The 2004 elections in Malawi were pivotal in the democratisation process of a country, which is undergoing enormous changes in its political landscape. The elections carried a message of democratic hope, however were not free of concern for the future of a stable democracy in the country: the 2004 elections were characterised by voter apathy, registering fewer voters than in 1999. The papers in this book comprise the proceedings of a non-partisan, academic conference, which took place in Malawi after the elections, in July 2004. They consider questions such as: the extent to which the people of the country were fully cognisant of their rights, responsibilities, and appreciated the power of the vote; the reasons for the reduced turnout, and whether or not this of itself represented a form of protest; and whether the elections will provide a stable and predictable foundation for the future. The papers further provide a comprehensive overview of the main aspects of the elections: the electoral process; the political parties; the participation of civil society and faith communities; the roles of the judiciary, media and donors; the management of conflicts; and perspectives of domestic and international observers. Finally, the editors outline a series of recommendations to local and international stakeholders in Malawi's democracy, and provide valuable statistical data.

“Ott's prose crackles and sizzles. There's never a dull moment, right to the riveting end. It's the kind of novel Hemingway might have written had he been alive today.� ~Erik Martiny, author of Night of the Long Goodbyes  West is a man looking to flee the past, barely old enough to drink and looking to rediscover himself after several tours in Afghanistan as a POW prison guard. After going AWOL, West looks to reunite with Solomon, his childhood best friend, who exists in the dark underworld of a Los Angeles gentleman’s club, Club Paradise. West soon finds himself caught in the web of an Iranian family and its patriarch, Big Z Pourali, a former wrestler with a dark side and side businesses that put his dancers, employees, and family in peril. West stays in LA to look after Solomon but soon falls for the club owner’s daughter Nikki. West must come to terms with the raw underside of a Los Angeles crime family and his own past, all the while hoping to maintain his sanity in the process. 

Poetry. "More and more while judging this contest I found myself drawn to Martin Ott's CAPTIVE and compelled to read and re-read the pages. No explanatory notes, no stanza breaks to ease the way, no gimmicks or prettiness of form. Instead, consistently tough, unwavering poems displaying a wide knowledge of the world--its brutality and beauty--and a keen, appreciative eye on the hard-won pleasures of the personal and private. I encourage the reader to jump headfirst into these poems, to rise to their challenge, listen to their haunting truths, and celebrate their song."--Gaylord Brewer, De Novo Prize Judge

This is a revised and updated edition of the comprehensive study of the role of art in the process of inculturation in Africa, first issued in 2000. The study is a substantial contribution toward a theology of inculcation in Africa, and enriches the debate on indigenous African and Christian artistic traditions. It represents the first systematic theology constructed in and from Malawi that establishes a theology of symbolic expression in Africa.

There is a long history of Islam in Malawi, which precedes Christianity; and Muslims constitute about fifteen percent of the country's population. However Muslims and Islam in Malawi have until relatively recently remained low profile, and there has been little research or documentation of their history. This collection of essays traces the history of Muslim culture in Malawi, looking at for example: how Islam spread to Malawi within the context of the expansion of Islan in East Africa; how Islam developed; and how the Christian churches responded. Further contributions address Islam in Nyasaland in 1910; Kanyenda and the Swahili challenge; Mohammedanism and the Yaos in 1991; the Yao Tariqa and the Sukuti movements; the problems of Islamic education; and the growth of a political and commercial Muslim elite.

We encounter many voices in life: from friends and family, from media, from co-workers, from other artists. In a highly connected global world, where people and entities are electronically enmeshed, we filter these voices constantly to get to what we determine to be the truth. Taking inspiration from pop culture, politics, art, and social media, Martin Ott mines daily existence as the inspiration and driving force behind Underdays. Underdays is a dialogue of opposing forces: life/death, love/war, the personal/the political. Ott combines global concerns with personal ones, in conversation between poems or within them, to find meaning in his search for what drives us to love and hate each other. Within many of the poems, a second voice, expressed in italic, hints at an opposing force "under" the surface, or multiple voices in conversation with his older and younger selves-his Underdays-to chart a path forward. What results is a poetic heteroglossia expressing the richness of a complex world.