Thursday, April 1, 2010
SAY YOU'RE ONE OF THEM
Uwem Akpan's words have inspired the Benin-born, Grammy Award-winning recording artist Angélique Kidjo to record "Agbalagba," a song written with her longtime collaborator Jean Hebrail in the Yoruba language. "Agbalagba" roughly translates to "the ancestors," as the song pertains to young peoples' responsibility to those who came before them. Angélique Kidjo commented, "I immediately felt a bond with Uwem. . . . The second we met, it was as if we had always known each other. I'm proud to contribute a song to his beautiful collection of stories."
"I am very excited that my stories have inspired such a powerful song, and I hope that both the song and the book will bring readers and listeners a greater understanding of the problems of people in Africa," ...Uwem Akpan
"I am very excited that my stories have inspired such a powerful song, and I hope that both the song and the book will bring readers and listeners a greater understanding of the problems of people in Africa," ...Uwem Akpan
THE ADVENTURES OF THE LITTLE MERMAID
In 1964 the Danish Artist Jørgen Nash cut off
the head of the Little Mermaid.
It was a protest against the city development
and culture at that time.
In 2010 The Little Mermaid moved to China
for the World Expo 2010 where it will be exhibited in
The Danish Pavillion under
Welfairytales
April Fools Day 2010
PS: We are now awaiting the
cultural exchange installation
by Ai Wei Wei
will it be the
Weifairytales
And this is the end of the fairytale
You, little mermaid, have tried with all your heart to do the same. You have suffered and borne
your suffering bravely; and that is why you are now among us, the spirits of the air. Do your good deeds
and in three hundred years an immortal soul will be yours."
The little mermaid lifted her arms up toward God's sun, and for the first time she felt a tear. She heard
noise coming from the ship. She saw the prince and the princess searching for her. Sadly they looked at
the sea, as if they knew that she had thrown herself into the waves. Without being seen, she kissed the
bride's forehead and smiled at the prince; then she rose together with the other children of the air, up into
a pink cloud that was sailing by.
"In three hundred years I shall rise like this into God's kingdom," she said.
"You may be able to go there before that," whispered one of the others to her. "Invisibly, we fly through
the homes of human beings. They can't see us, so they don't know when we are there; but if we find a
good child, who makes his parents happy and deserves their love, we smile and God takes a year away
from the time of our trial. But if there is a naughty and mean child in the house we come to, we cry; and
for every tear we shed, God adds a day to the three hundred years we already must serve."
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