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Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie on what it means to be “an African writer”
- SolaceQuantum 8y ago"It is difficult in the West to talk about the connections between creating and citizenship because of the general ideas placed around art, that it is a thing apart, that an artist by creating suddenly becomes a citizen of an imaginary and apolitical land of other artists. There are people in the West who use the term “political” almost as a pejorative in reference to a work of literature. (I emphasise the West because in parts of the world called developing, art is often not seen as automatically separate from politics.)" This is quite poignant and on the nose in my experience. I'm a dark science fiction author and this has been my understanding of the situation in my field also. With the Sad/Rabid puppies, Gamergate, Racefail, etc. its always been a large discussion that politics should stay out of art, or that art should be apolitical, or that politics in art is pandering/bad. I feel that the selection of politics in art is actually quite specific- 1984, Farenheit 451, Ayn Rand's works are political with esteem. But works in a distinctly diverse voice are often chagrined for it- the new star wars stuff, the new star trek stuff (even when the old star trek stuff, which is also quite diverse, is well regarded). I've seen criticism that these are 'too political', but I've yet to see someone complaining that 1984 is too political of a scifi piece, or that Brave New World is shoving too much politics in its scifi. But I may just not be adequately read on criticisms of those works- I only have so much attention and I've found the loudest voices are of the most recent works of our time. So I agree that in the West, describing fiction as political is sometimes used in a pejorative manner, even though several well-regarded works are very political. It's just certain politics are broadly considered 'too far' and hyperfocused on identity in a negative sense. I don't understand this phenomenon myself, actually, but her observance is also my observance here as a Western writer. But her later writing, about not only writing politically, but also being viewed in a political light are also true to me. Even as one does not write with a political agenda, the writing will be interpreted in a political lens and then you the author will be held responsible. This contrast between that which is viewed politically and that which is written politically is a core of significant amounts of chagrin within the field of science fiction writing. The final paragraph, before the quote, encompasses so much that I relate to. (I still respect that, as an American author, I could never fully relate to her experiences as a Nigerian author. I respect that her experiences are her own. Merely that I relate to aspects of it.) "That question “Are you an African Writer?” is one I have been asked many times, and there are times when I have answered “Yes”, a yes that reflected my ambivalence but also my anxiety not to be misunderstood. I belong, was what my “Yes” said, I belong. But that “Yes” often came with a whisper: “But you must let me belong on my own terms, on multiple terms, for that is the essence of art.”"
- zwkrt 8y agoShe wrote a short story in which a number of authors are invited to a rich white South African estate to talk about their experiences, and all are given the chance to write a piece for some Western magazine. Well as it turns out one of the writers grew up in a city, one was a lesbian, one had his doctorate, etc. These writers' stories were seen as inauthentic by the people holding the retreat, who end up choosing to publish a pandering story about mud huts and wild animals. I assume this is what worries her when being asked if she is an "African" author; people think they already know what that means.
- jerf 8y agoI think that the issue isn't that people don't want politics out of their art entirely. It's that people seek a balance, and right now, the balance is atrociously tilted in favor of politics. It is a very common mistake across a wide range of fields to mistake an imbalance and a desire to move back towards balance as a desire to move right past that balance and keep going, made by both people desiring the move and those fighting it. But I think this is a balance problem, not a "get it all out" problem. Of course, it's also scrambled by the way the Internet amplifies every outlier voice, and you can get yelled at simultaneously for having too much politics and not enough. And we've got a good group of folk running around and projecting politics everywhere, and screaming at you if you resist them. You'd get tired of even your favorite food if everyone you knew was literally sticking it in your mouth at what felt like every available opportunity. And even if it's a very healthy food and desirable in every other way, you're not going to enjoy it. While I'm not sure I call myself "an anime fan", I've found myself going there a lot more lately, because either A: the Japanese culture right now is a lot more willing to just tell a story and not provide me with the "correct" interpretation, complete with social pressure and serious threats of ostrichization if I don't agree with it or B: I'm oblivious to the politics because I lack the context or C: I can see them but I haven't been rubbed raw by constant exposure to the issue, or I have no particular reason to care (e.g., a series clearly tackling the political issue of Japanese government censorship, but it's pretty easy for me to be fairly detached from the politics).
- SolaceQuantum 8y ago
- veddox 8y agoThis is a beautiful (and very true) passage: "Among Nigerians, complaining about our problems is an art form. Most conversations quickly become a litany of complaints – about government corruption, no light, no water, etc. But if a foreigner were to say the same things, to recite the same litany of complaints, Nigerians would become defensive, sometimes angrily so. "I have always been curious about this brand of defensiveness – which I myself often exhibit, by the way. It seems to me that we have it because we assume that the complaining Nigerian is aware that Nigeria is not only about its problems, is aware of the human complexity, knows of the intelligence and ingenuity of people, knows how they cry and laugh, knows what motivates them and what they aspire to and what they find meaningful. And we suspect that the foreigner does not know these other stories about us and so we worry about being defined solely by what we do not have and by what we are not. And so our defensiveness emerges."
- iqy 8y agoYeah, no. No matter how much romanticism you want to throw at it, this kind of defensiveness is simple tribalism.
- SolaceQuantum 8y agoI believe the passage was to imply that tribalism isn't simple.
- wenc 8y agoThis is true of many kinds of people (e.g. New Yorkers, Parisiens, text editor/programming language aficionados, etc.) They complain about whatever it is they hold dear, but take umbrage when outsiders do so. I hate to use a NNT-popularized phrase, but it's partly because outsiders don't have "skin in the game", and their complaints don't come from a place of shared adversity and knowledge, but from a place of unearned superiority and ignorance. In most areas in life, you have to earn the right to complain.
- kgwxd 8y agoNNT?
- te_chris 8y agoHighly recommend her work! I've read Americanah and loved it. My partner read Half of a Yellow Sun and also really enjoyed it.
- fgandiya 8y ago> It is to be scrutinised for the right kind of African representation. You are required to perform the rituals. You are required to bow to the expectations of citizenship. I totally get this. I wanted to write a book which centered around my life in high school. One thing that worries me is that even though Africa is a diverse place, there's an expectation that "African literature" should be written in a particular way on particular subjects and experiences. I doubt coming from an upper class family attending a fancy private school counts as such.