Episode #116 with Maria Motúnráyo Adébísí

The Swinging Palm Trees Podcast

"I really wanted to create a magical world that would again bring these beings to attention and bring some respect to the fact because I think like, whatever religion they have, they can appreciate the sophistication of that system, you know what I mean? Most Italians are Christian, right? But they don't denounce their old gods. They would respect them. Whereas for us, we're taught to kind of hate what our ancestors believed in. We're taught that there's no sophistication in it, that there's no knowledge in it, that there's no sense in it. And that's really, really sad."
On today's episode, I chat with children's author and adventure fantasy writer, Maria Motúnráyo Adébísí, and she talks about her new novel 'Kòkú Àkànbí and the Heart of Midnight', part of the Jujuland series. Maria shares with me why her love of her Yorùbá heritage, fantasy and celebration of Black joy were a few of the reasons behind writing this book. We discuss themes of belonging and identity, the hypermasculinity of young black boys, tradition and cultural nuances, creating an awareness about Sickle Cell anemia. We also chat about the power behind names, Oríkì (Yorùbá) praise poetry, Mythology from West Africa, and readdressing history from Nigeria.
Maria also shares with us her time at college in Oxford, her love for Japanese animation, which old fable character she would like to re-imagine, and of course, she also discusses the quote that continually inspires her.
Maria Motúnráyo Adébísí graduated from the University of Oxford with a degree in English Literature. Writing her middle grade fantasy Jujuland: Kòkú Ákánbí and the Heart of Midnight helped Maria Motunrayo on her journey to fully embracing identity as a British Nigerian. Maria Motúnráyo’s critically acclaimed novel Kòkú Ákánbí and the Heart of Midnight has been described as “sharp, witty and thrilling” by the Guardian. It was longlisted for the Spark Book Awards 2024 and is currently up for the Jhalak Prize which recognises outstanding literary talent from writers of colour. The sequel, Kòkú Ákánbí and the King of Lost Souls is available for pre-order, and will be out in August this year.
Thanks for listening to the episode. I'd like to thank my guest for their time, insight and being a great sport!
I would also like to thank my producer, Ashanti Omkar, for all her hard work.
If you'd like to be a guest, drop me a line at [e-mail].
Keep Rising & Thriving. Aṣẹ!