On a number of occasions, people I know (particularly white people) have asked me if I have read what is considered to be "literary classics" by the likes of James Joyce, Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, John Steinbeck and and and... (by "classic" I'm not referring to writers who belong to a specific time in history, but writers whose work scholars tell us we should worship). To be honest, I find these classic authors to be quite dry and mundane.
I also find it problematic that it is only white European and American authors that make it on these lists. In all the book stores I have visited, I have only ever seen white (mainly male) European and American authors on the Classics shelf. I mean, who decides what book and which authors will be deemed classic?
What about classic literature from other parts of the world like Asia, South America and (for me personally) more especially Africa? Interestingly enough, the likes of JM Coetzee, Nadine Gordimer and Andre P Brink somehow make the cut. They are South Africans, but what sets them apart from their peers is that they are white.
So because the likes of Bessie Head, Chinua Achebe, Ngugi wa Thiong'o, Mariama Ba and Thomas Mofolo do not fit the mold of whiteness their work is not considered "classic" as I have defined it above. This is very problematic.
So, I've decided that in 2017 I will be reading a book written by an author from all 54 African countries. This will not be an easy task, but I concluded a long time ago that if we do not support, read and celebrate our own authors, no one will.
I hope there is someone out there reading this, because I will need A LOT of help!
In my research, I have found that information about books and authors from some African countries is easier to find than others. This could be as a result of English translations of works not being readily available in some states, or publishing industries not being fully developed in some countries.
I have found some authors who are descendants from some countries, but have either never lived in or lived for very short periods of time in their countries, but because sometimes these are the only books I can find information about online, I have to choose them.
I want to try and avoid this, because I feel that no one's lived experience can be ilegitimized, but the experience of living in a country for long periods of time can be very different from a short stay. I also want to avoid this because some of these authors don't write about their countries or people from their countries. I see this as a learning experience and not reading about people from the motherland would not fulfill this goal.
My research continues and I hope I can get help from readers across the continent to help me out.
Here are the titles I have already gotten hold of:
Algeria: "The Wretched of the Earth" by Frantz Fanon
Angola: "The Real Life of Domings Xavier" by Jose Luandino Vieira
Cameroon: "Behold the Dreamers" by Imbolo Mbue
Republic of Congo: "Memoirs of a Porcupine" by Alain Mabanckou
Kenya: "One Day I Will Write About This Place" by Bingavanga Wainaina
Ghana: "Ghana Must Go" by Taiye Selasi
Lesotho: "Chaka" by Thomas Mofolo
Nigeria: "The Famished Road" by Ben Okri
Senegal: "So Long A Letter" by Mariama Ba
Zimbabwe: "We Need New Names" by NoViolet Bulawayo
I hope we can travel this journey together.
Let me know if you have any suggestions.
