With an array of opinions and ideologies as many as the tools of translation available to linguists, it is already difficult to prevent one work from misinterpretation. (Orwell’s Animal Farm was translated into two different ideological interpretations in East and West Germany respectively during the cold war.) However, the pleasure of being able to read works written in the native thought and tongue of the writer has aways been unquantifiable, as can be seen from the feting of writers like Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Naguib Mafouz, Gunter Grass, Mario Le Clezio and very many others including recent Mario Vargas Llosa who have all written in their local languages. If Ngugi Wa Thiong’o had won the Nobel this year, he would have been deserving of it, not just for the depth of his creativity, but for his contribution to the development of Gikuyu by choosing to write in it. We can only hope for more of those kind, and not less.

Many of the books I read as a child were in Yoruba and I can’t say it enough how much it helped my appreciation of English and all the other languages I have learnt to use. If tomorrow I choose to write in Yoruba – which I have certainly considered, I would represent an important a voice in literature as someone who decides to do it in Igbo or Swahili without care for English as an international language as long as I stay committed to the craft and say something new (or even something old, in a new voice and style) and say it well. We’ll have literary translators to do the rest. To make the case for English as the only medium of creative process is easily one of the many flaws of her essay, and a disingenuous take on the African literary present, and future.

Tolu Akanni describes himself as “a visionary and dynamic youth with a rare and unique passion sent on a mission to bring out the best in people to the end of seeing men live up to their full capacity.” He is a blogger I first encountered through his place at El Fiz Concept. I liked his writing style and his drive to succeed in his business seeing that he was also a student at the same time. Since then he has started another blog Lobby Experience, where he chronicles his daily experience 100 days to his graduation. He also plans to publish a book titled “A-Z of Life Lessons” from his life so far. The book will be launched in Lagos on July 9, 2010 at Terra Kulture in Victoria Island.

YOU CAN READ THE BOOK EXCERPTS HERE…

Like I have determined to, I got an interview with him in order to promote his work and let you guys meet another budding writer and motivational speaker. Meet Tolu Akanni:

- When and why did you begin writing?

I started writing March 2009.

This was a time when people were writing “25 things about me” on Facebook. I chose to write mine from a different perspective, so I did “A-Z of school: 26 things that made school life fun in our days” a piece that focused on my primary and secondary school experience.

- When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I saw a writer in myself when I started having up to 40comments on my Facebook notes with people asking for more. In fact, the editor-in-chief of Mitre Magazine, Mr Olumide Aregbesola featured that “A-Z of school” in the premiere edition of the magazine that was published August 2009.

- What inspired you to write your book?

I started writing in my internship days, and when I got back to school I took hold of my transcripts and I realised I had missed out of the ‘first class honours’ train and having straight ‘A’s in my 2 concluding semesters won’t get me there.
Having it at the back of my mind that I had fallen short of the promise I made to my father and myself, I sought out for a leverage, I knew there was success in me, but that conviction wasn’t enough, I had to prove myself to my world, I needed to build a resume that would speak for itself.

As at that time I had my articles published in 2 magazines, I was a creative writer for Skye High, I was on the board of Mitre magazine, I was running a blog (http://el-fiz.blogspot.com), ‘Tolu Fiz Akanee’ had become a household name on Facebook for publishing captivating notes.

Taking my writing to the next level was one thing I could hold on to.

- Do you have a specific writing style?

Yes!! My writing style is a complete departure from the conventional. I like to write like I’m having a casual conversation with the reader. I enjoy being random and I like publishing my text in short hand. So my style is freestyle.

- How did you come up with the title?

After writing “A-Z of school” “A-Z of CU” “A-Z of ‘tired’s” “A-Z of Lagos”

The ‘A-Z’ thing was already my brand, so since the book focuses on my experiences within a period of time in my life, ‘A-Z life lessons’ came up.

- Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

My writing skills was birth out of hours of discomfort in the Lagos combi commuter bus a.k.a Danfo during my internship days, and this book is simply a compilation of articles that were written at such moments.

Life is meant to be enjoyed. Momentary discomfort is allowed, it is what you make out of it that counts!

- What books have most influenced your life most?

Think big by Dr Ben Carson

How to think like a billionaire by Donald J. Trump

Life as I see it by Leke Alder

Parable of Dollars by Rev Sam Adeyemi

- If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?

Mr Leke Alder

- What book are you reading now?

Branding Unbound by Rick Mathiesin

- What are your current projects?

I’m running my consultancy outfit: El Fiz Concept.

El Fiz Concept is all about brands, events, business consultancy and concept development.

I’m on the executive board of Mitre magazine.

I’m working on a monthly poetry show ‘An evening with the poet’ under the hospice of El Fiz events in partnership with Restruct Consults.

- Name one entity that you feel supported you outside of family members.

Skye high.

Skye high summer 2009 session was a major turning point in my writing career, that’s where I met my coach in the school of writing, Mr ‘Yinka Adeleke.

- Do you see writing as a career?

I won’t stop writing till I draw my last breath. Writing is a form of relaxation to me, it’s something I fall back to after my regular career day.

So writing is more of a part-time career for me.

- Can you share a little of your book with us?

The book makes you appreciate the undiluted thoughts of a 21st century 20year old. Appealing to all audience that appreciate ‘youthfulness’, It is a product of a selection from my 365day old archive, and it goes a long way in reflecting my multifaceted experience within that period of time.

I also have contributing chapters from friends who were with me those 365days.

It’s a blend of poetry, short stories and motivational text; it enjoys a quality blend of photography with each chapter having its unique pictorial expression.

It speaks of comfort and discomfort, it speaks about the constant and the constantly changing, it talks about our everyday lives. It’s a book you would want to read, keep and re-read.

- Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?

Keeping up with delivery standards. There are things I write and people love and appreciate it so much that I find myself doubting if the next will keep up to standards or even beat the last.

- Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?

Leke Alder. He’s the smartest and deepest author I’ve ever come across, his concepts are out of this world and his delivery is simply unique.

- Who designed the covers?

Photography was done by Mr ‘Wale Adenuga of Unlimited works.

Graphics design by Mr Ade of Rebirth Media

- What was the hardest part of writing your book?

I did the writings over time, so the main task was developing a unique concept for a compilation, and finding a graphics designer to bring it to life.

I want to appreciate Mr Ade, he brought out the beauty of the book like he was sitted right there in my mind.

- Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it?

My life is defined by influence, I’m a product of influence, if I had not had the privilege of meeting the members of my creativity team, there would have been no book!

First it was ‘Jaye Aderounmu of Restruct consult who impressed it on me that my compilations were publication worthy. Then Omoge black took the photography to the next level, Dupe Macaulay of Tecknicoleur designs was a major plus to the team.
Lesson learnt: you can’t rise above the level of your association. Tap into networking.

- Do you have any advice for other writers?

Be dissatisfied with your current position, surprise yourself then your world will be equally surprised.

- Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?

This is just the beginning.

___________________________________

First posted on my blog, www.mynewhitmanwrites.com

i read the Caine Prize-winning stickfighting days by olufemi terry yesterday.

boy. writing is such an interesting thing. we all have such different psyches, so many different energies and urges manifesting within us.

i honestly had to wonder what would possess someone to write a story about street children bludgeoning each other to death with sticks. i am not good with gratuitous violence, even if well written, and was actually quite horrified in the end and wished i had never read it. (and i can’t say that about too many stories!) i am not knocking his work, or the prize, i’m just saying, well, wow. don’t take my word for it, though. you can read the story online yourself.

Update: I wanted to add that, upon further digging, I learnt that this story was originally published in Chimurenga Vol.12/13: Dr. Satan’s Echo Chamber. Puts it in a little more context, so I now understand that this macabre killing fantasy was compelled by a call for submissions. I’m still a little sheepish, but I suppose that’s only a testament to the strength of his writing.

To read more by me, visit: AlligatorLegsBlog

Literature is always a minority affair. Even in the blogosphere where we are continually inundated with massive proliferation of voices and concerns. Yet, a literary blog posses more danger to structured scholarship than any other kind of blog. The idea of a literary blog is to widen access to works of art and extend the reaches of critical activities. But the word ‘critical’ is used guardedly here because the supposed democracy of the blogosphere, which admits of individuated (oft exaggerated) rights of voice within the multitude of voices, can also translate to ‘uncritical’ adventure for the blogger-reviewer! The danger is that the peculiar character of blogosphere as a site of discourse, its nature of immediacy, might not lend a strong, well thought-out spine to literary opinions and commentary and therefore might create a situation of ‘attenuation of taste and conservatism of judgment, to borrow words from Ronan McDonald.

Yet the blogsville should not be a place where literature goes to ruin. And Nigerian literary bloggers, it seems, still cede the rights of place for critical erudition on, and dissection of, literary works to a few (rarefied) academic journals, a small number of e-zines devoted to literary activities and (although less ebullient nowadays) art pages of newspapers. Most Nigerian literary blogs approach the treatment of literary materials with a reportorial light-heart rather than academic diligence. It is just as well. It is however hard to find a blog devoted entirely to profiling Nigerian writers-their biographies and their works- in the way anglocamlit.blogspot.com is doing for Cameroonian Anglophone Literature.

Molara Wood’s wordsbody is perhaps the most popular literary blogs in Nigeria and one whose views are taken seriously by a lot of readers. Although Wordsbody covers the broad spectrum of the arts, its literary slant is quite noticeable. The blog’s last entry is in December ’08 and it announces the Farafina’s Visual Arts and Literature Event. This event included a film screening of MW’s own ‘Molara Wood in conversation with Ben Okri’. It will be greatly rewarding however to visit her old posts.

Somaila Isah Umaisha’s everything literature is one of the most vibrant, most engaging literary blogs in the country. The latest post explores the link between sports and culture through the background of recently concluded National Sports Festival in Kaduna. Umaisha reports that the culture content of the Sports event included 300 contemporary performers and 200 cultural performers, a festival play, The Royal Chamber, written by award winning playwright, Yahaya Dangana and a festival poem read by Alkasim Abdulkadir, the national publicity secretary of Association of Nigeria Authors. The report is accompanied with photos from the events.

Kingsley Keke’s poetry blog, Poetivation posts a poem ,’Life’, dedicated to his new born niece, Rihanna, ‘and every newborn babies(sic) in the world’ The short poem traces the growth of Rihanna from the yoke to uterus to labour and the breaking forth ‘like a rushing of tap’. Such imagery.

Onyeka Nwelue of Castle of the Writer reproduces a paper he presented at PAGES as part of the exhibition, ‘The World is Round’. The paper is titled ‘The Writer’s Work as Geographer’. Nwelue in the paper discusses how the joy of seeing description of a recognizable place in a book enhances a reading pleasure. He describes how he (together with friends) has discovered to his pleasure that the house Chimamanda herself used to live in matches one described in Purple Hibiscus as Aunty Ifeoma’s .He concludes that ‘fictionalizing real settings with the real names can help a city, a country by luring more tourists into it’. A good read though a little not as deep as expected for a topic that describes a creative symbiosis between literature and the map.

Eromo Egbejule of The Barbecue Republic reviews Oyeka Nwelue’s book, The Abyssinian Boy, situating its thematic concerns in ‘the social political cum ethnic cum religious links between Nigeria and India. The book gets his critical rebuke for its excessive use of flashback device and incredibility in the part where a 62 year old woman in a Nigerian village is said to be gay. Aside this textual harm as noticed by the reviewer, the review is generally sympathetic and the book is predicted to win an award this year.

Jude Dibia’s JUDE DIBIA discusses the protest of gay rights activists to the Nigerian law makers in relation to the proposed bill that legalises arrest of suspected homosexuals by the Police. Jude Dibia examines the protest of these ‘invisibles’ against a repressive law within the context of his novel, Walking with Shadows about challenges of the homosexuals in an unaccommodating society.

Osondu Awaraka of Incessant Scribble posts to announce his relocation to the US and its enabling possibility for more efficient blogosphere experience. He also announces the list of books he’s waiting to review on the blog; these include Helen Oyeyemi’s The Opposite House, Habila’s Measuring Time and Sefi Atta’s Everything Good Will Come.

Wole Oguntokun of Laspapi(laspapi.blogspot.com) announces the continuation of Soyinka’s Death and King’s Horseman at Olivier Hall of the National Theatre, London till may. Wole Oguntokun who is better known for his light-hearted column, The Girl Whisperer, in ‘Life’ magazine of Nigeria’s The Guardian on Sunday ,( The Girl Whisper is also posted on ‘laspapi’) is a Lagos based theatre director and consultant to the research crew of National Theatre London on the play.

The two ladies of The Bookaholic Blog post a short review of Doreen Baingana’s Tropical Fish- Tales from Entebbe. Describing the arresting nature of the book cover, the blog also notices that Ms Baingana’s effort is bold as it tackles ‘hard and sensitive issues such as faith, cohesion, religion, evolution of culture…’and so on. You might want to read the review to prompt your search for the book.