pain. On this transformative journey, Michael travels from New York City to San Francisco, partying with new friends, sparking fleeting romances, and splurging on big adventures.
In the back of his mind, Michael has a plan: follow his dreams until the money in his bank account runs out, and then he will decide if his life is truly worth living…
Written in spellbinding prose, with Bola’s trademark, magnetic storytelling, The Selfless Act of Breathing is a heart-wrenching and deeply emotional novel about mental health, masculinity and the power of love.
The Selfless Act of Breathing US
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Longing to escape the shadows in his mind and start anew, Michael decides to spontaneously pack up and go to America, the mythical ‘land of the free,’ where he imagines everything will be better, easier – a place where he can become someone new, someone without a past filled with pain. On this transformative journey, Michael travels from New York City to San Francisco, partying with new friends, sparking fleeting romances, and splurging on big adventures.
In the back of his mind, Michael has a plan: follow his dreams until the money in his bank account runs out, and then he will decide if his life is truly worth living…
Written in spellbinding prose, with Bola’s trademark, magnetic storytelling, The Selfless Act of Breathing is a heart-wrenching and deeply emotional novel about mental health, masculinity and the power of love.