Three Stories | Hadithi Tatu
By Marc Eichen
Translation by Shani Suleiman Khalfan with Abdulrahman Ndegwa
These three stories explore the idea that people can inhabit the same space, in this case the islands of the Zanzibar archipelago, yet by the force of their personal history, family responsibilities, cultural expectations and economic circumstances they, in fact, live in different yet overlapping places.
Presenting the stories in both English and Swahili might, I hope, encourage writers working in African languages to find a wider audience, make the stories accessible to Swahili speakers throughout East Africa and beyond, enlarge the awareness of visitors to East Africa and expand the literature read in advanced English and Swahili language courses.
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Caitlyn Bolton, PhD, Assistant Professor, Boston College
"The stories in Wind, Sand, Sky are short, but rich with meaning. Set on the East African archipelago of Zanzibar, these intimate portraits invite the reader to accompany characters navigating personal challenges within a rapidly changing terrain linked to socio-economic development, tourism, and even climate change. The book will be of interest to students of Swahili and East Africa, and more broadly those seeking to understand the cultural tensions and transformations associated with globalization.”
Charles Bwenge, PhD, Instructional Professor of African Languages, University of Florida
"Wind, Sand, Sky by Marc Eichen is an incredibly thoughtful, unique and special bilingual English- Swahili work of art that both English and Swahili audiences will not only find thrilling, but also superbly depicting some segments of the Swahili-speaking society and cross-cultural engaging - a bonus for Kiswahili students as a sample source that intrinsically integrates the World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages five goal areas (5 Cs): Communication, Cultures, Connections, Comparisons, and Communities.”