Got Books? Conversations with Booksellers
S1 Ep. 7: Angela Franklin, Chez Alpha Books (Dakar, Senegal)
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April 21, 2021 2:53pm
43m
There is only one English-language bookshop in Dakar, Senegal and it's called Chez Alpha Books. Initially located inside the owner's garage, it turned into an independent bookshop with a rich and diverse collection of fiction and non-fiction, with a particular focus on writers from Senegal, other parts of Africa and diaspora but also international classics. The bookshop doubles as a library service, a summer reading camp for children who want to learn English, a college test prep centre and study abroad counseling.
Educator, artist, and activist Angela Franklin is the founder of Chez Alpha Books and our guest today. Originally from the US, Angela has more than 20 years of experience in higher education administration. Chez Alpha Books was born out of calamity: her studio in Baltimore burned down and she was forced to start over. Angela is making history and we're very honoured to have her in our podcast today as a beacon of inspiration.
Books recommended by Angela:
I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou
Sisters and Champions: The True Story of Venus and Serena Williams, by Howard Bryant
The World According to Fannie Davis: My Mother's Life in the Detroit Numbers, by Bridgett M. Davis
A Velocity of Being: Letters to A Young Reader, by Maria Popova & Claudia Bedrick
The Home That Was Our Country: A Memoir of Syria, by Alia Malek
The Hundred Wells of Salaga: A Novel, by Ayesha Harruna Attah
Of Women and Frogs, by Bisi Adjapon
The Mermaid of Black Conch, by Monique Roffey
Americanah, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Half of a Yellow Sun, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Everfair: A Novel, by Nisi Shawl
Black Tudors: The Untold Story, by Miranda Kaufmann
Senegal: Modern Senegalese Recipes from the Source to the Bowl, by Pierre Thiam
The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother, by James McBride
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