K Bailey Obazee is possibly London’s coolest librarian. She’s a DJ by night, but by day is the founder of Prim: a library and digital platform that celebrates and showcases queer, Black stories. More than just an online platform, Prim - as in ‘prim and proper’ - soon grew to have many branches and in 2019 Okha was born.
Meaning ‘story’ or ‘tale’ in the Edo language of Nigeria, Okha is the monthly book club hosted in various London locations, founded with the objective to “showcase the breadth of Black British authors, as well as authors from around the world”.
From today, Burberry has teamed up with Obazee to open a pop-up bookstore at London’s Design District in North Greenwich. Whether you’re looking for new reading material, a film screening, or maybe even a basketball tournament, Prim is open from now until Sunday.
If you can’t make it to North Greenwich but are still looking for some reading recommendations, we’ve got you covered. Below, K Bailey Obazee lists her top 10 books to read this autumn, from André Leon Talley to Campbell Addy - and even a shoutout for Evening Standard restaurant critic, Jimi Famurewa.
My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
I read this book around three years ago and still I have such vivid memories of what I read it’s as if I watched it as a film. Oyinkan Braithwaite does such an incredible job creating imagery that sits with you, a story that will have you laughing and yelling in disbelief. Ayoola is - for me - one of the most fantastic characters I’ve come across. It’s so well written and fully captures the humour of Nigerians.
Under the Udala Trees by Chinelo Okparanta
There aren’t as many queer stories based in African countries as I would like. This book however is beautiful, soft and charming, it takes us on a journey of discovery with Ijeoma as she navigates coming to terms with her sexuality and invites us into her world. We also see another side of a parent’s love and in many ways although often sad, it’s refreshing to see what’s possible when people really care about you.
The Chiffon Trenches by André Leon Talley
This book is an education. Talley’s voice booms throughout as it did when he was alive, his account of fashion from the 1970s right through to the 90s and beyond is powerful, exciting, hilarious and of course uncompromising. Fashion is cut-throat, more so back then than it is now, but still very much for the thick skinned. Talley gives us a history in a way only he could, yet his story also reminds us how important it is to carve out your own community.
In the Black Fantastic by Ekow Eshun
As a fan and lover of sci-fi, magical realism, Afro-futurism and the mystical, this book was a great way to engage in Ekow Eshun’s incredible exhibition at the Southbank Centre recently. The book features various works by artists, writers and curators, assembling art and imagery from across the African diaspora that embraces ideas of the mythic and the speculative.
Quiet by Victoria Adukwei Bulley
I recently began reading this poetry collection after coming across it during a deep dive on Goodreads. Victoria Adukwei Bulley’s debut collection, Quiet, circles around ideas of Black interiority, intimacy and selfhood, playing at the tensions between the impulse to guard one’s ‘inner life’ and the knowledge that, as Audre Lorde writes, ‘your silence will not protect you’. I’m still getting into it, but so far it’s a book I can’t help but want to share.
Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez
This book is a historical fiction and was, at times, a tough read due to its central focus. It’s about health practices, and specifically, birth control methods that were used to cause harm to poor Black communities in the 1960s in America. Based on the true story of birth control drugs used on girls aged 12 and 14. It’s an eye opening fictional retelling of a true story, it’s educational and a reminder that if we don’t want history to repeat itself we have to know the history in order to stop it.
Here Again Now by Okechukwu Nzelu
One of my favourite authors at the moment. I love their writing style, this book is incredible because it focuses on relationships between a father and son and also on mental health, how our past traumas can manifest and interrupt our present and also how we can break cycles, rebuild and ultimately do better, be better.
AphroChic is a book about African-American homes, the furniture, the art, what dining rooms look like and what the decor is inspired by. We need a UK version asap! But it’s a beautiful book full of history, inspiration and of course, legacy.
I have not yet read this book but I love the premise and so it’s one I’m excited about reading. Seeking to understand the ties that bind Black African Londoners together and link them with their home countries, Jimi visits their places of worship, roams around markets and restaurants, attends a traditional Nigerian engagement ceremony, shadows them on their morning journeys to far-flung grammar schools and listens to stories from shopkeepers and activists, artists and politicians.
My love for the work of Campbell Addy continues to grow, I need to be careful because it’s bordering obsession. This is his debut monograph giving us not just a selection of his most iconic photographs and people but also an insight into his work through interviews and a beautiful foreword by Edward Enninful. For me, it is exactly what we need: someone to ensure Black British creatives and artists are seen, at our most beautiful and comfortable.
