Author Archives: mkevane

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About mkevane

Economist at Santa Clara University and Director of Friends of African Village Libraries.

La Larga Noche de Francisco Sanctis by Argentinean directors Andrea Testa and Francisco Marquez

Saw La Larga Noche de Francisco Sanctis by Argentinean directors Andrea Testa and Francisco Marquez, on the flight back form Mexico.  Very little dialogue.  Long stretches of Francisco walking through the streets, but it is short.  You need to know … Continue reading →

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Ana Cristina Barragan’s film ‘Alba’

Saw this movie on flight back from Mexico.  Tremendous. Very quiet.  Let’s say it is the opposite of triumphalism, fascism, inyourfaceism, and instead embodies every virtue related to empathy, caring, and grace.  Of course watching a movie like this on … Continue reading →

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New FAVL photos books published through fastpencil.com for distribution in libraries in Burkina Faso

Over the past months, our team in Burkina Faso, led by national director Sanou Dounko, have produced almost 20 new photo books. These books are in French, and appeal to young readers in the villages. You can get previews (and … Continue reading →

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The AfLIA Leadership Academy – Call for Applications

AfLIA is collaborating with the Public Library Association of the USA (PLA) to establish the AfLIA Leadership Academy aimed at: Building the knowledge, skills and confidence of library leaders to act in innovative and creative ways in meeting community needs … Continue reading →

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‘Wallay’ by Berni Goldblat

After an opening flash-forward, we follow 13-year-old Ady (Diarra) causing a small ruckus in his French banlieue, leaving his desperate dad with few options but to ship him out of town. Arriving in Burkina Faso to stay in the remote … Continue reading →

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Latrines in village in Burkina Faso

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Great commentary by Hamidou Anne about Macron comments #Africa #France

And a chance to look up the word élucubrations! Frères Africains, consacrons notre énergie à ce qui en vaut la peine ! Si les élucubrations d’un enfant gâté de la République nous font autant sortir de nos gonds, c’est nous … Continue reading →

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When a short story goes bad, John Lanchester “Signal” in The New Yorker

The comments from The Mookse and the Gripes are spot on. I read the story last night, and at the end just put the magazine down, muttering, “Treisman….really?” I’m a fan of Lanchester, both his novels and his essays (I … Continue reading →

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Pertinent and pointed criticism by Somé (who could that be ;-) of Benoit Beucher’s new book on history of Moose kingdoms in Burkina Faso

Plus je lis l’interview, plus je m’inquiete du vrai fondé de la recherche. M Beucher decouvre assez recemment le burkina : l’an 2000, c’est assez recent et la societe burkinabe avait radicalement subi de profondes modifications. Ce que j’incrimine, c’est … Continue reading →

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Great article about development of public infrastructure in Upper East, Ghana

Only in this region will you find a ‘shifting’ airport site. What was supposed to be an airport started at Paga, Ghana’s border town near Burkina Faso, only as an airstrip. And it was in uninterrupted use until Burkina Faso … Continue reading →

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N.K. Jemisin’s The Fifth Season

Read this a couple of months ago.  Do not have much to say. It won the Hugo. Characters were well-drawn.  In general, I do not like fantasy-sci fi “mixes” where magic and science co-exist.  The underlying premise, that the scientists … Continue reading →

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Solar power in #Burkina Faso 20 MW new plant approved

Le Burkina Faso vient de signer son premier partenariat public-privé pour la réalisation d’une centrale solaire de 20 MW. Ce projet est piloté par l’entreprise canadienne Windiga Energie et sera exécuté au Burkina Faso par la Société Zina Solaire SA. … Continue reading →

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Best seems to mean different things in Open Culture #Burkina

The I think if they added a sound effect or gif of a tumbleweed it would be more effective.    

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Drone flyover of Meroe Pyramids of Sudan

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Reading in FAVL-CESRUD library in Sumbrungu, Ghana

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The Greatship by Robert Reed

The Greatship by Robert Reed is a collection of twelve stories or novellas set in or on the Greatship, a Uranus-sized ship making its way through the Milky Way.  Humans were first to find the ship, and so by the … Continue reading →

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Possible new Burkina Faso National Assembly by Diébédo Francis Kéré

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Trinity College AAUP statement on Professor Johnny Williams on Leave

However, we are still troubled that, after a tenured black professor received death threats in response to speaking out against white supremacy on a personal social media page, the administration’s default response was to lend credence to a politically motivated … Continue reading →

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Burkina Faso launches 40,000 housing program for $1b

The math here… 40,000 units housing, say, 5 people each, can house 200,000 people.  The population of Burkina Faso is 16 million, and growing at, say, 3% a year.  So every year there are about 500,000 more people in the … Continue reading →

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Great reporting on Burkina Faso singer Zougnazagmda

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