For Chris Abani, the Nigerian author who comes to Kleinhans Music Hall at 8 tonight as part of the Just Buffalo Literary Center’s “Babel” reading series, self-expression has come at a price.

The first book he published while living in Nigeria got him tossed in jail for six months. Shortly after his release, his performance with a theater group in Nigeria resulted in another arrest and after that, a play he wrote so angered Nigerian officials that he was sentenced to death. When he was released, he high-tailed it for London and eventually for California, where he now teaches at UC Riverside. Now, fortunately for Abani and perhaps even more so for his international audience, the author faces no such threats and is free to express himself as he pleases.

Abani’s book, “GraceLand,” which News contributor R. D. Pohl described as “a coming-of- age novel about a teenage Elvis Presley impersonator growing up in the harsh and violent ghettos of Lagos, Nigeria,” will be the focus of tonight’s reading.

Tickets are $35. Call 832- 5400 or visit .

 

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