I’m thrilled to announce that my September piece, Looking Is Free: A Stone Town Story, has just been published on Brittle Paper! This creative nonfiction piece captures my reflections upon returning to African soil after seven years, exploring the sensory experiences and personal insights drawn from Zanzibar’s Stone Town.
Stone Town is a place where history whispers through the narrow alleys, and every shopfront, every carving, and every lingering glance tells a story. In Looking Is Free, I dive into the interactions that shape our travels and how places imprint themselves upon us.
Here’s an excerpt:
Seven years. That’s how long it’s been since I last set foot on African soil. Seven years of French chaos and Swiss order. I’ve forgotten what proper heat feels like, until Zanzibar’s air wraps around me like a warm, damp towel. The humidity hits first, in a way only Africa – or the Caribbean – can welcome me back. With no hesitation, no apologies.
We’re driving east from the airport, and the island unfolds slowly before me. The road crowds us in, flanked by repair shops and clear white masjids and numerous roadside stalls where vendors sell fresh mangoes. The sun is high, mid-day heat pressing down on the buildings lining the streets. Matemwe is an hour away, but the further we drive, the quieter the world becomes. The air is different here – heavy with construction dust and a kind of timelessness that feels like I’ve stepped into a higher vibration.
You can read the full story here: Brittle Paper.
This story is deeply personal, drawn from moments of quiet observation and how places etch themselves into our memories. Writing it the day after was like revisiting a part of myself shaped by movement, encounters, and the spaces in between.
It’s also not my first time on Brittle Paper. My first short story, Behind Enemy Lines, was published in 2016. The subsequent book was also first reviewed there, alongside other shortlist appearances.
I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it.
