Teju Cole: Genius of the Place

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Abstract

Teju Cole is a Nigerian-American writer and photographer of Yoruba origin. He continues a specific trend of the intellectual urban novel in contemporary literature. His predecessors include James O.A. Joyce, Vladimir Nabokov, Winfried Georg M. Sebald, Orhan Pamuk, and others. T. Cole is the author of bestsellers: Every Day Is for the Thief (2007); Open City (2011); Tremor (2023); and essay collections. His works intertwine themes of travel, identity, fixation, history, and literature. The writer documents pressing political, economic, social, ecological, demographic, and cultural issues, including colonialism and postcolonialism, slavery, and restitution of cultural property. He expresses hope for their future resolution, engaging the reader in discussions about life in Lagos (Nigeria) and New York (USA), racism and decolonization, violence and corruption, art, and the boundaries of identity.

About the authors

T. M Gavristova

P.G. Demidov Yaroslavl State University

Email: tagavristova@gmail.com
Dr.Sc. (History), Professor Yaroslavl, Russia

References

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