Ethiopian-American author/journalist talks about his new novel “All Our Names”

Ethiopian-American author/journalist talks about his new novel “All Our Names”
Ethiopian-American author/journalist talks about his new novel “All Our Names”

Ethiopian-American author/journalist talks about his new novel “All Our Names”

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Dinaw Mengestu was born in Ethiopia, but grew up in Chicago and Peoria. His critically acclaimed first novel, The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears described the immigrant experience of struggling grocery store owners in Washington DC. Mengestu also won a MacArthur Fellowship in 2012 and worked as a journalist in Darfur, Congo, and Uganda. He talks with us about how his work as a journalist informed his latest novel, set in Kampala in the early 70’s called, All Our Names. Mengestu spoke with us while in Chicago for an appearance at the Chicago Humanities Festival. PHOTO: Courtesy of Knopf