Abi Ishola Ayodeji on

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Original air date: Sunday, April 30, 2023
Dr. Brenda Greene interviews Abi Ishola-Ayodeji, debut author of Patience is a Subtle Thief, (HarperVia, 2022) and an Emmy award-winning producer, brand builder and storyteller. Greene and Ishola-Ayodeji discuss the context for the themes in the novel. The title of the novel, a double entendre, refers to the heroine’s first name and state of mind. Set in the era of the 1993 Presidential election to secure democratic rule in Nigeria after years of a dictatorship, Ishola-Ayodeji explores how the political affects the personal as well as the themes: coming of age, the value of mother love, patriarchy, and gender dynamics. This debut novel is in the tradition of Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie, a critically acclaimed Nigerian writer who has highlighted issues affecting women and brought a new generation of readers to contemporary African literature. Ishola-Ayodeji has moved from nonfiction writing to fiction in her writing career. She discusses what that process has been for her and why she was motivated to write this novel. A first-generation Nigerian American who grew up in Florida, but spent time in secondary school in Lagos, Abi Ishola-Ayodeji has written and produced for various platforms including ELLE.com, PBS, Ebony.com, CUNY TV and more.