Meet the Writers: Priya Basil & Maaza Mengiste

Maaza Mengiste and Priya Basil come together for a conversation about literature, colonial heritage, and the social imagination. 

Mengiste rose to international prominence with novels such as The Shadow King, which brings forgotten perspectives from Ethiopian history to life. In her new book, Of Interest to the General Public, she once again explores the legacy of colonial plunder and cultural appropriation. In a powerful and sensory style, she examines who has the right to preserve stories, and how literature can bring hidden histories to light. 

Basil is a writer, curator, and public thinker known for her work on hospitality, citizenship, and cultural dialogue. As curator of the Objects Talk Back project at the Humboldt Forum, she brings together artists and writers to give museum objects a new voice. 

Together, they will discuss literature as a space for healing, imagination and a critical re-examination of the past – an encounter that resonates on both a personal and political level.