Today is the publication day for Jay Boss Rubin’s translation of one of the novels by esteemed Tanzanian author Euphrase Kezilahabi, the classic Swahili novel Rosa Mistika, by Euphrase Kezilahabi, now available through Yale University Press.

First published in 1971 and censored by the Tanzanian government for its controversial content, Rosa Mistika tells the story of teenage Rosa as she departs from Ukerewe Island in Lake Victoria and enters the mainland of her young adulthood. The novel is at once tragic, humorous, and poignant, and brims with beautiful sentences and thought-provoking questions about agency and authority. 

Rubin was first introduced to Rosa Mistika in 2001 as an undergraduate student of Swahili. He decided to attend the Queens College MFA Program so that he could work with MFA faculty member Annmarie Drury, who herself had translated Kezilahabi’s book of poetry, Stray Truths, which was published by University of Michigan Press in 2015.

Today’s publication is the culmination of years of Jay’s work, both during and after studying translation here at Queens College. It just goes to show you what happens when you combine your passions with the right MFA program!

Copies are available now through Yale University Press, so what are you waiting for? Go read this seminal Swahili novel!