Slaughterhouse of Dreams

A new poetic form from National Book Award finalist Fiston Mwanza Mujila, lauded author of novelsTram 83andThe Villain's Danceand poetry collectionThe River in the Belly.The Slaughterhouse of Dreamsis rooted in a traditional Congolese form of praise poem, thekasala, that ties together proverbs, origin stories,fables, and riddles into a recitation accompanied by music. In Mwanza Mujilas skilled hands, this oral tradition becomes a new multimedia form,set to the page while retaining the remarkable drama, emotion, and celebration of its performed root. InThe Slaughterhouse of Dreams, multiple lyrical traditions create a hybrid world of global spaces and layers of time. With the rhythmic, frenetic energy that unites his poetry, prose, and performances, Fiston Mwanza Mujila reanimates and simultaneously deconstructs ideas of the (post)colonial environment.