Kenyan author NGuGi Wa Thiong'o Talks About the Challenges of African Literature
Melinda Palacio -- November 17, 2006
How do you sum up Africa of the twentieth century in the context of two thousand years of world history? Ngugi Wa Thiong'o covered the subject in his new book Wizard of the Crow and in his conversation with exiled Nigerian writer Chris Abani at Santa Barbara's Victoria Hall.
What came across strongly during this exchange of two writers from different parts of Africa was the importance of words and a responsibility to creating the literature of one's culture. Both Abani and Wa Thiong'o were imprisoned for works they wrote as teenagers. Wa Thiong'o praised Abani for the poetry he wrote while imprisoned. For Wa Thiong'o, the writing process is never complete until received by others. "You being here is very important," he said, "it is part of the process."
Wa Thiong'o describes his novel, Wizard of the Crow , as a tragic comedy. He uses humor to tell the story of a postcolonial dictator, simply called The Ruler, who literally has trouble containing himself and his rule over the imaginary country of Aburiria. Wa Thiongo's style is rooted in African fables and storytelling. The satire of Kenyan despotism is eerily reminiscent of our own political turmoil. Wa Thiong'o mentioned that he disliked watching pictures of the Iraq war because it reminds him of the Mau Mau Revolt of his own country.
Growing up with an insurgency against the British colonial administration also shaped his development as an intellectual. His older brother who was involved in the struggle made sure he received the message to stay in school and study. "I grew up during that period of the struggle. I went to school with bullets flying around us and people being hung in public."
Wa Thiongo'o spoke at length about the importance of the Russian Literature to his work as a writer and to the canon of African literature. Theatrical performances of Russian literature became very important to the Kenyans.
Ngugi Wa Thiong'o Signs Books
"The Russian novel is incredible. The Novel held a democratic space. Peasants had their voices in a space where there was no democracy. In Kenya, people could not debate. Theatre became a public voice for those who have been silenced."
However, the turning point in Wa Thiong'o's writing career was his rediscovery of his African language. He said he made a decision in prison to no longer write in English, the language of the political treatise that put him in prison. "I borrow from the folkoric tradition," said Wa Thiong'o. "With African languages we are open to a new space in the novel and in poetry. I feel liberated when I am writing in the Gikuyu language."
Translating his native tongue with its unique musicality is both challenging and rewarding for Wa Thiong'o who must borrow certain vocabulary words in order to convey the musicality of his language. For Wa Thiong'o languages have always been fluid and interconnected. "Languages must open out to other languages, learn from other languages, give, develop through interacting with other languages."
Wa Thiong'o reminded the audience that even when African Americans were forbidden their language in this country, they created something new that has resulted in the form of Black speech and the Ebonic tradition that sprung American Blues, Jazz and Hip Hop. "The African American had to innovate or perish," said Wa Thiong. And in returning to his native language, Wa Thiong is open to borrowing vocabulary from other languages. His writing journey has developed into a newfound fascination for languages. His research has led him back to the Renaissance era to look at the development of European languages and the central role of translations to English. He says he's even tempted to translate the works he has written in English to see where how his stories develop.
Above all, the sensitive writer expressed his passion for the spirituality of human life. "I look at art and politics as all connected in the construction of our spirituality." Spirituality is the hero's tool in Wizard of the Crow. Although Abani deferred most of the comments to Wa Thiong'o, an author he admires, the audience received a sense of being in the company of two important African voices who expressed mutual respect for each other's work.
Chris Abani