Older Black Lesbians
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ZUNA NBLC April 11th - 13th 2003

Who Is She?

Kola Boof

Kola Boof calls herself a "Womanist" to honor the woman who created that term, the legendary Alice Walker. Kola also admits that she likes it when people compare her to writers such as Walker and Toni Morrison, although she considers herself to be a much different kind of artist than those women. Kola says, "It will take some people years and years to finally realize that I am an artist and that I have talent. Because they are so resistant to my image and they are prejudiced. But I am worthy and my name is Naima--the One who is Victorious! I know that my work is important and a little ahead of the times."

Kola Boof came to the United States after her parents were murdered in Sudan. Her father, Egyptian archeologist Atmu Bahari Kolbookek had spoken out against Sudan's Islamic Arabic government, and especially, against Sudan's practice of enslaving BLACK Africans.  For this, he and his wife were executed--leaving
Kola (whose real name is NAIMA KOLBOOKEK) an orphan.

Luckily, there was a Black American military family that wanted to adopt "NAIMA", and although they were poor and already had many children, they raised NAIMA, but suffered many trials and tribulations because of the Sudanese child's refusal to lose her African identity.

Sudan's Kola Boof (born Naima Alu Kolbookek) is slowly but surely becoming the new black woman writer that "lots of people love to hate". Remember back in the 70's and 80's when authors like Alice Walker, Ntozake Shange, Gayl Jones and even Toni Morrison were widely cursed and demonized for the skeletons they exposed? Well now we have the strangely fabulous and daring Kola Boof (she's a sexy feminist literary babe slash African warrior girl slash historian) and she's already getting death threats by the ton! Why is her work so confrontational?

Miss Boof claims it's because she was adopted and raised by Black Americans. She credits her teen years in the lower class Anacostia Park section of Washington D.C. with giving her "the nerve and skill of a hornet".

In her native Sudan, they recently told her that if she ever tries to return, she will be killed on the spot (she called Sudan's Arab government "Satanic" and wrote that Islam "is for Pimps"). She pissed off numerous African-Americans by using the 'N' word repeatedly in her short story collection "LONG TRAIN TO THE REDEEMING SIN", and she was roundly criticized by South African officials after exposing colorism in their society in the short story "DAY OF VOW"…add to that the rebuke of Black Southern Christians for her story in which Jesus Christ appears-as a very erotic Mexican. There's a decidedly sexual freakiness to some of Kola's prose ala Anne Rice.

"TOPLESS" in America!
Ms. Boof states that her decision to be topless on the back of her books has been the most painful source of criticism in her life, both professionally and personally...IN HER OWN WORDS: "I am topless to honor my mother and my grandmother. I am topless to pay homage to all the centuries upon centuries of AUTHENTIC African women who revered the bare breast just as Christians revere the crucifix. It's no different than that, to me. I am proud to be from those BLACK, topless spirit women who created and sustained the natural world. But then there's another reason."

"I prefer my own African image to a Eurocentric one, so being topless is also a rebuke against the tragic image of Micheal Jackson's white flesh--and it's my rejection of the image of Lil' Kim's blond, blue-eyed insult. It hurts me that Black American women have not supported me in my decision--I feel BETRAYED that they haven't. But, of course, they are Americans and I notice that most of the opinions that they have are the ones that Europeans gave them. So I try to be understanding."


KOLA BOOF'S BLACK AMERICAN FAMILY
"I love my family very much", says Kola Boof by telephone, (she speaks with a soft husky Garbo-like accent). "They are my real blood in my mind. But we did not have it easy getting along. Especially as I struggled to learn English and to get used to my hair being straightened, which I deeply resented for many years, but now I like it".

KOLA says that her biggest goal is to make a connection with American Black Women and believes that African-Americans have a special prejudice against Africans that makes it difficult for her to be accepted. Nonetheless, her powerful and shocking collection of short stories, "LONG TRAIN TO THE REDEEMING SIN" is developing a growing fan base and Kola Boof's strong feminist viewpoint is finally getting a look-see. Issues such as colorism, female genital mutilation, authentic love and the "sexual longing" of Black Women are what make Kola's work so daring. Her famous poetry can be downright chilling--and her next book, "DIARY OF A LOST GIRL" is already generating a healthy buzz. "It's the college girls who really support me", smiles Kola.

Ways to contact Kola Boof: 

kolaboof@yahoo.com or her Publisher at  

or write to
Kola Boof 
care of North African Book Exchange
424 West Commonwealth Ave. Suite 244
Fullerton, Calif. 92832. 

The address in Morrocco is unavailable.

Related Links

Bint il Nil: Kola Boof's Best Poems
http://poetwomen.50megs.com
http://authors.aalbc.com/kola_boof.htm