NP - Kola Boof

[David Morris]

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/11/books/11BOOF.html

Mystery Enshrouds Kola Boof, Writer and Internet Persona
By JULIE SALAMON

Who is Kola Boof?

She might be, as she claims, the object of a fatwa ordering her death because
of her vehement criticism of the Muslim government in her native Sudan. Or she
might be, as some have suggested, an author trying to bring attention to her
books by fabricating a provocative public persona, using the specter of fatwa
as a marketing ploy.

Either way, the Kola Boof story demonstrates how flashpoints are reached in
cyberspace, the new forum for underground literature and politics, where fact
and myth become indistinguishable and publicity campaigns become a kind of
performance art. Without the imprimatur of a major publisher or a mainstream
review or a public appearance, she has managed to instigate anger and
discussion about her work.




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