NIGHTS OF THE CREAKING BED

This book is full of colourful characters involved in affecting dramas: a girl who is rejected in love because she has three brothers to look after; a middle aged housewife who finds love again but has an impossible decision to make; a young man who can't get the image of his naked, beautiful mother out of his mind; a child so poor he has to hawk onions on Christmas day - and many others. Some, initially full of hope, find their lives blighted by the cruelty of others, or by being in the wrong place at the wrong time, or by just not knowing the 'right' people. Corruption, religious intolerance, gratuitous violence, the irresponsible attitudes of some men to their offspring and the importance of joy are some of the big themes that underlie this memorable collection. "This is a cohesive, stylish collection, with atmospheric scenes and noir elements. Toni Kan's stories look behind shuttered windows to express the unspeakable in the everyday", says Molara Wood, writer and cultural critic. TONI KAN is an award winning poet, essayist and short story writer. He is one of Nigeria's most anthologised young poets and short story writers. Author of the critically acclaimed poetry collection When a Dream Lingers Too Long and the novella Ballad of Rage, his works have appeared in Salthill, Drum Voices, Revue, Farafina, Sentinel Poetry Quarterly and ANA Review.