MATATA

'Life is sweet, even on the street. Life is even sweeter without a bank account, with little or no money in my pocket and with little care for anything.' Matata is prose poetry packed in a novella-in-flash by South Sudanese creative writer Victor Lugala.The protagonist, Matata, is a homeless African philosopher and flash fiction writer who sees himself as a bohemian artist and modern-day hippie, enjoying the freedom of the life he has chosen on the streets. He is taunted by the spirit of his disapproving father, a proud freedom fighter who died for his country and despairs at his son's aimless existence. Matata befriends fellow free spirit Rania, an eccentric abstract artist who loves people and animals and is obsessed with painting long-horned cattle. Amidst the chaos and madness of the streets, these two lost creative souls find a sanctuary with one another.