Lives of Great Men: Living and Loving as an African Gay Man

by Chike Frankie Edozien

Overview

From Victoria Island, Lagos to Brooklyn, U.S.A. to Accra, Ghana to Paris, France; from across the Diaspora to the heart of the African continent, in this memoir Nigerian journalist Chike Frankie Edozien offers a highly personal series of contemporary snapshots of same gender loving Africans, unsung Great Men living their lives, triumphing and finding joy in the face of great adversity. On his travels and sojourns Edozien explores the worsening legal climate for gay men and women on the continent; the impact homophobic evangelical American pastors are having in many countries, and its toxic intersection with political populism; and experiences the pressures placed on those living under harshly oppressive laws that are themselves the legacy of colonial rule - pressures that sometimes lead to seeking asylum in the West. Yet he remains hopeful, and this memoir, which is pacy, romantic and funny by turns, is also a love-letter to Africa, above all to Nigeria and the megalopolis that is Lagos.

PRAISE FOR 'LIVES OF GREAT MEN'

"Frankie Edozien's The Lives of Great Men is an incredibly powerful portrayal of what it means to be a gay Nigerian man. But what makes this book so outstanding is its tender and insightful exploration of all the complicated, unspoken bonds in our most intimate relationships. In prose that is at once engaging and inquisitive, Edozien holds the human heart to light and finds the ways it manages to survive despite it all."

Maaza Mengiste, author of Beneath the Lion's Gaze

"Frankie Edozien writes with an urgency that is compelling, with a vulnerable honesty that is disarming and impressive, and with elegance about his life and a subject so risky and yet necessary. This is not a memoir of coming out gay in Nigeria as much as it is a call to step into our humanity. A necessary and courageous book."

Chris Abani, author of GraceLand and The Secret History of Las Vegas

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780995516236
Publisher:	Team Angelica Publishing
Publication date:	11/24/2017
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	266
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.60(d)

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Prelude: Forgetting Lamido. 1

One: Leaving Lagos. 19

Two: ‘Finding’ and Accepting in America. 37

Three: Out @ Work.. 43

Four: Big Apple Dating When You Are Nigerian Seeking The Same 69

Five: Mon Grand, L’amoreux Africain. 77

Six: Having the Talk! 87

Seven: The Calm Before The African Gay Storm.. 95

Eight: The Tide Turns (into a summer of hate) 109

Nine: Giving It Another Shot! 123

Ten: Scott (the good doctor) 139

Eleven: Shall We Return?. 147

Twelve: Fatherhood & Family (purporting to be straight) 159

Thirteen: The Shea Prince. 171

Fourteen: Eko Oni Baje O! (Lagos Must Prosper!) 181

Fifteen: Best Kept Secrets (Lola Girls Rock!) 193

Sixteen: Holding On While Seeking Asylum.. 209

Seventeen: See Me, See Trouble Oh! 231

Eighteen: We Won’t Be Tarred And Feathered! (where do we go to from here?) 245

Editorial Reviews

'One of the most triumphant and joy-inducing books of the year... a hopeful narrative, crammed with incident and telling details, and it's a story that deserves to be savoured again and again.'

DIRIYE OSMAN The Huffington Post

"Frankie Edozien's The Lives of Great Men is an incredibly powerful portrayal of what it means to be a gay Nigerian man. But what makes this book so outstanding is its tender and insightful exploration of all the complicated, unspoken bonds in our most intimate relationships. In prose that is at once engaging and inquisitive, Edozien holds the human heart to light and finds the ways it manages to survive despite it all."

Maaza Mengiste, author of Beneath the Lion's Gaze

"Frankie Edozien writes with an urgency that is compelling, with a vulnerable honesty that is disarming and impressive, and with elegance about his life and a subject so risky and yet necessary. This is not a memoir of coming out gay in Nigeria as much as it is a call to step into our humanity. A necessary and courageous book."

Chris Abani, author of GraceLand and The Secret History of Las Vegas

From the Publisher