“Be wild, disobedient & daring with your creativity, take risks instead of following predictable routes; those who play it safe do not advance our culture or civilisation.”
– Bernardine Evaristo, Manifesto
Bernardine Evaristo is one of my favourite writers.
Whilst I’m not great at finishing novels, her Booker Prize winning Girl, Woman, Other was an almighty exception. I devoured the masterpiece and recommended it to all my reader-friends.
“You must must read it so we can talk about it!” I told them..
I was then delighted to discover she’d written a non-fiction, “a memoir and a meditation”, on her life and creative career. Going by the richness and brilliance of Girl, Woman, Other, I knew it would be an inspiring read. It did not disappoint.
It was fascinating learning about Evaristo’s life and her commitment to creativity.
“I was never going to be a person who accepts defeat, who was going to give up. I was walking on the ground they had laid for me over many generations.”
– Bernardine Evaristo
As an avid play-reader and theatre-goer myself, it was interesting to read about her journey from drama school, to starting Britain’s first theatre company for black women, to writing poetry and plays, to becoming a successful author.
I’d recommend Manifesto to anyone interested in creativity, writing, the arts or activism. A colourful and uplifting read, Evaristo reminded me of all the reasons to commit to creativity and self-expression. – To never give up.
“Through the prism of her extraordinary experiences, she offers vital insights into the nature of race, class, feminism, sexuality and ageing in modern Britain…
It’s a manifesto for anyone who has ever stood on the margins, and anyone who wants to make their mark on history. It’s a manifesto for being unstoppable.”
“I am first and foremost a writer; the written word is how I process everything – myself, life, society, history, politics. It’s not just a job or a passion, but it is at the very heart of how I exist in the world, and I am addicted to the adventure of storytelling as my most powerful means of communication.
– Bernardine Evaristo, Manifesto
The Colourful Kind 