Writing from the margins: Highlighting African literature from this year’s Labone Dialogues
NYU Accra hosted 30 of Africa's talents with the power of the pen in African literature. This year's symposium edition had the theme: "Re-claiming the Narrative" to spotlight the usually forgotten element of art: literature
“You can’t threaten a writer with loneliness… I live with my characters in my head,” said Sulaiman Addonia, Eritrean-Ethiopian-British novelist shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writer’s Prize.
The latest instalment of the NYU Accra Labone Dialogues symposium hosted 30 African voices in literature. With the theme of “Reclaiming the Narrative,” these African authors have contributed to reshaping and reclaiming the storytelling landscape.
The panel of authors recognised literature as an excellent tool for “reclaiming the narrative”.
The 11th edition of the symposium, from 19 through to 23 October, saw the intersectionality of voices in African literature from legendary authors, such as Wole Soyinka, Chris Abani, and Aminatta Forna, to newer but relevant authors such as Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah, Dilman Dila and more.
As the symposium brought on diverse voices in African literature, Chiké Frankie Edozien, author and director of NYU Accra, encourages readers and writers alike to “have a dialogue based on the body of work,” even if the author is “new in publishing and old in years.”
The diversity of African literature
This year’s edition of the Labone Dialogues emphasised the diversity of African literature, which has aided in drawing attention to the deep cultural values of the different African countries. According to Aminatta Forna, award-winning author, “If you want to know a country, read its writers.”
Throughout history, African literature has included both explicit and implicit writing styles. Some writers are straightforward in their messages, while others use subtext. The panel of authors expressed excitement about what future generations of writers will bring.
The notion of the current era being African literature’s “Golden Age” was questioned during the symposium.
According to the panel of authors, great African writers have existed throughout history, but now there is more exposure and recognition due to globalisation.
An emphasis was placed on appreciating and acknowledging past and present African writers. As Toni Morrison once said,” Inform a class about how it ought to behave and what it ought to know.” She acknowledges that we must learn from past authors to expand and curate better futures than what history predetermines.
Highlighting African women authors and writing for and about women
The symposium brought together 13 female African authors. All the authors, including the male authors, emphasised the importance of writing for women, by women and about women.
The panel of authors acceded to the fact that it is imperative to showcase the diversity of women and challenge stereotypes.
Ghanaian women authors Ayesha Harruna Attah and Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah emphasise that Ghanaians, on the surface, have a lot of repressions when it comes to talking about sex.
Repression about sex is not unique to Ghana but to the African diaspora. This is evident in Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah’s book, “The Sex Lives of African Women.” The book is a collection of documents from interviews of women over six years detailing intimacy and sexuality, including an account from Nana Darkoa herself.
The book challenges, encourages and showcases the political significance of portraying female pleasure in literature.
Ayesha Harruna Attah is a Ghanaian writer living in Senegal, author of the Commonwealth Writers Prize-nominated Harmattan Rain, Saturday Shadows and the Hundred Wells of Salaga.
When speaking to Asaase 99.5 Accra, Attah said, “I grew up around storytelling, and my first instinct was to run away.” This is in the context of her studying abroad. Ayesha has attended Mount Holyoke University, Columbia University, and New York University, earning a master’s degree in magazine journalism and a master of fine arts in creative writing.
Along the way, she realised that her true passion “was to write, to look for stories that we have forgotten that we know deep down inside of us, but that we’ve left behind and along the way and then unearth them.”
Ayesha also mentioned that Africa is her biggest inspiration, saying, “I think growing up in a black body, growing up on a continent that’s been exploited, that’s been misunderstood, that is so complex and beautiful and just rich just lends itself to storytelling.”
This powerful quote by Ayesha lends itself to one of the core notions of past and present African visionaries, where our history and culture are of profound significance and worth spreading in a globalised world.
The Importance of the Labone Dialogues symposium
Against the Accra World Book Capital programme landscape, which aims to equip vulnerable groups such as women and children and persons with disabilities with literacy and employable skills while promoting the rich Ghanaian and the book industry in Ghana.
The Labone Dialogues have aided in expanding its impact. The second day of the Labone Dialogues saw reading sessions for the youth.
The Accra World Book Capital programme has projects that started this year and aim to run through the following year. Some crucial projects include the reading promotions and the book industry development, which blended into the Labone Dialogues this year.
Detailing the importance of the symposium when asked by Asaase 99.5 Accra, Chiké Frankie Edozien says, “I think the first thing is that we can bring so many different African voices in one sitting… we’re able to bring in people who live and work in English and live and work in Portuguese and from different parts of the continent, live and work in French.”
Kalaf Epalanga, the Angolan writer and musician, confirms that he only writes in Portuguese. He clarifies that although he may read other languages, his writing is Portuguese. Kalaf specifies that he writes in Angolan Portuguese, which has distinct characteristics.
Also, more importantly, Chiké expresses that, “It’s quite a safe space, and we’ve curated a bunch of writers that we know can be quite challenging and can be outspoken if pushed, but at the same time, we want to be able to have a situation where the writers feel like they can have these conversations in a place where they are not going to be judged.”
These sentiments expressed by Chiké sum up the significance of the symposium that empowered readers and writers alike. The 11th edition of the Labone dialogues saw many African authors reclaiming the narrative, challenging stereotypes and, more crucially, placing the African continent at the centre of their stories.
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