This Hostel Life
Melatu Uche Okorie
2018 • Skein Press
I hope more voices will come up. As a matter of fact I cannot wait. There is still an underlying sense of US and THEM mentality in existence in Ireland, and until more voices arise, in their different forms, people would still continue to think that any expression of opinion by a migrant on Ireland is a criticism by THEM of US, rather than as an expression of a point of view by one of US on US.
— Melatu Uche Okorie
This Hostel Life
Melatu Uche Okorie
2018 • Skein Press
I hope more voices will come up. As a matter of fact I cannot wait. There is still an underlying sense of US and THEM mentality in existence in Ireland, and until more voices arise, in their different forms, people would still continue to think that any expression of opinion by a migrant on Ireland is a criticism by THEM of US, rather than as an expression of a point of view by one of US on US.
— Melatu Uche Okorie
Description
This Hostel Life tells the stories of migrant women in a hidden Ireland. From a day in the life of women queuing for basic supplies in an Irish direct provision hostel to a young black woman’s depiction of everyday racism in Ireland, her nuanced writing shines a light on the injustice of the direct provision system and on the insidious racism experienced by migrant women living in Ireland. A third story, set in a Nigeria of the past, tells of a woman’s life destroyed by an ancient superstition and her fierce determination to carry on, a quality Okorie believes is universally shared by women.
Excerpts
Interviews
- Independent.ie: '"Direct Provision is like being in an Abusive Relationship" - Nigerian Writer Melatu Uche Okorie on Direct Provision and Racism in Ireland'
- DBF: DBF Interviews - Melatu Uche Okorie
- Sara Martín-Ruiz "Melatu Okorie: An Introduction to Her Work and a Conversation with the Author"
Prizes & Awards
Reviews
- Emma Flynn, Stinging Fly
- Carol Ballantine, Headstuff
- Kerry Hudson, The Big Issue
- Dan A O’Brien, Dublin Review of Books
- Against Selfish Reading Blog
Audio
Video
- Joe.ie: Melatu Uche Okorie - 8 years in Direct Provision, Casual Racism in Ireland and Giving Tough Love
- The Arts Council: What the Hell/Heaven are we Doing? Sebastian Barry in Conversation with Melatu Uche Okorie
- PPGI UFSC: How the Story Travels - The Contemporary Irish Short Story
Film or TV Adaptations
- Irish National Opera: This Hostel Life Opera
- RTÉ: ‘Direct Provision, the Opera – Inside INO’s This Hostel Life'
- GoldenPlec: Review of live performance
- The Journal of Music: An Interview with Melatu Uche Okori and Evangelina Rigaki
- Irish Times: Review of the Live Performance
