South of South: An Anthology Devoted to the Humanity and Narrative of Migration

Most migrants arrive at their destinations by a combination of serendipity and choicelessness. This has been Nii Parkes' own experience. The question -- how did you arrive here? -- is always answered with a convoluted mix of myth, love, family ties, budget, language, persecution, opportunity and interruption. In the answers to that question lie the connecting lines of his scatter points -- Abidjan, Grimsby, Cape Coast, London, Accra, Manchester, Los Angeles, and Dijon. To further answer that question he has brought together a distinguished selection of contemporary writers who share parallel experiences and invited them to contribute short fiction to this anthology.

With stories from Romesh Gunesekera, Zoe Wicomb, Nam Le, Monica Arac de Nyeko, Tahmina Anam, Brian Chikwava, Niki Aguirre, Junot Diaz, Aamer Hussein and Naomi Alderman, this is a rich mix of writing re-imagining the constantly evolving dynamics of trans-national migration in the 21st century, exploring the complex fabric of the world that contemporary migrants negotiate.

Nii Ayikwei Parkes is a Ghanaian writer, editor, broadcaster and performance poet. A 2007 recipient of Ghana's national ACRAG award for poetry and literary advocacy, he has held visiting positions at the University of Southampton and California State University.