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Apart from Chinua Achebe, which other African writers deserve the Nobel Prize in Literature?

May 23, 2013 By MsAfropolitan 12 Comments

In the lead up to the short list announcement for the Nobel Prize in Literature on 30 May, headlines this week brought to the fore the problematic obsession that some people have with the Nobel Prize in Literature being awarded to the late Chinua Achebe. For years, the pre-announcement period has seen speculations demands as to whether the Nigerian author would be nominated and now after his death, admirers continue to lobby for posthumous recognition.
In a candid interview with Sahara Reporters this week, Wole Soyinka laments that he has received pleas that he, as a former recipient of the award, use his nomination qualification to put Achebe forward. One of the “pontificators”, as Soyinka refers to them, writes him saying:

“I told these people, leave it to Wole Soyinka – he will do what is right. We hear Ben Okri, Nuruddin Farah, even Chimamanda Adichie are being nominated. This is mind-boggling. Who are they? Chinua can still be awarded the prize, even posthumously. We know you will intervene to put those upstarts in their place. I’ve assured people you will do what is right.”

This is troubling because while Achebe certainly is deserving of the prize, his not receiving it takes nothing away from his contributions to world literature. The insinuation that his ouevre is incomplete without the accolade is a distressing reminder of how “bigmanism” can cripple minds. To these people, the Nobel-laureate title rings synonymous to “Chief” or “Oga” or “President”.

On the other hand commentators remain utterly speechless on what, or rather who, really is neglected at the delightful smorgasbord that is the canon of literary Nobel laureates, namely women. Out of the 105 Nobel Prizes in Literature that have been awarded only twelve have been awarded to women, and, out of those twelve only one, Nadine Gordimer, is African. Furthermore, a black African woman is yet to be acknowledged in this category despite that there is enough writing by black African women which meets the requirements of the Academy. Where is the outrage over the absence of an Ama Ata Aidoo, Bessie Head, Yvonne Vera, Nawal El Saadawi or a Buchi Emecheta in the Nobel Prize archive? Instead all the voices continue to fuel fire to the tired plea that Achebe, however meriting, receive the award.

I firmly believe that great literature has no gender, race, class or sexual preference, but there are nevertheless tendencies to categorize authors and their works by traits that have little to do with their achievements. Men’s centrality in the Nobel Prize in Literature award is an expression of how male dominance is systemically and culturally reinforced.
Of course, women’s absence from the award cannot be blamed on the jury panel alone. In fact their exclusion indicates gender discrimination in the nomination process as much as, if not more, than in the selection process. In either case, it has discouraging consequences, reinforcing notions that men’s writing is serious and important while women’s writing is of a less critical nature.

Given the increased sales and prestige that is afforded Nobel laureates, the disproportion of women writers and absence of black African women writers is conspicuous.  Alas, this fails to generate collective outrage.

 

Who would you wish to see on the candidate short list?

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Africa, Decolonisation, feminism, Pop Culture Tagged With: African women, feminism, gender, literature, stereotypes, writing

Comments

  1. Nzingah says

    May 23, 2013 at 6:50 pm

    I would love to see my favorite author Ayi Kwei Armah.

    Reply
    • MsAfropolitan says

      May 23, 2013 at 9:06 pm

      Great choice!

      Reply
      • Nzingah says

        May 23, 2013 at 11:23 pm

        It is so tragic that most people are not familiar with his work. The prologue to 2000 Seasons was pure genius.

        Reply
  2. Gerall Kahla says

    May 24, 2013 at 12:48 am

    Octavia Butler. She wrote speculative fiction, but I have not read “non-genre” fiction that was as compelling.

    Reply
    • MsAfropolitan says

      May 29, 2013 at 1:56 pm

      Thanks for the comment Gerall. I agree, Octavia Butler would truly deserve it.

      Reply

Trackbacks

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    May 29, 2013 at 10:00 am

    […] Nobelpreis für Literatur ist bekanntermaßen auch eher ein boys club. Ms. Afropolitan stellt fest, dass von den (mickrigen) […]

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  2. Calls for Chinua Achebe Nobel prize ‘obscene’, says Wole Soyinka | Chinua Achebe says:
    October 16, 2013 at 10:57 am

    […] – https://msafropolitan.com/2013/05/apart-from-chinua-achebe-which-other-african-writers-deserve-th… […]

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  3. Mädchenmannschaft » Blog Archive » Durch das Schreiben verstehen – R.I.P. Nadine Gordimer says:
    July 14, 2014 at 3:53 pm

    […] verhandelte (wozu es natürlich auch kritische Auseinandersetzungen mit ihrem Werk gibt), mit einem Literaturnobelpreis ausgezeichnet. Sie war die siebente Frau, die diesen Preis überhaupt zugesprochen […]

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  4. Five Unafrican Novels To Read Before You Die | Sarah Pett says:
    January 13, 2015 at 1:58 pm

    […] As for the double-whammy of race and gender discrimination in relation to the prize, well, Ms Afropolitan’s post speaks for itself. Nevertheless, the glaring omission of African writers of European heritage from […]

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  5. Five Unafrican Novels To Read Before You Die | Study at SOAS Blogs says:
    January 24, 2017 at 3:57 pm

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  6. African novels and thoughts of literature by SOAS lecturer says:
    January 25, 2017 at 10:46 am

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  7. African novels and thoughts on literature by SOAS lecturer says:
    January 25, 2017 at 11:30 am

    […] As for the double-whammy of race and gender discrimination in relation to the prize, well, Ms Afropolitan’s post speaks for itself. Nevertheless, the glaring omission of African writers of European heritage from […]

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Feminism. African Studies. Social Criticism.

Hi! I'm Minna Salami, I'm a Nigerian-Finnish and Swedish writer and social critic, and the founder of this blog. Read my full bio here

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