Eric Ngalle Charles

Eric Ngalle Charles is a Cameroonian writer, poet, playwright, and human rights activist based in Wales. A PhD researcher at King’s College London, he was awarded a Creative Wales Award Fellowship in 2017 for his work on migration, trauma, and memory. In his autobiography I, Eric Ngalle: One Man’s Journey Crossing Continents from Africa to Europe (2019, Parthian Books), he recounts his journey to Europe, spending several years in Russia and elsewhere seeking refuge. He was selected as one of Jackie Kay’s ‘best British BAME writers’ with a unique theatrical voice. He sits on boards at Aberystwyth Arts Centre. He is the editor of Hiraeth Erzolirzoli: A Wales-Cameroon Anthology (2018) and the author of The 3 Molas (2020, Hafran Books). His poetry Collection Homelands (Seren Books)  was published in 2022.

Exhibition: Canaletto in Aberystwyth: Idyll and Industry

The Idyll and Industry exhibition, at the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth, holds a special place in my heart. It celebrates the 200th anniversary of the National Galleries and how artists find inspiration in industrial and urban areas and landscapes, and features Canaletto’s painting ‘The Stone Mason’s Yard’. My first visit to the National Library of Wales in October last year sparked my interest in this art form, and I was overwhelmed by its collection. The thought of returning and feasting my senses in August fills me with nostalgia and excitement. 

   https://www.library.wales/canaletto

Book: Daughters of the Labyrinth

Daughters of the Labyrinth by Ruth Padel (2022, Corsair) explores how a quest for the truth can come about through a shadow that hangs wrongly on a painting. This becomes a portal through which the protagonists travel and return to Crete to discover German brutality during the war and a family secret. Padel’s books have significantly influenced me across all genres, from poetry to fiction. I was captivated by We Are All from Somewhere Else (2020, Vintage) about migration, survival, and poetry. I gasped at the migration of butterflies to Mexico coinciding with the celebration of the dead and a magician exploiting it. Padel’s new poetry collection Girl (Penguin) is set to be released in November 2024, and I’m eagerly looking forward to it.

https://www.ruthpadel.com/

Restaurant: Le Mandela, Cardiff

Some people still ask ridiculous questions like, ‘what food do Africans eat?’ Well, they eat Ekwang: grated cocoyams tied in cocoyam leaves, swimming in a pot of palm oil and smoke fish. This brings me to Le Mandela restaurant. Though situated in Grangetown, a tough neighbourhood in Cardiff, it offers one of the finest African cuisines in Wales. I have been there several times, and the experience was delightful each time. The ambience is warm and inviting, the service is excellent, and the food is a culinary delight. It is not expensive; for about fifteen pounds, you could eat to your satisfaction. Their latest menu is mouth-watering and gorgeous. Some college friends and I have booked a place for a weekend in October. However, whatever you do, do not drink the palm wine. Some things should be left in their continent. 

Marie, the manager of Le Mandela

Place: Three Cliffs Bay, Swansea 

I can only describe this place as an entrance into heaven via The Gower Peninsular. Old burial grounds. A passage resembling the mouth of a river, a path welcoming sunshine shaped like the nose of a hippopotamus, leading directly into the sea. Hills popping their heads up and down like meerkats, skylarks jumping on stones like ballerinas, albatrosses warbling like midnight drunks as they land, an old castle, a hawk on its ruin like a guard on a lighthouse, watching waves bashing rocks, and old boats, bubbling up and down. Broken branches, seawall painted green and yellow, footprints like ghosts, appearing and disappearing. Three Cliffs Bay, at the Gower Peninsular, is a place for pilgrimage. 

https://threecliffsbay.com/

African Drum and Dance: Cardiff 

Idrissa Camara, a remarkably talented artist from Guinea Conakry, was the first drummer I met who intimidated me with his djembe playing skills. His drumming can reverberate for hours with just one strike. I’ve signed up for his classes, which start in September at Delta Lounge, Tudor Street, Cardiff, and I can’t wait to begin. I’m excited to learn from Idrissa and improve my drumming skills. Idrissa’s mastery of the kora and mbira is equally impressive. I first met him and heard him play at a concert in Criccieth, north Wales, in 2016. That was the first time I felt like I had wings, flew over the Atlantic, and perched on the veranda of my mother’s house. His fingers work magic. 

http://www.la-olam.com/ballet-nimba

Musical: Here you come again

Growing up, my sister had a CD that played one song, ‘The Coat of Many Colours’, by the country artist Dolly Parton. In a Christian household, we associated this song with the betrayal of Joseph by his brother. Some of Dolly’s best songs have been transformed into a musical by the playwright Jonathan Harvey, whose work I greatly enjoy. And although I am not one for musicals, I will be going to the Wales Millenium Centre in August to watch the show and see if it takes me down memory lane. 

https://www.wmc.org.uk/en/whats-on/2024/here-you-come-again