The pan-Africanism,affect,and food in Binyavanga Wainaina’s memoir One Day I Will Write About This Place

Abstract

One Day I Will Write About This Place (2011), by Kenyan writer Binyavanga Wainaina, follows the shifting perspectives of Wainaina as the narrator at different stages of his life. Wainaina’s representation of the trope of food prominent in this work registers his inner feelings, emotions, and growing sensibility, which also reflects sociopolitical realities in postcolonial Africa. This article unpacks how affect is mediated by the trope of food to represent social unity at the grassroots. Such unity, called pan-Africanism with a small “p” in this article, draws attention to the problematic formation of statehood, calling for a nuanced understanding of the strenuous processes of decolonization and highlighting examples of shared affective responses and resilience in postcolonial Africa.