In poet Nick Makoha’s collection The New Carthaginians, time and the world are out of joint. Through a triumvirate of characters – the Poet, a Black Icarus and a resurrected Jean-Michel Basquiat – Makoha explores a heroes’ odyssey, a new mythos in which the othering of Black life might be undone, and a transfigured understanding of myth and life.
Makoha, who discusses his work with poet Malika Booker, is a Ugandan poet and playwright. His debut collection Kingdom of Gravity was shortlisted for the Felix Dennis Prize and was one of the Guardian’s Best Books of the Year.
