Literature Feature: The write stuff 72 Chris Abani 73 Inua Ellams 74 Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 76 Adaobe Tricia 78 50 50 Chris Abani The write stuff Chris Abani’s first novel about a neo-Nazi takeover of earned him a six-month prison sentence. A second stint in gaol took place after he joined a guerilla theatre group. Cassava Republic represents a refreshing face of democratic publishing. By his mid-twenties he was on death row for writing the play, Song of a Broken Flute. He Words by Nana Ocran. now lives, writes and teaches in America.

here are endless texts, condition and other life-worlds essays, features and that exist within the African The life of a writer includes the Eye, the London underground Scribing from reviews written about Fela Diaspora. map, unnamed buskers in tube stations, the freeway T the heart. Anikulapo Kuti, whether it’s the ‘For me, it’s important that system in the US, failed cities, the ruins of Europe, the man as a musician, composer, stories of everyday life, the religions of Nigeria, specifically Ifa. It’s a whole human rights activist or political magical, the absurd, the network that cannot really be separated into individual parts without losing its power. maverick. futuristic, and the otherworldly All make good reading, but it’s are told to outsiders as they are What was the first poem you ever performed? the latest re-published reflected back to us,’ says The first poem read – because performed is too kind biography, Fela: This Bitch of a Bakare. ‘On both fronts, a term – was a poem I wrote at ten and read in church. Life, that’s created excited something like a semiotic war It was no doubt something about Jesus – thankfully I waves in Nigeria and beyond. must be waged to challenge the can’t remember. I do remember performing parts of Khalil Gibran’s The Prophet in secondary school. The Written by Dr Carlos Moore – kind of stories that are expected first poem of mine I read as an adult friend of Fela, ethnologist and of an African writer, or what it is was in London for the Brother to political scientist – it first hit the to be an African writer’. Where were you born? Brother reading in 1994 or 1996.

shelves in 1982, and it’s down It’s this philosophy that led to In the Igbo town of Afikpo in Eastern L i e t r to a deal struck by Abuja-based the Fela deal, and in terms of Nigeria that has been continuously How do you relax? e u r t occupied for 10,000 years or so, I watch a lot of junk TV and movies. I a a

publishing house Cassava Cassava Republic’s publishing t r u e according to archaeological digs. It has ‘We all feel play my saxophone, I read comic r t e i Republic that a new generation mindset, it’s exciting to think

L always fascinated me that I’m part of a books, I try to find a beach and sleep will be able to dip into the life that despite many of the culture that’s been evolving for that like home is on it. and lifestyle of one of Nigeria’s financial and distribution long – with the interruption that the wherever our biggest musical icons. hurdles that no doubt plague 300 years of the slave trade brought of Love is…. Bibi Bakare, who founded many of Nigeria’s creative course. childhood A gift that we are lucky to experience, Cassava Republic along with publishing houses, there are a was spent’ because it is the closest we will ever Jeremy Weate in 2005, is growing number of African What is your earliest memory of get to the ineffable. But what a gift, Nigeria? and what a joyous proximity. particularly pleased with the re- writers who share the same It is odd, since I was only about two, but it is of my issue. ‘That was a real coup,’ views. Privileged access seems brother Mark running with me on his back as we fled Language is… she says. ‘I’m very excited that ‘Only a to be the best way forward for the Nigerian-Biafran Civil War. The only thing that exists. Everything exists inside of it we are the first to publish the most Nigeria-based writers, but and because of it. It is the syntax of our highest and book on the continent 28 years handful of there is a growing pool of new or Where do you call ‘home’? lowest aspects. after it was first published.’ lucky African emerging scribes that seem to I guess home is really where one lives, so for now, There were several offers be altering the literary status home is Los Angeles. But I think we all feel like home Stories are… writers actually is wherever our childhood was spent, a kind of The only way we have of holding love in the world and made to the author’s agent from quo when it comes to their nostalgic retreat. For me then, it would be all over Igbo of understanding and achieving transformation and various other quarters, but a get published’ creative output. land – Afikpo, Nsukka, Okigwe, Owerri – all the places transcendence. They are the only truth there is. successful proposal from Bakare: ‘To name just a few, we lived from 1970 to about 1983. Although given how Cassava Republic came from a American writers actually get Teju Cole, Sarah Lapido much I travel these days, home sometimes feels like Nigeria is… place of passion rather than a published and become well Manyika, Toni Kan, Adaobe airport lounges and airplanes. The most audacious experiment in hope and the most desire to compete financially. known internationally. For this Tricia Nwaubani, Sefi Atta, Igoni beautiful example of what is possible in the face of all reason, we would like to give a Your poetry book Sanctificum contains reggae odds. It is a modern miracle and I love it. The ideology that their bid was Barrett, Tolu Ogunlesi, Jumoke rhythms. Who are some of your musical icons and infused with says a lot about the privileged space to African Verissimo Fatima Akilu, Chris inspirations? What does Nigeria have to celebrate in its 50th year ethos behind the work that writers on our list and also Abani, Chika Ugwie and Lola Sanctificum contains the Catholic order of Mass, Bach of independence? Bakare and Weate do. direct our marketing efforts first Shoneyin are between them Symphonies, Reggae (specifically Bob Marley), the odd The inescapable truth that we are locked into a African writers and readers are of all to an African readership.’ going to play a significant role in syncopations of Nigerian Highlife music and the odd common destiny. their core audience but they That doesn’t mean that there changing the direction of music I hear the world in. I have been deeply Big deal influenced by all these as well as Jazz. I have always Who would play the story of your life? consider the world as their isn’t a willingness to publish Nigerian literature in the next Carlos Moore’s loved Bob, Coltrane, Parker and newer musicians like Oh, I don’t think anyone would be interested in that, so market. Bakare: ‘Whether we books by non-Africans, and in few years. We are happy that book is a literary coup for the Bheki Mseleku and Zim Ngqawana who fuse things. I don’t know. I am still trying to play myself, you know? like it or not, only a handful of particular, writing that manages many of them are Cassava Cassava Republic Then there was Rex Lawson who used the mute Trying to figure out how to be the man I can be. My lucky African or non-Euro or to shed light on the human Republic writers’. publishing house. trumpet in highlife in amazing ways. Inspiration for me motto in life is simple: grow.

72 Time Out Celebrating Nigeria at 50 Time Out Celebrating Nigeria at 50 73 50 50 Inua Ellams Lyrical word and graphic artist Inua Ellams’ creative clients have included artist Chris Ofili, Tate Modern, the British Museum and the BBC. Time Out basks in his memories and supreme gift of the gab.

‘What I do is as clear and old as language itself’

The world’s a stage Inua Ellams in

action (left) and L i e t r his illustrations of e u r t icons Ghandi and a a t r Questlove (right). u e r t e i L which questions Nigeria’s identity and its duplicity. The patterned kaleidoscopic checkered shirts, the plain story is of twin boys separated at birth. One grows up white one glows. in a village surrounded by forest, the other in a city of concrete hills. It begins and climaxes on Nigeria’s When was the last time you went back to Nigeria? Independence Day and asks what must happen for the I haven’t been back since I left; the summer of 1996. country to progress. What are your favourite memories of Nigeria? When would you say you first found your public voice? When I was a snot-nosed knucklehead, I visited Yankari I’d say I found early inflections of my voice in in Game Reserve. There’s a spring and natural swimming 1999. I lived there for three years. At the time I was pool running through the place and regardless of the studying classical poetry, but after school, I’d clothe season it is always, always the right temperature for myself in Walkmans and mini-discs, learning the finer skinny dipping. Also, boarding school was a blast. I points of hip-hop. My voice strengthened in 2002 when was once chased through the forest by a crazed French I discovered poets including Ainsley Burrows and Saul teacher wielding a big stick. Good times. Williams. When and where were you born? start writing when an image strikes me, and through What do you think Nigeria should be celebrating in its In Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria, on the 23rd of October the writing process I try to paint pictures with words... You have a roll-call of impressive clients. What did 50th year of independence? 1984, to a Muslim father and a Christian mother. I was so across my creative process, yup, graphic. you do on the BBC Politics Show? Our natural innovation, resilience and vitality for life. born on the cusp between Libra and Scorpio; I am a The weight of importance lies not with clients, but with Our notoriety as well as the notorious amongst us. Librapio. Those of Libran star signs are said to be We first heard of you through your play The 14th Tale. those I have met through clients. My most magical With us you get both sides of the coin, the Yin and the indecisive. Why the title and how would you describe the moments have been in dingy studio apartments, squat Yang. We should celebrate our consistency in breaking content? houses, waterlogged festival fields, deserted and redefining the moulds the western world casts for Any early UK memories? The title was a way of referencing old work and bookstores and once on a route 343 bus from London the word ‘African’. And we celebrate our successful When we arrived, we stayed at a friend’s place and suggesting new. My first poetry book was called The Bridge to New Cross Gate. For the BBC, I was reclamation of jollof rice from the Ghanaians. there were only two CDs in the flat: the soundtrack to Thirteen Fairy Negro Tales. The play is a funny, commissioned to write about the African Diaspora. Waiting to Exhale and a Celine Dion album. We listened mellifluous narrative about the exploits of a natural Nigeria is… to those incessantly for two months, I think I fell in born troublemaker. It explores the legacy of mischief ‘Experimental’ is a word that’s been used about your Fearless. Fluid. Fun. love with Celine. That ‘If you touch me like this’ song as a handed-down trait from my grandfather to my dad work. Would you say you’re a fearless performer? drove me to tears. and to me. More often that not, I stand on stage, in one spot, Language is… wave my hands about a bit and speak. At other times, A way of calling the world into being, of widening our A word and graphic artist. Which comes first? Nigeria’s independence seems close to your heart. my work is read from pages. What I do is as clear and grasp of reality, moulding it as a sculptor does clay and I grew up wanting to be a visual artist so How has it manifested in your work? old as language itself. It might be considered growing ourselves exponentially. At its simplest, it is a chronologically, graphic came first. And these days I It has been manifest in my most recent play ‘Untitled’, ‘experimental’ because of its simplicity: in a world of way of being free.

74 Time Out Celebrating Nigeria at 50 Time Out Celebrating Nigeria at 50 75 50 50 Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Published by Farafina books in Nigeria, Knopf in the US and Fourth Estate in the UK, award-winning novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s global reach has far outstripped her extensive West African audience.

bad as well. What I do find special are the responses of ordinary readers, people who e-mail to tell me personal stories about how my work has been meaningful to them. I also treasure the comments of the people who read my work in manuscript form and tell me what they liked and didn’t like: my father, a few close friends and, my favourite so far, the quote from Chinua Achebe after he read Half of a Yellow Sun.

Your collection of stories in The Thing Around Your Neck are beautifully crafted. Is there an inner sculptor or visual artist in you? I wish there was.

We’ve never seen an unflattering picture of you. Do you use any stylists or have any favourite designers? I’ve seen many unflattering pictures of myself. I don’t have stylists. I have a clear sense of what I like and

what works for me. I dislike fashion – the idea of what L i e t r

one should and should not wear determined by e u r t somebody else – but I do like style; the idea of looking a a t r u

e the best one can, but in an individual way. I own and r t e i

L love Jewel by Lisa for her femininity. I love Deola Your impact as a writer and young influential voice of Sagoe’s ambitious and structured clothes but don’t ‘My focus Nigeria is huge. Does the knowledge of this ever own any. Above all, my tailor Razak in is the always is to affect your creative output? absolute best. No. For me, to write is to inhabit an intense, small, speak my closed space. It is really lovely to have a Nigerian Which three words adequately describe your readership but I don’t think about my ‘impact’, such as character? truth’ it is, while writing, otherwise I would censor myself. My My character changes quite a bit. It depends on the focus always is to speak my truth, to tell the stories I time of the month. want to tell as honestly as I can, even if it means causing offence or bringing discomfort. Politics and feminism seem close to your heart. Do you feel optimistic about the influence that women Which one of your written characters would you say can have on Nigeria’s political future? most closely resembles you? Women in different parts of Nigeria had quite a bit of All of my characters are versions of me, I think. The political influence in the past. The situation today could character Amaka in Purple Hibiscus and Kainene in be better but I am generally optimistic. The most Half of a Yellow Sun are the characters I most admire. important change women of the present generation can make is to raise their children differently, to raise When you write do you have a specific audience in daughters who are encouraged to conquer the world mind? rather than encouraged to merely find a husband. To No. I think having a specific audience in mind would raise sons who see women as true equals and who lead to unintended self-censorship. If anything, I write don’t have fragile egos. the kind of fiction I like to read and so in a way my audience is myself. While editing, I might make certain What or where is your favourite place in Nigeria? ‘administrative’ changes – such as agreeing to a The lovely campus of the University of Ife. My glossary for the Chinese edition – but in general I don’t hometown, Abba in Anambra State. And Lagos, when it think of an audience when I write. isn’t raining.

Do you keep any reviews that feel special to you? Nigeria is… I don’t read reviews. I read two when my first novel A country with a sort of counter-intuitive confidence. It came out and discovered that I needed to avoid them, doesn’t try hard to make you love it but when you fall, The storyteller in order to keep my sanity. The problem with reviews is you fall really hard. It’s a place of exuberant possibility, Chimamanda tells not only how incredibly subjective they are, but that if a place of both cynicism and hope, a place where it like it is. you believe the good, you are obliged to believe the people are both watchful and warm-hearted.

76 Time Out Celebrating Nigeria at 50 Time Out Celebrating Nigeria at 50 77 Literature with asenseofhumour. Nigeria andsurviving at50,thepublishingindustry herthoughtsonthecountry shares documentar overtheBBC the Nigerianuproar yourop-edpieceabout What inspired Nigerian knowswhoheisassuch. theaverage I’mnotsure problems. understand thecausesofour tositdownand responsibility I thinkwelackinsight.We haven’ttaken And howNigeriansviewthemselves? calling youfat?Ifit’stheformer, goonadiet. you wor complains thatpeoplear Iusethisanalogy:Ifafatperson I don’tcare. views Nigerians? ofhowtheoutsideworld What’s yourimpression locations. to live inAbuja.Idon’tattachtoomuchimportance Abia State,wenttouniversityinIbadan,workLagos, upin Igrew Home isinsideme,Icanliveanywhere. doyoucallhome? Where I W Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani,authoroftheacclaimednovel Nwaubani Adaobi Tricia 78 ’m from Umuahia,AbiaState. ’m from hich part of Nigeria are youfrom? ofNigeriaare hich part T ime Out ried becauseyou’r 50 y Celebrating Nigeriaat50 W elcome toLagos e callingthemfat,I’llaskar e fatorbecausepeoplear ? inside me. anywhere’ I canlive ‘Home is e e not r because, asmypublishersuggested,theNigerianwill winning aprize.ButlookingbackI’mgladIwon grew up my parents can’tfindacopy. upmyparents grew I Lagos, Abujaand Ibadan;meanwhileinthe city where Harcourt, For examplemybookisonly available inPort But thefirstthingweneedto sor doing agr Publishers likeCassavaRepublic andFarafinaare developing? How doyouseethepublishing industr own mypublishinghouseinNigeria. by theneedtowritenovelafternovel.Iwouldlove writingsoI’m notshackled have amaster’sincreative fiction andnotnecessarilylikemyfirstbook.Idon’ Obviously Ihavemor you don’twintheBooker, youcanbesuccessful. Club. IthinkthatwillhelpNigeriansseeevenif Akpan, theNigerianauthorchosenbyOprah’ That’swhyIwasexcited aboutUwem unpredictable. thatis inadirection I wouldlikemywritingtotakeoff What othergoalsdoyouhaveinmind? go beyondthehumournow. Idon’t thinkweshould has beenahelpfuldefencemechanismbutweshould Beingabletolaughatourcondition have forthefuture. celebratingthehopewe Inaddition,we’re survived. anything tocelebrateat50,leastwecansaywe’ve It definitelyhelps.Andwhenpeopleaskifwehave in Nigeria? essential tohaveir You’ve outlookinyourwriting.Isit gotanironic instead. problem Itdidn’toccurtohimfacethe another documentary. theUKwentasfarsayingBBCshoulddo from about that.InfacttheNigerianHighCommissioner andslums,butnobody’sconcerned issue, poverty highlightingamajor They didn’tcookitup.They’re d Y some W ou can’t be angry withtheBBCfordoinga ou can’tbeangry ocumentary aboutsomethingthatactuallyexists. ocumentary espect yourbookifithasn’ ester eat jobinter I DoNotCometoYou ByChance African writerstobesuccessfulwithout prizes. Iwantedtobeoneofthefirst a book’ssuccesshasbeentiedtoits in theircourses.Unfor studyingit enjoyed mybookorthatthey’re ar people just bymessagesandemailsfrom lifeisbeyondtheprize.Igetexcited really Obviously it’ W What didwinningtheCommonwealth spend thenext50yearslaughing. n body riters’ Prizemeantoyou? ound theworldtellingmethey’ve . ony oratleasthumourtosurvive e booksinme,notnecessarily ms ofpushingNigerianauthors. s alwaysexcitingtowinbut t beenanointedby t outisdistribution. tunately y inNigeria , inNigeria s Book t , far-reaching goals. far-reaching A writerwith Author!