GROWING, UP NORTH

This evocative memoir transforms the ordinary objects and rhythms of Northern Nigerian childhood into layered lessons on culture, resilience, and identity. Through lyrical essays focused on things like the patience required to cultivate the local muruci fruit, the steadfast support symbolized by a simple kitchen stool (kujera), and the communal joy of a feast (biki), Balpolam Idi crafts a generous interlacing of memory. It is a personal journey into heritage, showing how the dignity of Northern life, even amidst its challenges, teaches us the value of enduring processes and finding meaning in the steady, unobtrusive presence of community.