Grace Land by Chris Abani

A richly detailed, poignant, and utterly fascinating look into another culture and how it is cross-pollinated by our own. It brings to mind the work of Ha Jin in its power and revelation of the new.–T. Coraghessan Boyle. The sprawling, swampy, cacophonous city of Lagos, Nigeria, provides the backdrop to the story of Elvis, a teenage Elvis impersonator hoping to make his way out of the ghetto. Nuanced, lyrical, and pitch-perfect, this is a remarkable story of a son and his father, and an examination of postcolonial Nigeria, where the trappings of American culture reign supreme.

About the Author
Chris Abani is a novelist, poet, essayist, screenwriter and playwright. Born in Nigeria to an Igbo father and English mother, he grew up in Afikpo, Nigeria, received a BA in English from Imo State University, Nigeria, an MA in English, Gender and Culture from Birkbeck College, University of London and a PhD in Literature and CreativeWriting from the University of Southern California. He has resided in the United States since 2001. He is the recipient of the PEN USA Freedom-to-Write Award, the Prince ClausAward, a Lannan Literary Fellowship, a California Book Award, a Hurston/WrightLegacy Award, a PEN Beyond the Margins Award, the PEN Hemingway Book Prize and a Guggenheim Award. His fiction includes The Secret History of Las Vegas (Penguin 2014), Song For Night*(Akashic, 2007), *The Virgin of Flames (Penguin, 2007), Becoming Abigail(Akashic, 2006), Grace Land (FSG, 2004), and Masters of the Board (Delta, 1985).
His poetry collections are Sanctificum (Copper Canyon Press, 2010), There Are NoNames for Red (Red Hen Press, 2010), Feed Me The Sun-Collected Long Poems*(Peepal Tree Press, 2010) *Hands Washing Water (Copper Canyon, 2006), DogWoman (Red Hen, 2004), Daphne’s Lot (Red Hen, 2003) and *Kalakuta Republic*(Saqi, 2001). His work has been translated into French, Italian, Spanish, German, Swedish, Romanian, Hebrew, Macedonian, Ukrainian, Portuguese, Dutch, Bosnian and Serbian.Through his TED Talks, public speaking and essays Abani is known as an international voice on humanitarianism, art, ethics, and our shared political responsibility. His critical and personal essays have been featured in books on art and photography, as well as Witness, Parkett, The New York Times, O Magazine, and Bomb. His many research interests include African Poetics, World Literature, 20th CenturyAnglophone Literature, African Presences in Medieval and Renaissance Culture, TheLiving Architecture of Cities, West African Music, Postcolonial and TransnationalTheory, Robotics and Consciousness, Yoruba and Igbo Philosophy and Religion.
He is Board of Trustees Professor of English at Northwestern University.

Other Books by the Author
The Secret History of Las Vegas
Becoming Abigail
Song for Night
Masters of the Board
The Virgin of Flames