The Black Men of Bissonnet Street

The Black Men of Bissonnet Street explores the lives of five African men who migrate to the United States of America in the quest for a better life. People say love is like a battlefield. For these men, it becomes more literal than figurative, as their homes quickly become minefields, shattering their illusions and leaving them at the mercy of erratic, vindictive spouses.

The Black Men of Bissonnet Street is at once a story of hope and despair, of love and hatred, of trust and betrayal. It explores the desperations of migration and the diverse shades of misery and homesickness it brings. In the end, what appears to be a solution ushers in new challenges that these characters struggle to overcome.

“Holding on the mirage of tales told of life abroad, these men joined the migration rave to America. Once there, all but one fall in love with Americans and get ready to enjoy the beauty of everything in their new-found El Dorado. Only then do they discover adventures in experiences that will keep readers on the edge of their seats. This is the other side of the migration tale you might not hear, expertly woven in fiction to thrill you from the first page to the very end.”

—S. Su’eddie Vershima Agema, multiple award-winning author of Memory and the Call of Waters (Winner, Association of Nigerian Authors Poetry Prize 2022 and Finalist, Nigeria Prize for Literature 2022)