THE EERIE SALUTATION

By OMOSEYE BOLAJI


My latest book, titled Miscellaneous Writings (2011) was launched in South Africa recently. Unlike similar occasions in the past, the book was launched in a small way this time around, as regards the formal occasion itself.

I garnered some flak for the quiet launch, especially from many other writers and literary activists who believed that it had been an oversight, or even a slight not to make the occasion even more memorable. But on my own part, I was quite satisfied; to be honest, the understated launch was quite deliberate.

Alas, there was no way I could control the media coverage however; the stories published on the new book itself. The local papers in particular made a song and dance about my latest book, and one of the publications went a bit too far!

In South Africa, unlike in Nigeria, there are many free, “mahala” publications, newspapers and magazines, distributed free of charge to tens of thousands of the people all over the place. Hence an incredible number of people would likely read stories published in such publications.

It so happened that an article on my latest book, plus my photograph was emblazoned on the front page of one of such free publications. This particular publication’s slant was that the new book, Miscellaneous Writings was the 30th I had published. And this deserved a lot of celebration!

The free, popular newspaper catapulted me almost to a “cause celebre” status.People were congratulating me all over the place. “We saw you on the front page! Congrats!” was the order of the day.

Perhaps, the most “bizarre” of such congratulations was when a certain lady, an acquaintance of mine I had not seen for some years, came to me. Smiling broadly, she threw her arms round me, and hugged me in unbridled fashion.“I saw you on the front page of the newspaper,” she said warmly, nigh tremulous with excitement. “So you have now published 30 books! You must be very clever,”

I grinned. “On the contrary,” I said. Before I could go further, she said: “you see now…pity you did not let me have a baby for you in those days…you were scared; afraid…”

I winced. But I managed to rally: “I thought we were just ordinary friends at the time…I never knew you wanted me in that way,”

She said: “Then you are blind! How could a blind man write 30 books?” She shook her head deprecatingly.

THE FLOTSAM AND JETSAM

(Right) Okara's THE VOICE

By Omoseye Bolaji

“The people who have the sweetest insides are the think-nothing people
and we here try to be like them. Like logs in the river we float and
go whither the current commands and nothing enters our insides to turn
the sweetness into bitterness,”

- from Gabriel Okara’s THE VOICE


When Pa Okara published his novel – THE VOICE – decades ago many critics and
reviewers interpreted the work as one exhorting, calling for moral
regeneration in African societies generally.

In the haunting book (The Voice) Okolo, the protagonist is on a
puzzling, nigh esoteric quest for “it” – loosely defined as “meaning
of life”; advising his people and others to ponder about the lives
they are living, their integrity, purpose of existence etc.
Ultimately, Okolo pays the price for his “treachery” and is killed on
the orders of King Izongo.

It is stressed again and again that most people will rather live
“empty” lives, lives without a purpose, and they would not like others
criticising them or calling for more integrity from them. Remarkably,
the book was published over forty years ago; yet its theme still
resonates till date.

Has Africa moved forward since the book was published? Not even an
obtuse optimist would say “yes”; the whole continent has been ravaged
with a plethora of negative things – including extraordinary
corruption, civil wars, maladministration, greed, diseases (not
forgetting the scourge of hiv aids), famine etc.

On an individual level, the type of people referred to as those who
are “like logs in the river we float and go whither the current
commands and nothing enters our insides to turn the sweetness into
bitterness” seem to proliferate in African nations, including in
Nigeria and South Africa. Yet it might well be a cosmetic situation.
But how do they manifest themselves? Do they really do any harm?

Here in South Africa, you see a medley of people milling around
apparently jobless and purposeless, wallowing in the same. Young and
old. You see them hanging around their houses, their neighbourhood,
nearby taverns and shebeens. You see a few of them and you’ve seen
them all…

Yet paradoxically, there is a serenity that surrounds people of this
ilk that indeed gives the impression that “the people with the
sweetest insides....” A friend of mine in South Africa once called
them the “flotsams and jetsam,” During summer, winter – never mind
autumn and spring – they are in profusion; often friendly, waving,
greeting good-natured in their apparent vacuousness.

Do these people have any real ambitions? What do they think about life
itself? Do they have plans to forge ahead in life? What do they do by
way of finding jobs, or furthering their education? These are answers
for the pertinent pundits and experts, perhaps. On a simplistic
level, what is clear enough is that they remind one of Okara’s famous
description.

Nor should we be naïve enough to think that many of these people are
as harmless as they look. From among their ranks the likes of thieves,
rapists, even murderers lurk. Perhaps this is in accordance with the
hoary saying that “an idle mind is the devil’s workshop,”

OMOSEYE BOLAJI'S LATEST BOOK (2011)

OMOSEYE BOLAJI'S LATEST BOOK (2011)

Review by Paul Lothane



So Omoseye Bolaji’s 2011 book is out, and those of us who love his brand of writing are enthused again. After all, his last book came out in very early 2010. The new book is titled Miscellaneous Writings.

Some might be disappointed that the new work is NOT fiction. But as I always say, we can always re-read Bolaji’s many works of fiction anyway. This latest work comprises short essays, articles, reviews etc, written by the author.

As the blurb of the book tells us: “This book contains a selection of (Bolaji’s) miscellaneous writing: brief, informative, sparkling, introspective; often humorous and dazzling. Not surprisingly, the author touches on many aspects of the world of literature…”

This book is written in various styles, so to speak. I suppose the author wrote each piece the manner in which he felt they should be written. Bolaji’s essays on writers D.H Lawrence, NMM Duman, and (largely) Lewis Nkosi are essentially formal, with a rather disciplined format.

Yet there are idiosyncratic pieces included in this new work too, as one would expect from Bolaji. The write-up on “facebook” will probably fall under this framework; as would the one titled “The vagaries of poverty”, and “Guitarists with brio”. Read them and see whether you agree with me!

A few of the essays in this new book clearly show Bolaji’s passion for sports, especially football. The one on “Segun Odegbami” a former great African soccer player, is filled with child-like fascination and hero-worship, for example. Odegbami was at his best when the author was still quite young.

Yet by the time the 2010 World Cup finals came around, Bolaji, as a grown-up, exhibits the same passion for football, but is much more philosophical and serious about it all. Hence the three or so special articles pertaining to the unforgettable South Africa 2010 in this book, reaching a peak with the one titled “The allure of the stadium”

It is no surprise – since Bolaji is such a fine writer of fiction – that some of the essays here seem almost as if we are reading short stories. Examples in this wise here are “Gem of an artist”, “The burgeoning wordsmith”, “Stumped”, “The pungent illustrators", and “Murder in the temple”

Bolaji is also famed for the twists and turns of his fiction, the unexpected conclusions. We see traces of this here in some of these short essays, especially “Stumped”. Can a leopard change its spots?

In the very last segment of this new book, some recent essays on Bolaji’s literary work are published. The piece on his short stories (The Guillotine), is excellent; as are essays written by Deon Simphiwe Skade and Raphael Mokoena. I agree with Pule Lechesa, who wrote the Introduction to this book, that all lovers of literature in particular must get a copy of Omoseye Bolaji’s “Miscellaneous Writings”.

Those interested in getting a copy of this new book can email barbara@newvoices.co.za