Abstract
Introduction
2013 was a sad year for West African literature with two deaths. The passing of Chinua Achebe was marked by numerous obituaries and tributes. Nadine Gordimer wrote: Achebe’s works do not fear to challenge those post-colonial, independent regimes in Africa who abuse personal power in every possible way – from banning political opposition, to corruption … [They give] the sense of extraordinary entry into a brilliant (I do not use that word fashionably or lightly) mind, a writer’s continuing achievement of penetrating the variety, possibilities, mystery of being human in the presence not only of one’s own people and country, but of the world … It surely must mean a great deal to a writer to know that his or her work has reached through prison walls, having been longingly requested and received with difficulty by way of lawyers or rare visitors allowed a political prisoner. Achebe had that rather special recognition when Nelson Mandela, 27 years behind prison walls, told Achebe what his novels brought to him: “There was a writer named Chinua Achebe in whose company the prison walls fell.” (The Guardian, 22 March 2013)
The Ghanaian poet, academic and diplomat (Ghana’s ambassador to the United Nations, 1990–94) Kofi Awoonor, was killed in the 21 September attack on the Westgate Mall in Nairobi where he was taking part in the Storymayor Hay Literary Festival. The shocking manner of his death was the focus of most international press reports but there were also tributes to his work. His relative, Kwame Dawes, wrote in the Wall Street Journal: Awoonor’s verse is distinguished by its almost seamless combination of the syntax, cadence, and posture of the traditional Ewe poetic tradition, and the lyric concerns of modernist poetry. His confidence in his Ewe voice and culture made him more likely to reshape English prosody than for English prosody to alter him. (22 September 2013)
The Poetry Foundation Ghana launched the Ghana Poetry Prize with the support of the Department of English and Modern Languages, KNUST, building on its successful online completion in 2012. Over 1500 poems were submitted from all over the world. The winner was Daniel Kojo Appiah, an undergradualte at Regent University College, with his poem “The Leashed Goat Bleats”.
Nigerian Tope Folarin won the 2013 Caine Prize for African Writing for his short story entitled “Miracle” from Transition, Issue 109 (Bloomington, 2012). ‘Miracle’ is set in Texas, in an evangelical Nigerian church where the congregation has gathered to witness the healing powers of a pastor-prophet. West African writers dominated the Caine Prize this year with the other writers on the shortlist being: Elnathan John (Nigeria) with “Bayan Layi” from Per Contra, Issue 25 (USA), Pede Hollist (Sierra Leone) with “Foreign Aid” from Journal of Progressive Human Services Vol. 23.3 (Philadelphia, 2012), Abubakar Adam Ibrahim (Nigeria) with “The Whispering Trees” from The Whispering Trees, published by Parrésia Publishers (Lagos, 2012), and Chinelo Okparanta (Nigeria) with “America” from Granta, Issue 118 (London, 2012). The shortlisted stories can all be read on the Caine Prize website: http://www.caineprize.com.
The 2013 Nigeria prize for literature was awarded to the poet Tade Ipadeola for his third volume, The Sahara Testaments. Ipadeola is a lawyer and President of PEN Nigeria. He also writes in Yoruba. In a wide ranging interview, he discusses his formation as a poet (acknowledging the influence of J.P. Clark, Wole Soyinka, Niyi Osundare, Coleridge, Wordsworth, Yeats and Keats), the state of Nigerian publishing, writing in indigenous languages and the prospects for African poetry (Nigerians Talk 5 October 2013). Samuel Kolawole heralded a good year for African writing and marked out twelve promising African writers (The Guardian, 1 February 2013). Four of these were Nigerian (Nedi Okorafor, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Victor Ehikhamenor and Igoni Barrett) and one Ghanaian (Teju Cole).
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s third novel was greeted with interest and acclaimed both for its literary qualities and its social critique. Set mostly in the United States, but with scenes in the UK and Nigeria, it is a lengthy, detailed exploration of diaspora, blogging, identity (African-American, American-African and non-American Black) and hairstyles. Elizabeth Day in The Observer wrote: There are some novels that tell a great story and others that make you change the way you look at the world. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah is a book that manages to do both. … Americanah is a deeply felt book, written with equal parts lyricism and erudition. More than that, it is an important book – and yet one that never lets its importance weigh down the need to tell a truly gripping human story. (15 April 2013)
A film based on Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s second novel Half of a Yellow Sun, directed by Biyi Bandele, who also wrote the screenplay, premiered at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival. It was filmed in Nigeria at Adichie’s insistence.
Taiye’s Selasi’s debut novel Ghana Must Go is set largely in America, although significant parts of the book are set in Nigeria and Ghana as it follows the development of the brilliant but flawed Sai family through two generations. Although sometimes over-written and self-conscious, the novel also contains beautiful prose and confirms that Selasi is a talent to watch. One reviewer compares Selasi to Toni Morrison (The Guardian, 3 April 2013).
Cassava Republic, launched in 2006, is making its mark on the Nigerian publishing scene. Its website includes news, reviews, video clips and blogs: http://www.cassavarepublic.biz/.
Bibliography
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