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Jerry Chiemeke’s Debut, Dreaming of Ways to Understand You, Out in Print

The story collection “chronicles the dreams and desperations of a disillusioned demographic.”
Dreaming of Ways to Understand You by Jerry Chiemeke. Credit: Jerry Chiemeke.

Dreaming of Ways to Understand You by Jerry Chiemeke. Credit: Jerry Chiemeke.

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Jerry Chiemeke’s Debut, Dreaming of Ways to Understand You, Out in Print

Dreaming of Ways to Understand You, the debut fiction book by the Nigerian writer and culture critic Jerry Chiemeke, is now available in print. The collection explores, in 15 short stories, a range of millennial experiences in Nigeria. It was first released online in September. The print edition is published by MagicWand Publishing.

Here is a description:

Dreaming of Ways To Understand You is a collection of fifteen short stories that explore the complexities of human relationships. These stories take us on a journey with complex characters who attempt to navigate the intricacies of living in contemporary Nigeria: an online hookup takes a really awkward turn, a secondary school reunion brings back memories of sexual assault, a lawyer struggles to keep up with the mental health complexities of his love interest, a queer woman battles with decade-long commitment issues, and a young man reminiscing on a childhood crush is forced to relive moments from a difficult past.

In prose that is as gritty as it is irreverent, Jerry Chiemeke embarks on a journey that stretches from nightclubs in Lagos to forests in Asaba, with detours at dirt roads in Warri. The narrative zooms in on clapping thighs in bath tubs, eerie songs on high seas, chunks of flesh on bloodied sheets, and weeping lovers in hotel rooms. Here, Chiemeke chronicles the dreams, aspirations, interactions, tears, and desperations of a disillusioned demographic.  

Jerry Chiemeke. From Jerry Chiemeke.
Jerry Chiemeke. From Jerry Chiemeke.

Jerry Chiemeke is a columnist, culture critic, and lawyer. His works have appeared in The Inlandia Journal, The Johannesburg Review of Books, The Guardian, The Republic, Honey & Lime, Bone and Ink Press, and Agbowo, among others. He has also been a featured contributor for Okadabooks, Bella Naija, The Bagus, The Lagos Review, and Opera News Hub. He won the 2017 Ken Saro-Wiwa Prize for Reviews and was shortlisted for the 2019 Diana Woods Memorial Award for Creative Nonfiction. He has facilitated writing workshops in different parts of Nigeria. For his contribution to the literary community, he was presented with the 2019 Connect Nigeria Award for Excellence. A lover of long walks and alternative rock music, Jerry lives in Lagos, where he is working on a novel.

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Otosirieze for Open Country Mag

Otosirieze

Otosirieze, a writer, culture journalist, curator, and media consultant, is the founder and editor of Open Country Mag. For the magazine, he has written longform features and Profiles of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Rita Dominic, and Cardinal Arinze; curates The Next Generation, a series of special issues highlighting rising literary voices; co-conceptualized Nigeria’s first formal bestseller list, with bookstore Rovingheights; and runs a Curatorial Fellowship, funded by Africa No Filter, mentoring creatives in art, fashion, music, and media. He was editor of Folio Nigeria, then CNN’s exclusive media affiliate in Africa, before its relaunch on Open Country Mag, and was briefly Business/Creative Head of its planned portfolio company Folio Digital Media. There, he wrote over a hundred pieces on the Nigerian culture scene, covering innovation in over 20 fields, including film, art, music, tech, sports, cuisine, fashion, journalism, sculpture, beauty, health, and activism. He was chair of The Gerald Kraak Prize, a South African initiative for storytelling about gender, sexuality, and social justice, and edited its fourth anthology The Beautyful Ones Have Just Been Born. He was a judge for The Morland Scholarship, a British grant for African writers. He has led or joined editorial teams at a host of platforms and projects in African literature, including at 14, the pioneering LGBTQ collective. His fiction has appeared in The Threepenny Review and Transition. He has given guest lectures at Dartmouth College and at Grinnell College. He has an MA in African Studies and a BA in English/History from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and an MFA in Fiction from the Iowa Writers' Workshop, where he was Adjunct Assistant Professor of Creative Writing. He taught English at Godfrey Okoye University, Enugu. In 2019, he received the inaugural The Future Awards Africa Prize for Literature. In 2020, he was named among “The 100 Most Influential Young Nigerians” by Avance Media. He has appeared on With Chude's list of "The 150 Most Interesting Nigerians in Culture." Twitter & Instagram: @otosirieze. Website: otosirieze.com.

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