River Spirit - Leila Aboulela (SAQI Books) magazine In this fascinating history

In this fascinating history

The publication enacts the physical experience of the multimedia installation anchored in TEA

Like Ornette Coleman’s music

When Akuany and her brother are orphaned in a village raid

affirming every death matters and every absence merits its own broken language

River Spirit - Leila Aboulela (SAQI Books) magazine In this fascinating history1880s Sudan. When Akuany and her brother are orphaned in a village raid, they are taken in by Yaseen, a young merchant. Yaseens vow to care for them will tether him to Akuany throughout their lives. As revolution begins to brew, led by the self proclaimed Mahdi, Sudan begins to prise itself from Ottoman rule, and everyone must choose a side. Yaseen feels beholden to stand against this false Mahdi, a decision that threatens to splinter his family.