WEALTH OF IDEAS

Just some thoughts on a topic that comes up every now and then, regarding who can write better about Africa, the writer on the continent or the one based in the Diaspora. In reading the articles or debates on the topic I often find myself trying to see which category I fit in. Although I am based in the Diaspora, I have noticed that the writer in me hasn't departed Africa, and the default setting of my stories tends to be Zimbabwe. This might be because writing seems to follow the stages of my experience, and right now, the narrators are still in Mazvihwa, that place in Southern Zimbabwe, where I grew up: it's a rich setting, which I believe has much to offer the world. My stories in that place are inexhaustible and they are more interesting to me than those set in Harare (where I did my A-Level, attended university and taught high school). In fact, I have the feeling that before I capture Harare (the setting), I may skip to Chimanimani or Chipinge, then Mutare and w...

In this post, Elaine Hirsch comes back with another enriching essay and this time she shares her knowledge of the kente fabric and its significance in Ghana and elsewhere in the [flat] world. Elaine learned about the kente fabric when she travelled to Ghana. The fabric, as Elaine points out, is commonly used in African and African-American themed celebrations in the United States and throughout the rest of the African Diaspora. I know it features prominently in graduation events such as the Los Rios Community College's Celebration of Excellence for students of African Descent, and conferences such as the California's Umoja Community, and other events that celebrate cultural diversity. Here is Elaine's informative essay: What is Kente Fabric? by Elaine Hirsch Kente fabric or cloth is a symbolic textile woven by the Ashante and Ewe people of Ghana and the Ivory Coast. According to Ashante legend, two warriors saw a spider spinning her web, observed her for days, and ...

In my first hosting event of 2012, I will feature Emily Hughes and her friend Lauren Norton, both from Davis, California. I have featured Emily before, and I am glad she is returning to the SPC in January. The reading is on January 9 at 7:30PM at the Sacramento Poetry Center. Emily W. Hughes is a poet, educator, and backpacker from Sonoma, California.   Recent work has been published in the Sacramento News & Review .   She has been featured on “Dr. Andy Jones’ Poetry & Technology Hour” on KDVS.   Her blog, thealleysoflife.blogspot.com features posts on day trips, hiking, and recipes. Emily received an M.A. in Creative Writing from UC Davis, and teaches English at American River College and Cosumnes River College. Love Poem.   I love you like the moon loves the sun. Maybe that’s a cliché.   I don’t care.   Here, in the coffee shop, I sit across a couple playing cribbage. There’s a Bob Dylan song on. I look past them, and see...

Light and After , by Kobus Moolman Deep South Publishers (Grahamstown: 2010) ISBN: 978-0-9584915-7-0 Kobus Moolman’s Light and After is his fifth collection of poetry. Lyrically evocative and engaging, this collection reintroduces readers familiar with Moolman’s poetry to his confident lines, unique images, memorable language, and impressive narrative voice. In this collection Moolman uses a mixture of prose poems and short/lyric poems to explore themes that encompass public and private dimensions. Divided into four sections, the book opens appropriately with “Moving,” a haunting poem that uses a collage of images and an observant narrative voice to unravel the mystery of what appears to be a dream. In this poem we are introduced to a new homeowner’s obsession with his new home and the promise that comes with owning a new home. This observation becomes clear to us as the speaker declares: “It was their new house/With all the lights on /Their shiny, new, empty house / With large room...

Once in a while, I check  the search engines terms that are driving the most traffic to my blog, Wealth of Ideas, and the searches are often revealing of what kinds of information people are looking for  at any time. Today, of the several interesting ones,  "the importance of African languages in African literature" stood out. It's a topic I too am passionate about. I have written about it before in a post entitled " Language in African Literature ", but even this doesn't begin to cover the most important facts about the issue. Perhaps one day I will write treatise on the topic of language in African literature, and mini posts like this are my way of mapping a project description. But now let's go to some serious stuff on African languages in African Literature. Let me start by saying that I am annoyed by glossaries. Their intent seems to be to appeal to a foreign audience, or, most importantly, to any speakers for whom the glossaried language is for...

I like all the things happening in African writing (of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, etc). There are on-going debates on topics such the definition of an African writer, the subject of African literature, how to write about Africa, and literary awards for African writers. These are healthy developments for the literature of the continent, and in these times of change, we need more debates, discussions, writers' groups, literary anthologies, and so on.  And I just discovered two important African writing pages on facebook, the African Science fiction (AfroSf) writers and the Romance Writers of West Africa (RWoWA ). I know there are more interesting developments, but this post's focus is RWoWA.  This group have monthly book give aways, and currently a contest is underway for the December giveaway. Below are the contest rules, copied from the group's blog: Contest Rules: 1. *Subscribe to the RWOWA website by completing the Email Subscription form on the top right-...

Like a lot of busy people I know, I try to read several books at once. Believe it or not, I am re-reading Conrad's "Heart of Darkness". Marlow keeps transforming each time I read the book, but that's not why I am reading it. I am reading the book with particular attention to craft, and yes, reading this way shows me how Conrad was putting the story together, and the effect he was trying to get from the words he chose, the phrases he crafted. This edition has footnotes that show the tranformation of the text from when it first appeared in a magazine to when it was published in England as a book, to the first authoritative American edition. Certain offensive or insensitive passages were removed, either by Conrad himself or by editors. When describing Kurtz's African girlfriend, Conrad, or is it Marlow, had been indulgent, the ambivalence of the language choice rising rapidly with the accumulation of prose (to praise or not to pra...

 C onsider contributing your creative work to the sixth annual edition of Cosumnes River College’s literary publication  The journal is looking for creative work in the following areas: • short stories (up to 2,500 words) • essays (up to 2,500 words), including autobiographical narrative, criticism, interviews, & mini-essays (250 words) on the theme: “When I opened my mouth to sing…” • poems • art: photos, drawings, etc. Submissions: Please forward your contributions to crc-ljsubmit@crc.losrios.edu Include no more than 5 poems or photos per entry; limit your short stories & essays to 2 contributions per year Format: Please send MS Word attachments for writing & jpeg files for the art For more information contact David Weinshilboum at: weinshd [AT] crc.losrios.edu Deadline for the Spring 2012 issue is March 15, 2012. "We are committed to publishing  emerging & established writers. We encourage the Cosumnes River Colleg...

Brad Henderson and Sharon Campbell Monday, December 12, 2011 at 7:30 PM 1719 25th Street Host: Emmanuel Sigauke Brad Henderson grew up as a city boy who summered on his granddad’s ranch in the Sacramento Valley foothills of California. He earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from California Polytechnic State College in San Luis Obispo, and his masters in creative writing (MPW) from University of Southern California. His recently completed a poetry book manuscript, The Secret Cowboy: the life & times of the rebel poet Beau Hamel , was named a semi-finalist for University of Arkansas Press’ 2011 Miller Williams Poetry Book Prize. He is also the author of two chapbook– Speed, Horse-sweat, & Unboxed Sky and Split Stock: Selected Poems (with Andy Jones). This coming year, Brad will co-direct the poetry track at the San Francisco Writers’ Conference 2012. His poems have appeared individually (or will appear soon) in The Journal , Asheville Review...

MUROWA    This is not the truth, neither is it striving to become so. Shadow of an ancient baobab that has watched graves pile into hills. Wars of nations strife of tribes [this damn word]: knife to brother's throat knobkerrie splitting Reason's skull as wildcats, makora, lick to shining bareness the land upon whose belly the blood of generations has drawn the art of death. This cannot be the truth; shadows of ancient baobab  peering at the empty plains of Murowa begging for more blood—familiar blood of the village’s children who roam the earth without parents little killers left to their plains. Someone send the burst of life; command – someone – a season of rain that will last another thousand years. © Emmanuel Sigauke 2007 Together with some of my colleagues at CRC, I am reading my poetry to the college tomorrow, so here I am, going through old, weird little pieces produced some time ago. I am enjoying some of them...