Cyprian Ekwensi (1973): 'Well, if you look at the North, you find that it actually is wild west country'

So, I've spent the second half of what passed for summer this year and the first half of autumn focused on my own health (and even though the mother of all colds still hangs on), that of my dad (thank God for the German health care system and the gifted surgeons at the hospital in Potsdam) and the (re-) construction of my parent's kitchen (yes, cowboy builders do exist in Germany as well!). That's not all I've done. Something had to give though – and as always it’s my personal writing including the blog that does give first. So, dear reader, forgive me for another period of neglect.

Nevertheless, I've still been reading (not as much as I usually do, but hey) and I've come across some quotes and references that I thought worth sharing with you, even with some delay. So, here goes one.

Life Magazine (1963) provides glimpses on 'movie culture' in Nigeria

An hour ago the postman rang and delivered my first acquisition of the new year – a 1963 edition of the US-American magazine Life that I have been unable to locate at the local libraries. So, thanks to Abebooks and a Canadian trader here was my first good surprise of the year (after hearing that another of my heroes, John Berger died yesterday).

Why do I tell you about an old edition of an American lifestyle magazine, you ask?

Well, this is a special edition devoted to the movies - 'A Moving Mirror of Modern Times,' as the editorial has it – and its scope extends beyond the usual suspects in North America and Europe. Some of the reporting about the movies and their reception in the 'rest' of the world may feel patronising to contemporary readers but it provides some glimpses nevertheless. And, some of them on cinema culture and in particular the role of the United States Information Agency in Nigeria. I'll get back to this issue of Life Magazine at some point in more detail, but for now I'll leave you with two photographs that I quickly (and therefore badly, i.e. forgive the quality) reproduce here (I'll get better scans next time I go to the library).