Manifesto

On Never Giving Up

By: Bernardine Evaristo

Narrated by: Bernardine Evaristo

Length: 6 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

From the best-selling and Booker Prize-winning author of Girl, Woman, Other, Bernardine Evaristo’s memoir of her own life and writing, and her manifesto on unstoppability, creativity, and activism.

Bernardine Evaristo’s 2019 Booker Prize win was a historic and revolutionary occasion, with Evaristo being the first Black woman and first Black British person ever to win the prize in its 50-year history. Girl, Woman, Other was named a favorite book of the year by President Obama and Roxane Gay, was translated into 35 languages, and has now reached more than a million readers.

Evaristo’s astonishing nonfiction debut, Manifesto, is a vibrant and inspirational account of Evaristo’s life and career as she rebelled against the mainstream and fought over several decades to bring her creative work into the world. With her characteristic humor, Evaristo describes her childhood as one of eight siblings, with a Nigerian father and White Catholic mother; tells the story of how she helped set up Britain’s first Black women’s theater company; remembers the queer relationships of her 20s; and recounts her determination to write books that were absent in the literary world around her. She provides a hugely powerful perspective to contemporary conversations around race, class, feminism, sexuality, and aging. She reminds us of how far we have come and how far we still have to go. In Manifesto, Evaristo charts her theory of unstoppability, showing creative people how they too can visualize and find success in their work, ignoring the naysayers.

Both unconventional memoir and inspirational text, Manifesto is a unique reminder to us all to persist in doing work we believe in, even when we might feel overlooked or discounted. Evaristo shows us how we too can follow in her footsteps, from first vision, to insistent perseverance, to eventual triumph.

©2021 by Bernardine Evaristo (P)2021 by Penguin Audio

Couldn't stop listening...

Couldn't stop listening and finished it in less than 24 hours! Inspiring, uplifting, and even funny while recounting the heartbreak and horrors of racism and sexism past and present. Also really interesting for writers, especially fiction writers. I loved Girl, Woman, Other and am now looking forward to reading/listening to more of Bernardine Evaristo's books.

Wicked! (1980s London slang)

Inspirational for an aspirational writer like me: B.E. LIKES that it’s hard to write. Inspirational.

Outstanding!!

There are too many passages I would love to share…suffice it to say “there is a manifesto in each of us…”. One needs to prioritize through “ambition, hard work, creativity, craft, originality, and unstoppability…”. We are all interconnected and must work to uplift communities, leaving no one behind…”no one gets anywhere on their own”.

Glorious performance and inspiring story

To hear the delightful Prof Dr Bernardine (2 R’s please) Evaristo perform the 7 chapters of Manifesto is to be transported by the sound and literary gems of her life. Be positive, develop your craft, work and rework your characters and struggle through their lives and your creative life, and write what inspires you, are all foundational to the writer’s growth. But all that self affirming and uplifting advice is juiced up with some tawdry tales performed and written by Ms E that make this such a glorious and inspiring Manifesto. Get the Audible version and delight in the performance.

Inspiring!

Inspiring, humble and honest depiction of Bernardine’s journey thus far! I cannot wait to hear more from this brilliant writer.