Books by Chris Abani

Chris Abani finds the sacred in a charged and broken world, to "build meaning from detritus."

In this time of global civil rights movements, Smoking the Bible lends insights to a Black African's immigration experience to the United States, as well as a Black man's current experience living in the US. Abani is an acclaimed international voice-and public speaker-on "humanitarianism, art, ethics, and our shared political responsibility." Each of Abani's TED Talks have nearly 1,000,000 views A prolific and versatile author, Abani is an acclaimed, prize winning novelist, poet, essayist, screenwriter, and playwright. His work has been translated into 13 foreign languages. Abani was a political prisoner in Nigeria at various times during 1985 and 1991 In 1991, Abani was put on death row for his anticorruption play "Song of a Broken Flute." He was released in the wake of international pressure (and, probably, bribes).

Black navigates life alongside the Los Angeles River, 'iridescent in its concrete sleeve', enlisting his friends - Iggy, the beautiful tattoo artist who has beguiled Hollywood's elite, and Bomboy, a wealthy Rwandan butcher - as he confronts his past and struggles to find his place in the world.