Archive - Distant Relatives

We Need Prayer: On Little Anxieties

A meditation on writing and spirituality

Jun 2 •

Emmanuel Esomnofu

July 2024

Some Old Movies

What we can learn from the cinematic medium

Jul 7, 2024 •

Emmanuel Esomnofu

March 2024

Flight, Or What It Means To Dream of Doors

A south-bound trip last year coalesced into bigger questions: about pain, its origin, the need to escape pain, and the place of art as a conduit for…

Mar 20, 2024 •

Emmanuel Esomnofu

November 2023

A Short History of the Relationship Between Water Bodies & Nigerian Music

For decades, there's been a creative alliance between the music coming out of Nigeria and its depiction of water bodies. This short history connects the…

Nov 19, 2023 •

Emmanuel Esomnofu

Notes on Craft: How To Write A Profile

Writing a profile is one of the bedrocks of literary work. Ever so often, we must consider the figures and influence of certain people, and knowing how…

Nov 5, 2023 •

Emmanuel Esomnofu

June 2023

Nigeria as a Comedy of Errors

"Culture cannot save us"

Jun 24, 2023 •

Emmanuel Esomnofu

June 2022

"What Does It Mean To Dream?"

Reflections on the private and public nature of dreams.

Jun 9, 2022 •

Emmanuel Esomnofu

December 2021

Luminescence: A Run-Down of 2021

It was a crazy year folks. Lots of good & some bad stuff happened to me. I published a number of all-time favorites, and learnt some personal lessons…

Dec 31, 2021 •

Emmanuel Esomnofu

October 2021

Black African Artists Are Winning Globally

The 2021 Nobel Prize in Literature, the Global Rise of Afrobeats, the presence of talented writers contextualizing these wins, Nigerian Netflix…

Oct 10, 2021 •

Emmanuel Esomnofu

September 2021

A New Dispensation: Notes on Leaving

A personal essay about the nature of death and leaving in the Nigerian context.

Sep 29, 2021 •

Emmanuel Esomnofu

August 2021

Wizkid & Burna Boy: A Friendship Sealed in Legacy

Cosigning budding young musicians like Buju and Omah Lay, the superstar duo dominated music conversations over the weekend. Here's what it means for…

Aug 29, 2021 •

Emmanuel Esomnofu

Ajebo Hustlers: Taking the Kpos Lifestyle to the World

After years of scenic dominance in Port Harcourt, the assured duo mine the realities of contemporary Nigeria for a formidable debut album. Here's their…

Aug 17, 2021

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