Penguin's African Writers Series is stuck in the past? Who cares?
To the first question in this post's heading, Akin Ajayi says, "Yes." In a Guardian write-up on the Penguin African Writers' Series, Ajayi says of the series's five publications: "Classics, yes; contemporary, no." Notice the article shows a photo of Chinua Achebe, the visual cue for being stuck in the past.
The "who cares" question is mine...perhaps because I am tired of reading about the politicization of African writing, or its de-politicization for that matter. African writing is at a good place right now, the writers are taking more risks and experimenting with new styles, some with old ones. In other words, for publishers on the continent and those elsewhere, Africa has a lot to offer, a lot to tap into. So Penguin decides to represent classic African works? Let them, or allow them to allow themselves to let themselves choose a niche, a focus, and perhaps, Farafina Trust, or someone else, AmaBooks, Modjadji, Lion Press, Weaver, or something that may emerge with a name like Munyori Press, will cover another niche. In the meantime, if you are an African writer, or if you are any other writer looking for fresh ideas inspired by Africa, keep doing what you do best, keep writing, and as a friend often says when closing his emails, "Keep on keeping on."
Ajayi's essay, which actually reminded me that there is a Penguin African Writers' Series--by the way--covered great ground, and it made me feel nostalgic about Heinemann's African Writers Series, that early canonizer of African Literature. As Ajayi points out, market forces led AWS to its demise. Sadly. I know market forces will determine how classic the new Penguin series will remain, and how soon it will catch up with the contemporary. In the meantime, if you are an African writer, or any writer inspired by or curious about Africa, do as I suggested in the preceding paragraph.
Here is the first paragraph of Ajayi's essay:
"Perhaps I'm hard to please, but I can't help feeling a little underwhelmed by Penguin's new African Writers Series, launched last month and published by its Modern Classics imprint. It's not that I think the series is a bad thing, far from it, but by modelling itself upon the iconic Heinemann imprint of the same name, the impulse to compare the two is irresistible. And, to judge from the first five books published, I fear that Penguin won't come out of this looking very good."
Click here to read the rest of the essay on The Guardian website.
The "who cares" question is mine...perhaps because I am tired of reading about the politicization of African writing, or its de-politicization for that matter. African writing is at a good place right now, the writers are taking more risks and experimenting with new styles, some with old ones. In other words, for publishers on the continent and those elsewhere, Africa has a lot to offer, a lot to tap into. So Penguin decides to represent classic African works? Let them, or allow them to allow themselves to let themselves choose a niche, a focus, and perhaps, Farafina Trust, or someone else, AmaBooks, Modjadji, Lion Press, Weaver, or something that may emerge with a name like Munyori Press, will cover another niche. In the meantime, if you are an African writer, or if you are any other writer looking for fresh ideas inspired by Africa, keep doing what you do best, keep writing, and as a friend often says when closing his emails, "Keep on keeping on."
Ajayi's essay, which actually reminded me that there is a Penguin African Writers' Series--by the way--covered great ground, and it made me feel nostalgic about Heinemann's African Writers Series, that early canonizer of African Literature. As Ajayi points out, market forces led AWS to its demise. Sadly. I know market forces will determine how classic the new Penguin series will remain, and how soon it will catch up with the contemporary. In the meantime, if you are an African writer, or any writer inspired by or curious about Africa, do as I suggested in the preceding paragraph.
Here is the first paragraph of Ajayi's essay:
"Perhaps I'm hard to please, but I can't help feeling a little underwhelmed by Penguin's new African Writers Series, launched last month and published by its Modern Classics imprint. It's not that I think the series is a bad thing, far from it, but by modelling itself upon the iconic Heinemann imprint of the same name, the impulse to compare the two is irresistible. And, to judge from the first five books published, I fear that Penguin won't come out of this looking very good."
Click here to read the rest of the essay on The Guardian website.
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