More hereRight now, I’m more concerned about influencing young people, especially in my country and in Africa, to think differently. We must not continue with the same thought patterns that have kept our continent so far behind the rest of humanity in many ways. Preserving and projecting our cultures is wonderful, but a deeper form of love for our people and for the places we come from, is demanding change when it will move us forward.
Tuesday, April 06, 2010
Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani
Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani, author of I Do Not Come to You by Chance and winner of Commonwealth Writers Prize interviewed by African Writing:
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4 comments:
Congratulations to Adaobi. It is a great feat she has achieved winning the award. The book itself is well written and particularly love the witty comments and her sense of humor; which kept me laughing all the while I was peering through the book. Congrats again Adaobi.
It's always great to have more literary voices in our midst. I do have a bone to pick, though: What is it with people and trying to "influence the youths" anyway?
There is a lot to admire in Nigerian artists -- and I mean artists broadly, everyone from Asa and Tuface to, now, Adaobi -- it gets tiresome when they go on about how they want to "reach the youths". It's usually a prelude to preachy, pedantic work.
I appreciate people like Adichie much more -- people like Okri and Soyinka among the greats -- who don't set out on pedantic missions when they put pen to paper/ fingers to keyboard. It says something that those who don't deliberately try to "reach the youth" are the most insightful, the most interesting of writers and artists as a whole.
I am glad I discovered this book/author. I will be reading it.
Thank you
Adaobi, I first read about you from the American novelist, Randy Ingermanson. I am one of his snow-flake students/subscribers. He must really be very proud of you! And I hope that, besides Adichie's, this achievement of yours would finally make the majority of sceptical publishers in the United States believe that Africans, especially Nigerians, have a lot to offer in the international literary scene. I have suffered a lot of rejections, but I believe that some day, I shall overcome, just the way you just did! Many congratulations! Obinna Ozoigbo!
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