Teju Cole to headline Pleasure and the Pleasurable conference

Teju Cole (photo by Martin Lengemann)

The African Studies Program’s annual conference will feature keynote speaker Teju Cole.

Cole is a writer, art historian, and photographer. Born in the US in 1975 to Nigerian parents, and raised in Nigeria, Cole has written three books and several novellas, novels, and essay collections. His photography column at the New York Times Magazine was a finalist for a 2016 National Magazine Award.

Cole’s most recent book is Blind Spot, a genre-crossing work of photography and texts. His photography has been exhibited in India, Iceland, and the US, published in a number of journals, and was the subject of a solo exhibition in Italy in the spring of 2016. He has lectured widely, from the Harvard Graduate School of Design to Twitter Headquarters.

In addition to giving the keynote address on Saturday evening, Teju Cole will also be giving a presentation entitled Known and Strange Things on Friday, April 14 at 7:00 pm at Central Library.