Wordsmiths to the fore!

"Letter from South Africa" is Omoseye Bolaji's regular weekly column published in the Nigerian newspaper, True National News. The column comes out every Monday, and is circulated all over Nigeria.

December 7 2009 edition

Letter from South Africa

With Omoseye Bolaji

WORDSMITHS TO THE FORE!

Nigeria is world famous for its sterling contributions to sparkling African and world literature. The likes of Chinua Achebe and Wole Soyinka are revered all over the world. But they are not alone. Others like the late Cyprian Ekwensi, Flora Nwapa, Ola Rotimi, Chukwuemeka Ike have also attained international renown.

But even the younger generation is still flying the literary flag lustily. Ben Okri, a world class wordsmith, who has won the coveted Booker Award for Literature, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Nana Sefi Atta, Helon Habila, etc.

The extent of Wole Soyinka’s prodigious achievement in winning the Nobel Award for Literature in 1986 can be gauged from the fact that since then, no other black African has won it! This despite the fact our continent has literary luminaries like Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Es’kia Mphahlele (now late) and Ayi Kwei Armah.

We all know that Chinua Achebe and Wole Soyinka have been pre-eminent for decades. Around the time Soyinka pulled off the stunning Nobel accolade, there was a standing joke to the effect: “Who is Nigeria’s most famous writer?” Answer: “Wole Soyinka” And then: “What’s his most famous work?” The answer: “Things fall apart!” (actually written by Achebe!)

Nigeria has contributed quite a number of classics to African literature; starting from the early 50’s. Think of Gabriel Okara’s The Voice; Amos Tutuola’s The Palmwine Drinkard, Ekwensi’s People of the City; Achebe’s Things >fall apart – all published in the 1950’s.

Later on, the likes of Achebe, Isidore Okpewho, Soyinka, Buchi Emecheta, Ekwensi, Okri, Helon Habila, added to and complemented these classics. Enduring works like One Man One Wife, Arrow of God, The famished road, Season of anomy, were churned out to the adoration of the world.

In this column today I want to introduce lovers of literature in Nigeria to black writing in South Africa. The latter, like Nigeria has a rich tradition in black African literature. Sol Plaatje in particular performed miracles in writing in the 20s and 30s in South Africa – in those far off days, publishing the first black classic, Mhudi.

Es’kia Mphahlele was arguably the first authentic South African black writer to achieve international renown. Among his classics were Down Second Avenue, The Wanderers, and Chirundu. He carved a niche for himself as an international academic, literary critic and general man of letters. He died almost at the age of 90, in late 2008.

Yet Nigeria played some part in moulding Mphahlele the writer. In fact when he decided to go into exile in the late 50’s, Nigeria was his first port of call where he was a teacher and writer. He enjoyed the freedom and relative serenity of Nigeria, mingled with Nigerian writers like Achebe, Soyinka and Ekwensi when they were all quite young. All this Mphahlele recollects in his memoir, Afrika my music.

Prominent South African black writers over the years include Peter Abrahams, one of the first Africans to publish a novel (his work, Mine Boy used to be a text book in Nigerian schools); Lewis Nkosi, one of the greatest literary critics Africa has ever produced (a near contemporary of Soyinka and Achebe); Njabulo Nedebele, award winning critic and fiction writer; Miriam Tlali the first black South African woman to publish a novel; and Richard Rive (Abrahams and Rive were actually ‘coloureds’)

Among the younger generation of South African black writers are Gomolemo Mokae whose works mainly appeal to the mainstream reader at grassroots level; Vonani Bila, a superb literary activist and poet extraordinaire; Phaswane Mpe and Sello Duikier, critically acclaimed young writers who sadly died young.

Some South African literary academics, so to say, are also among the best in the world as skilled wordsmiths. Perhaps the two most renowned are Njabulo Ndebele and Zakes Mda. Ndebele wrote the acclaimed Fools, and Mda has written wonderful works of fiction like The Madonna of Excelsior.

There are other distinguished black South African writers like the award winning Mandla Langa, who wrote the classic, The Tenderness of Blood. South Africa – or Afrika Borwa as many of the natives call it – has an exceedingly rich, fecund literary history and heritage like Nigeria!