MY LITERARY CENTS by Audilia Wakesho Mwamburi

The first one is Blood Feast-The complete short stories by Malik Moustradaf translated by Alice Guthrie; It is prudent to state that the writer, Malik, is a renown feminist icon as far as contemporary Moroccan literature is concerned; she has shown her undying passion in addressing the gender and sexuality concerns in North Africa. This is to say, Blood Feast is not any different !  It is a short fiction of 14 stories that are to any readers’ interest untying the issues of sexuality, hidden desires, absence of choice and gender norms to say the least! The stories unfold  the glimmering pain of characters from- a breastfeeding mother flirting on the internet, to an intersex sex worker, to a young man grappling with desire itself; notforgetting, A teenage girl suffers through a dystopian rite of passage, a man with kidney disease makes desperate attempts to secure treatment, and a mother schemes to ensure her daughter passes a virginity test.

 

Secondly is A Biography of Can Themba; The Making and Breaking of the intellectual Tsotsi by Siphiwo Mahala; This book gives insight into who Can Themba was as a person and an iconic South African literary journalist for Drum magazine and author, best known for his classic book ‘The Suit’; that was banned during the apatheid regime. Can Themba died while in exile in Swaziland, 1967.  The biography explores in detail Can Themba’s social, political and intellectual side. If you have no idea who Can Themba was, it is high time you grab this copy!

The third one is Green; Sighs of Our Ailing Planet by Niyi; I must say that this is the first poetry collection I have come across that passionately communicates about the need for us to put everything on hold and take care of our environment and the beauty it beholds!  The message in the poems is a personal desperate plea to stop environmental destruction - a moment to ponder on the abundant lush land we lived in before we destroyed it. Nonetheless,  It is not too late for us to change and give our planet- the sighs of healthy relief!

The Fourth postmodern book is by a kenyan writer Troy Onyango- For What are Butterflies without their wings; The title is quite thought-provoking. It is a collection of twelve stories that centers around the theme of loss. Weird enough, I wonder why Troy’s storylines always evoke a sense of loss? Is it a question of personal experience or just an author's obsessive interest- In one of the stories, a sister loses a brother/ In ‘Sunset Dreams, a mother loses her teenage son/In Origami- the protagonist loses a part of his face/In This Little Light of Mine, a character lost the use of his legs/

Fifth book,  Bridges are For Burning by Bina; Do you actually think bridges are for burning? Would you compromise your peace of mind to keep a secret? How far would you be willing to go to safeguard this secret? Or are you the one who burns bridges at a given moment assuring yourself what the worst that could happen? There you go!, ‘Bridges are For Burning’ - is a tale of three women, three secrets, three lies. The story encircles one woman named Gigi who is at a betwixt with a bestfriend on one end, and a sister on another. It was on the eve of Valentine’s day, where she couldn't take it any longer! Off to eye roll moments!

The sixth book is; On Rotation by Shirlen Obuobi; As the subtitle states; Life doesn’t come with a prescription; This is a story that literally brings to life the notion of ‘All hell break loose’ to a once ‘ perfect emblem- of who a daughter should be’ one who has enrolled to an elite medical school with perfect credentials, one who has snagged off a handsome lawyer as a boyfriend, one who has surrounded herself with a gaggle of successful loyal friends. To say the least, all the boxes have been checked! Until, suddenly, everything started falling apart; a peak in time to reconsider and re-route! It is such a relatable story in our contemporary society. Ohh..do you remember the medical drama series, Grey’s

QUICK GLANCE

Intro:

Are you a Literature lover? 

Are you tired of reading Literature that does not resonate with our time? 

Do you have questions about Literature?  

If so, welcome to the podcast ‘My Two cent’s worth’. The platform that discusses Literature in relation to our times. 

 I am uniquely Kenyan and relevantly African... hence my focus, African Literature.

In this video, I will be giving a quick glance - PART 1 on ten newly released post modern african books.

Hashtag: Postmodernist reality in African Literature. 

Please listen till the end. 

You will definitely have food for thought!

Let us sail in!

Body:

  The first one is by a kenyan writer, Okwiri Oduor’s ‘Things They Lost’ . Have you ever read Alice in Wonderland? Exactly my thoughts! Things They Lost is an African- Alice in Wonderland, where going down the rabbit hole is uniquely different. It is such a good read exploring a child's progression through life in magical form . The story ' s plot line, though intertwined with use of emotive poems; talks about the issue of womanhood alongside the dire need for motherly love from the perception of a coming of age girl named Ayosa. It is a tale that is purely merged up with magic as a way of getting an inner look at the characters’ thought process. 

Secondly is Vagabonds by Elogusa Osunde. The title itself is quite eye-catching as it foreshadows a  call for attention . The novel is majorly a collection of many stories exploring various characters trapped in their own life’s predicaments and disillusionment.From mothers who find love in each other under the authoritarian   society that sees their husbands abuse all the women in their lives, to young sex workers who remind themselves daily who it is they love, a tale of a renowned fashion designer who gives birth to a grown daughter and ofcourse the mention of queer love that runs rampant in the novel. The weird narration depicts the weird - the outcasted- the unwanted. Grab a read.!

The third one is Honey and Spice by Bolu. What a title! You can't believe what the subtitle in the book states; Sweet like plantain, hot like pepper‘ Who can guess the topic of concern here’? Well…the book unfolds a  juicy story of a quote and quote ‘ an expert relationship dodger’ who tries to avoid the shambles of ‘situationships’, ‘players-Locally we call them ‘Team mafisi’ and heartbreaks. But alas!...the expertise came to a dead end!

The Fourth postmodern book is, You Made a Fool of Death with your beauty. This Nigerian writer Emezi; presents to us a lady character known as Feyi-who decides she wants nothing serious- but just joy to slowly heal her from the loss she had encountered. Feyi simply wants to be alive again!  Haa..I know we all have that ride or die best friend who always stretches us off our walls…right? This is the same case with Feyi; who attends a rooftop party that instantly turned her life around to unimaginable possibilities of love!  Ohh..please check the word order in the title!- You Made a Fool of Death with your beauty

Fifth book,  Content Warning: Everything by the same Nigerian writer , Emezi. -Honestly, this is my favorite .  ! It is a poetry collection that is purely crafted to speak to the human mind and soul. The poems are written in first person narration capturing an ‘I’ persona who in one way or another mirrors us, from desire to survive and abuse to survival, all in celebration of the essence of life hence a list of content warning as the title echoes. One outstanding thing about some poems is the ‘use of biblical stories and alteration of characters in the bible to create a sense of familiarity in a hypothetical sense for instance the use of Mary -mother of Joseph as an auntie; Magdalene as a seductress; Joseph as an uncle;  and an angel with red wings! Wow. weird! Aside from this, there are other poems that vividly reflect our contemporary traumas and huddles such as mental illness, depression, violence inflicted by others and violence inflicted o

Hashtag: ' Relevantly African'

( A Mouthpiece of an African Literature Fanatic)

Are you a Literature Lover?

Are you tired of reading Literature that does not resonate with our time?

Do you have questions about Literature?

If so, do hear this out! Albeit, you will have food for thought!

In a moment of self reflection, have you ever bothered to read atleast 3 newly released African Literature books or did you immediately drop the idea of it after your school life?

I see.

A call to rephrase,

How many of you can really define what African literature is?

Mmhhh...from the point of assumption, many say ; it is  literature that is written by Africans and characterizes - the oral and written forms that uses beauty to communicate important truths of a society’

Great! However, stating quite distinctly, African literature is literature that, Yes, written by writers  from African descent, either a resident of the continent or in the Diaspora. But more primarily,it is a kind of literature that goes beyond the borders of nationality, ethnicity and geography but one that is universal yet appealing to the personal depths of inner self.

Are you confused?

The definition puts aside the idea of looking and expressing truths from a group perspective but rather from an individual.

An individual who at the sound of these words will make deliberate effort to be vulnerable yet open-minded to view or read African literature as an ordinary everyday language.

You ask why?

Simply because being hashtag 'Relevantly African' needs conscious guts to fully express the reality of life and its pessimistic ideologies with an optimistic objective for one to live freely by reaffirming a sense of self .

Are you more confused?

That's the idea!

Please grab a recent copy of a postmodern African book and enjoy the thrilling experience that comes with it - I promise, you wont dare say , African literature is boring !

Say it again: Hashtag: ' Relevantly African'

RECAP SUMMARY ON THE SERIES ‘TRACING THE FOOTSTEPS IN AFRICAN LITERATURE’

Are you a Literature lover? 

Are you tired of reading Literature that does not resonate with our time? 

Do you have questions about Literature?  

If so, welcome to the podcast ‘My Two cent’s worth’. The platform that discusses Literature in relation to our times. 

 I am uniquely Kenyan and relevantly African... hence my focus, African Literature.

Following my interaction with some of you, in this video, I will be doing a recap on the series ‘Tracing the footsteps in African Literature.

Please listen till the end. 

You will definitely have food for thought!

Let us sail in!

The series kicked off with the first footstep which is: 

The Pre-Colonial period- If I may ask, have you ever wondered how we, Africans , used to celebrate our own individuality, our own uniqueness before the coming of the europeans? Indeed, we did celebrate in many ways that I define them to be the beauty that describes Africa. Talk about our proverbs, the myths, the legends, the folklores and many others. Key highlight of this footstep is simply the birth which is the origin of African literature. At this period in time, it was purely oral in nature!

This was later followed by the coming of the Europeans into Africa. The  Colonial period. African literature quickly transversed into the written form quite predominantly. One of the highlights of this period was the African writers calling out the undignified colonial experience. A perfect  picture of inviting a guest to your house then later he entirely takes over the control of your house. What a dreadful experience?

Then comes the third footstep. The Post Colonial period that expounded on the aftermath and shades of colonialism. African literature, writers in this instance, were  at war- fighting for the long lost hope for its African nations. This highlights the question of the colonial mindset! Oh, my goodness! How I wish we will one day get over this ideology and not dwell on the mimics of our colonizers!

The fourth footstep is the Modern period. This period gave rise to many drastic changes in all the facets of life from industrialism to the realm of power structure due to the concept of logical thinking. However, the negative impact spoken candidly about by African writers is that modernism destroyed the social ties that bound people together especially in our traditional African societies.

This led us to the last footstep, The Postmodernism period. Some naysayers call it the ‘age of empowerment’ in the aspects of digitalisation and globalization. The period where nothing is certain. A remark that says: ‘You go your way and I go my way, for the right way, it does not exist! This is indeed the period where African writers are and will still be at war with what really defines the right and the wrong as far as social values and social order are  concerned alongside the embellished concept of the reality of an individual.

I hope I have been able to put all this entire series into perspective. Please revisit every single one of them to get references on the recommended African books to read for each period.

That’s all I have for you today.

Kindly subscribe and share this podcast with your family and friends.

Thank you and see you next time.

Hello Literature lovers,

this is a reflective clip after the entire series on Tracing the Footsteps in African Literature; the last footstep being the postmodernism.

As an extension in a realistic way of understanding postmodernism are the topical issues that we may deem not worth

of our attention, but on the flip side, they are fiercely-pricking!

Take a pause.

However much one may want to object such issues the bottomline is there is no

longer a room to strongly give someone some stick or impede them as we live in an era that sort of puts aside the idea of logical thinking but rather focuses on the reality of an individual!

You may agree or disagree?

Is there a way out? Albeit no.

Surprisingly enough, did you know we have been in this postmodernism period for the last 46 years and it is still progressing!

Mmmmmmhhh...

With all said and done,

In a '3-2-1 'moment of reflection:

3- think of 3 things that you see are happening in our today’s African society that are postmodern- from the corners of our neighbourhood to the trending concerns in social media, all the way to the mainstream media in our living rooms.

2 -jot down 2 ideas on the effects of a postmodern society.

1- read atleast 1 postmodern African book to enlighten you more on postmodernism.

Pause and pause and pause***

In my next episode, I will be sharing with you some of the newly released Postmodern African books across all genres from both the renown and upcoming authors. From contemporary issues of romance, comedy, historical fiction, pop , sexuality, spirituality, murder mystery, tales in memoirs and biographies down to the themes on Womanhood, Rebranding of the Boy child, Selfhood and the Triviality of Globalisation.

That has been 'My Two Cent's Worth!

Kindly subscribe and share this podcast with your family and friends.

Vaclav Havel puts it, We live in a world where everything is possible and almost nothing is certain "

The last footstep is our present reality the - postmodernist period that became predorminant in the end of  20th century to the present-21st century.

In layman's understanding, quote & quote: Postmodernism is a movement that focuses on the reality of the individual and denies statements that claim to be true for all people.

An example of a thought of postmodernism is the idea that not all people would see stealing as negative.

To spark your understanding in regards to stealing, just recently, in our Kenyan news , a man was charged with stealing 5kgs of rice, 5 litres of cooking oil, 2kgs of sugar, honey and tea leaves all totalling to KSh 3,165 from Naivas supermarket. The court then fined the man Sh100,000 or a one year jail term. The news raised eyebrows bringing about the thought behind why he stole. But at the end of it all, the man was freed. WOW. This is our postmodernist reality.

In the Literature world, postmodernism which means ‘after the modern’  rejects the idea of logical thinking.

Postmodernists believe that open quote “ in contemporary global society people’s identities are chosen rather than given”. End quote. Postmodernist writers in this regard are open to questioning socially constructed identities challenging preconceived notions of sexuality, gender and inspired widespread change.

The two major themes that characterize the postmodern period are: Digitalization and Globalization.  

Quite pronounced, the effects of postmodernism has more than often been seen to have affected views and lifestyles, which in turn brought changes in human interactions within the different social systems. 

Narrowing down to the African context, postmodernism, refers to a wide range of literary discourses and practises that disrupt rationality and linked to writer’s aspiration to dismantle the realistic trend.

You may ask, how can I tell if a book is postmodern? Great. “A postmodern novel simply employs the use of unreliable narrators to further muddy the waters with extreme subjectivity hence preventing any reader from finding meaning during the story”.

A good example that perfectly fits this description is Alain Mabancou’s ‘Broken Glass’ that unfolds a treacherous life of a narrator ‘broken glass’ that is quote and quote confined in the bar; having drunk himself out of a job and a wife, amidst some hard-luck stories of other unreliable narrators.

Some of the postmodern African texts that have somewhat evoked hybrid identities and spaces beyond National boundaries include: Helon Habila’s Measuring Time which tells a story of a set of twins who grew up going their opposite directions in quest for success. One of the twins having sickle-cell anaemia worked at home as a school teacher and historian, while the other twin joins the guerrilla rag tag mercenary army which terrorise people and governments across North and West Africa. What a contrast of characters? Right?

More primarily are the postmodern novels that pose the question of morality as real issues in contemporary African society arising as global implications that have not been set aside by the 21st century African writers. Open quote: Wale Okediran in Dreams Die At Twilight and Jude Dibia’s Walking with Shadows deal with absurd sexual tendencies while Maik Nwosu’s Alpha Song treats the younger generation’s lifestyle of nightclubbing,alcoholism, sex and  music. End quote.

  Start your search for a postmodern book and enjoy the thrilling experience that comes with it!

The fourth footstep that will usher us into our today’s postmodernism reality is the modern African literary period. This period became prevalent in the early twentieth century where there was a dramatic change of thought bringing about a reform in all the spheres of life with the aid of technology and experimentation sought to improve the environment. African literature at this moment in time, was based on using rational and logical means to gain knowledge. The two main characteristics of this period were: Individualism and Absurdity. Where in the former, the writers believed that an individual is more interesting than society. The writers were more fascinated with how the individual adapted to the changing world; whilst in the latter, many writers at this moment in time, believed that the world was becoming a more absurd place every day, noting the bustles and hustles of how life became mysterious and lost in the daily rush of life. Taking a deeper view in the African context, the shades of colonialism were somewhat still unending as most modern African writers focused their works on the healing and purging of the country and families. Many writers especially, modern african poets not only explain how indigenous cultures are absorbed by western standards but also how limiting in vision their leaders have become. Some of the works during this modernist period include: 1. Roman Egudu’s ‘Modern African Poetry and African Predicaments’ that highlights  open quote “intimately concerned with the African people in the African society, with their life…” 2. Tanure Ojaide’s ‘Poetic Imagination in Black Africa’ that highlights an individual's experiences as part of a shared culture hence giving a poet an assumed responsibility of teaching and fighting verbally to save his people. 3.Congolese, Alain Mabanckou’s  memoir ‘ The Lights of Pointe-Noire’ a thoughtful meditation on homecoming that unravels the paradoxes of a narrator torn between the present truthfully faced in his new life and the roots of his childhood. 4. Zoe Wicomb’s ‘Playing in the Light’ a celebrated novel that revolves around the character Marion Campbell who must negotiate the complexities of the new world of a postapartheid South African society with all its bizarre brutal history.5. Moroccan, Tahar Ben Jelloun’s  classic ant-racist book ‘Racism explained to my daughter’ written as a letter from the writer to the daughter that highlights a quite compelling dialogue in which he explains difficult concepts from ghettos and genocide to slavery and anit-semitism.

The third footstep is the postcolonial period, this is the period that immediately came after the political independence of various African countries which were formerly subjected to European colonial rule.

African Literature at this time took the role in perpetuating and challenging colonial imperialism.

The effects of colonization were way too deep that even after independence , many countries continued to suffer and wallow from its aftermath.

The aftermath led to displacement of indigenous language, religion, political and socio-cultural systems in Africa.

A certain  guide on postcolonial literature asserts, open quote “...given what a huge deal colonialism was, is it any wonder that writers from formerly colonized countries became  obsessed with understanding it, representing it , and challenging it?

And given that the consequences of colonialism extended well beyond the actual period of decolonization- that these consequences continue even to this day, is it any wonder that writers are still dealing with the legacy of colonialism? End quote! 

To enhance the understanding of this colonial discourse, take a read of Assia Djebar’s novel titled ‘Fantasia: An Algerian Cavalcade’ that creates a picture of France’s violent colonial rule in Algeria

or

Wole Syinka’s play, ‘Death and the King’s Horseman’ that tells the clash between the Yoruba and the Colonial beliefs

or

Ngugi wa Thiong’s ‘Decolonising the Mind’ that brings a different idea of having a mental liberation from philosophies of colonialism.

In the next video , I will talk about the modernist and postmodernist periods, in which the latter arguably, is our present footstep.

The second footstep is the colonial period. In layman's definition,  Colonialism  is where a superior nation or country takes governship of another country through the use of power and control.  Interestingly, the history of colonialism  began decades ago during the times of ancient Greece, ancient Rome and Ancient Egypt taking popularity over other areas. Colonialism heightened during the age of discovery. African colonialism is not any different  as many countries in the continnet became dominated by the Europeans. It is here that  literature is shaped by ‘open quote  ‘the colonial experience of direct rule and domination by the imperialist power’ end quote. It was a time that is still very vivid , to some very livid , where Africa experienced several hardships in its long history that  has left a strong impact on the theme of its Literature. African literature at this time took a different turn where authors, poets from all the corners of the continent…began writing and exploring issues on slave narratives, protests against colonization, calls for independence, African pride and hope for the future. All these led to the rise of African resistance and rebellions of all nature to bring forth independence. Examples include Mau Mau Uprising in Kenya; Maji Maji rebellion in Tanzania; Lamogi rebellion in Uganda; Malagasy Uprising in Madagascar; Boussa rebellion in  Nigeria, Simba rebellion in Congo ; Angolan war and Algerian war just to name a few. Being one of the most pronounced literary periods in Africa; the concept of colonization and the traumas it ingrained in Africa people, there are many African literary texts on this discourse that are readily available at anyone’s disposal. Nonetheless, some of the best books that clearly and meticulously examine the Colonial Africa in depth are: Travels into the Interior of Africa by Mungo Park; The Scramble for Africa by Thomas Pakenham ( not African though); The Will to Die by Can Themba; Petals of Blood by Ngugi Wa Thiongo; and ofcourse, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe just to name a few.

Someone once said, open quote: Footsteps are the wonders of staying alive to move forward end quote.

This is my entry point on how African literature should be viewed. Is there anyone out here who sounds like he/she is tired of being heard? Being heard talking what naysayers say about African literature that we have copy-paste ideologies’ , that we have no form of originality, that we have not sought to talk about our uniqueness and that we have decided to have an easy way out kind of an ‘excuse’ to get glued on the colonial mindset ! Let me further provoke your thinking…how many times have you ever read a literature material and felt some freshness of thoughts and ideas without touching on colonialism? Albeit, it is easily countable…Right?

Okay. Before I commence , a friend did ask me what I mean by the term ‘African’ . Therefore, let me begin by bringing into context the term African. Yes, the term ‘African’ is predisposed as a  Eurocentric notion that operates on the premises that the continent ‘Africa’ is homogenous. And the argument is that there are so many diverse cultures, people, experiences and realities in the vast continent, and that literature in itself is uniquely peculiar from one country to the other taking note of the form and content from different corners either East african, West african or south african literature, name it all.  And yes, there are 54 nations which make up Africa, yes, each of them has its own history, culture, tribes and traditions; that being said,  there are also commonalities shared by literature which comes from the continent as a whole. The bottomline is that the term ‘African’ is an identity! An identity that I think we need to outgrow by not looking at it as a set limit clouding us but as a possession of who we are and what we have to offer, though individually unique but collectively tied together on the parameters of our rich traditions, of our experiences , our nationhood and many others!  However, to make the terms ‘African and African literature’ more definite, please revisit my episode one on the preamble of the podcast!

On matters ‘Tracing our Footsteps in African Literature;  allow me to quickly paraphrase by putting a bit of flesh on some of the literary periods in Africa. The first footstep is the pre-colonial period, long before any cultural contact with Europe where cultural elements and artistic expressions best exemplified Africa, The core roots of African traditions were the integral part of what described early Africa and what was known to us was-Oral literature such as: myths, legends, rites, rituals, folk celebrations ; externalized the beliefs, passions and interrelated activities that  preoccupied any given group. This literature incorporated past happenings hidden in proverbs, riddles, tales, taboos  and superstitions. To further enlighten you on this period, if majorly interested in precolonial Africa, grab a copy of the text, ‘Pre Colonial Black Africa’ by Cheikh Anta Diop.