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Bolu Babalola Talks Writing, Diversity and Her New Novel, Love in Colour With Porter Magazine
BBC Comedy producer, author and resident #Yorubaddie Bolu Babalola speaks to Porter Magazine‘s Katie Berrington on her literary debut, Love In Colour.
On the Importance of Black Authorship
‘read Black authors’, go straight to anti-racist texts, which are explicitly talking about race and privilege. And those are important, of course, but also that can’t be it. Because if you’re not reading books in general by people of color and Black people, then your education is warped. It shouldn’t be, ‘Oh, I’m about to read a book by a Black author.’ It should be a natural thing. If you like romance, you’ll like this book; it’s as simple as that.”
On What She Wants Her Books to Represent
[She wants her books to] “make people feel full” and for them to find “hope and joy” within it. “That’s the kind of media I consume – I love love, and I watch things that make me feel really hopeful about the world,” she considers. “The world is full of darkness and bleakness, so then I have something that can skew my view to a positive one and to remind me that there is joy [too]. Friendship and romance are things that allow us to access joy.”
On What Lockdown Has Taught Her
“It’s made me realize how much I need to be nourished by experiences,” she determines. “I had one day recently, when I went to a friend’s house for a barbecue with a couple of close friends, and the elation and high that I felt was like I was on drugs! We’ve had Zoom parties, but it’s just not the same.”
On Working on Her Two Great Passions
“I’m so grateful; it’s crazy to me that I love rom-coms so much – they’re what I consume – and I get to write [about romance]. I’m very privileged because of that.”
Love in Colour: Mythical Tales from Around the World, Retold is available to buy from August 20
Read the full feature here
