Welcome, Guest: Register On Nairaland / LOGIN! / Trending / Recent / New
Stats: 3,193,944 members, 7,952,808 topics. Date: Thursday, 19 September 2024 at 02:58 AM

The Fate Of Nigerian Writers - Literature (2) - Nairaland

Nairaland Forum / Entertainment / Literature / The Fate Of Nigerian Writers (8382 Views)

Read For Free: The Fate That Never Was (part 1) / Top 10 Nigerian Writers Of All Time. / My Life,my Fate (2) (3) (4)

(1) (2) (3) (Reply) (Go Down)

Re: The Fate Of Nigerian Writers by Mynd44: 3:03pm On Dec 22, 2012
breathing:

Personally I prefer reading about the world I live in, maybe that makes me a realist grin but there are more readers for your kinda writing than mine.
Everyone has their taste and everyone has a unique circle of readers which they target.
Re: The Fate Of Nigerian Writers by Nobody: 3:47pm On Dec 22, 2012
OP, OP. Wat shld our Writers write abt? Shld they write abt d love, wen many brothers ar dying of bomb blasts and one police officer jst slapped u at d junction. Shld u write abt a bright future, wen thr is no electricity? Shld I write abt an utopia, wen my salary is delayed, even though its xmas?
Jst tak a look at d last thread, wat an 'interesting' question.
Re: The Fate Of Nigerian Writers by Mynd44: 3:56pm On Dec 22, 2012
^^
But why should all writers write that? Why can't writers create a new world in their imagination?

Why must writing be limited to true life situations?
Where is the fantasy?
Where are the stories of myths
I would love to read about Sango and Ogun. Not the true story but the fantasy part. Read about them as gods which is untrue but that's what I wanna see.
Re: The Fate Of Nigerian Writers by sholay2011(m): 3:59pm On Dec 22, 2012
Pyrrho: OP, OP. Wat shld our Writers write abt? Shld they write abt d love, wen many brothers ar dying of bomb blasts and one police officer jst slapped u at d junction. Shld u write abt a bright future, wen thr is no electricity? Shld I write abt an utopia, wen my salary is delayed, even though its xmas?
Jst tak a look at d last thread, wat an 'interesting' question.

Take it easy bro. D OP isn't saying ppl shudnt write abt societal themes or av historic events as dia story background, but Nigerian writers shud find d balance between writing for entertainment of d mind and writing for a social cause. Ironically, william shakespeare is known mainly for combining both...but wiv more emphasis on entertainment of the mind.
Re: The Fate Of Nigerian Writers by maclatunji: 4:10pm On Dec 22, 2012
Yaay! I wrote a book about business and didn't call people names or lament the fate of Nigeria. Is that a good thing?
Re: The Fate Of Nigerian Writers by breathing(f): 4:17pm On Dec 22, 2012
sholay2011:

Take it easy bro. D OP isn't saying ppl shudnt write abt societal themes or av historic events as dia story background, but Nigerian writers shud find d balance between writing for entertainment of d mind and writing for a social cause. Ironically, william shakespeare is known mainly for combining both...but wiv more emphasis on entertainment of the mind.

Nigerian books are entertaining too naw. They are not nearly as boring as you peeps make them out to be.
Re: The Fate Of Nigerian Writers by Nobody: 4:23pm On Dec 22, 2012
goldenbrown: Which way Nigeria literature? Guess writing has become a medium and strategy for another Civil war in Nigeria. For instance,Niger Delta Authors are found of writing Angry books.. First they lament the plight of their homeland and devasted environments caused by Oil companies. Its not bad writing about your Environment but writers should bring these settings to a limit. For instance I read an excerpt of a Novel tittled "THE ELEME BOY" written by a young writer christened Jonah Okpabi. Its a good book to read but I view that book as an authobiography and a direct attack on the Government and Oil Companies. I think writers of this generation should have gone beyond the extent of making much emphasy to their immediate environment in what they claimed to be fiction. The same is said of writers from the East who think the only way of restoring their lost world is by publishing books that is incapable of standing the test of Truth and Time. What about writers from the West whose literary works is a direct attack on their Northern counterparts. On the part of the North, I think writers like Yusuf, Usman etc should be off from the literary scene. What is the fate of Nigerian Writers?
Nigerian writers have a bright future- in fact, they are the best, just that the harsh Nigerian economy has never given so many aspiring writers the opportunity to be heard via traditional publishing.


Meanwhile, I see nothing bad in a writer reflecting on his or her immediate society- it is even encouraged in literature for writers to write about what they know best; which often come from what's happening around them.
Re: The Fate Of Nigerian Writers by kagari: 4:44pm On Dec 22, 2012
What is happening to our poetry, what is d hype bout writing novels. Poems reflect more fantancies than novels
Re: The Fate Of Nigerian Writers by LarrySun(m): 4:56pm On Dec 22, 2012
From my own point of view (I may be wrong though), many Nigerian writers are bent on creating Literature, like an Achebe or Soyinka...but seriously, writing extends farther than that. Rather than strive for intelligent entertainment and create our own unique styles, we tend to become someone other people. Of course, that is alright if your novel
is one you want adapted into schools' literature texts. Perhaps, we need more thriller writers in Nigeria...let us create more Tunde Smarts than Okonkwos.
Bless you all.
Re: The Fate Of Nigerian Writers by maclatunji: 5:01pm On Dec 22, 2012
kagari: What is happening to our poetry, what is d hype bout writing novels. Poems reflect more fantancies than novels

My next book will probably be a compilation of most of my poems.
Re: The Fate Of Nigerian Writers by sageon: 5:10pm On Dec 22, 2012
“The writer does not write in a vacuum” Every inked script derives from a pulsed apprehension of prevalent debates, conditions and issues that defines a writer’s space. Regardless of our denials and the well-oiled machinery of denunciations and revisionism, the truth must be told-Nigeria is still unready to define itself.

In all my travels and work, I have never encountered a people so terrified to embrace, discuss, negotiate and define a collective vision as Nigerians. Open debate is readily stifled and hijacked; dissenting voices come under severe censure; associations are regarded with suspicion; a person’s name- delivers more on its origins than the bearer. These aberrations are endless and, indicate conditions, symptomatic of a people yoked, unsure and in denial of their history and heritage.

It needless shouldn’t come as surprise to have writers mirror these issues in their works, having regard to extant debates and the plethora of unresolved issues. Whether, it is done in deliberate misinformation, acerbic or colored impressions, the paths chosen are entirely indicative of the writer’s surmise of the best mode of interaction with his chosen audience. Besides, they live and share common space with the community, or are emotionally linked with the space that is called home.

It would alien and unwelcomed to write of manicured gardens and an ordered society, in one that clearly abhors it, nor would any appreciation, nay- apprehension, come with descriptions that suggest an Eldorado or bliss-it just wouldn’t settle in. The present derives from the past, and a people who deny their own, only guarantee themselves a hollow future.

2 Likes

Re: The Fate Of Nigerian Writers by nollywood20: 5:21pm On Dec 22, 2012
breathing:

Hehe, this is a new one. Interesting. Please can you list some contemporary SANGUINE Nigerian literature grin. Infact if possible, just list about two contemporary books under each of the four temperaments.

Sanguine authors: Chimamnda Ngozi Adichie's Purple Hibiscus, Adaobi Tricia Nwauban's I Do Not Come to you by Chance and Bisi Daniels' Conspiracy of Lagos.

Choleric: Bisi Daniels' The False Truth and Helon Habila's Waiting for an Angel.

Melancholic: Helen Oyeyemi's The Icarus Girl and Chris Abani's The Virgin of Flames.

Phlegmatic: Ben Okri's first novel Flowers and Shadows and Uche Bialonwu's The Long Claws of Fate.

Re: The Fate Of Nigerian Writers by purplekayc(m): 5:24pm On Dec 22, 2012
check this out foreign writers

http://www.therichest.org/celebnetworth/category/celeb/authors/


Stephen king net worth 400 mil grin grin tongue tongue
Re: The Fate Of Nigerian Writers by maclatunji: 5:34pm On Dec 22, 2012
sageon: “The writer does not write in a vacuum” Every inked script derives from a pulsed apprehension of prevalent debates, conditions and issues that defines a writer’s space. Regardless of our denials and the well-oiled machinery of denunciations and revisionism, the truth must be told-Nigeria is still unready to define itself.

In all my travels and work, I have never encountered a people so terrified to embrace, discuss, negotiate and define a collective vision as Nigerians. Open debate is readily stifled and hijacked; dissenting voices come under severe censure; associations are regarded with suspicion; a person’s name- delivers more on its origins than the bearer. These aberrations are endless and, indicate conditions, symptomatic of a people yoked, unsure and in denial of their history and heritage.

It needless shouldn’t come as surprise to have writers mirror these issues in their works, having regard to extant debates and the plethora of unresolved issues. Whether, it is done in deliberate misinformation, acerbic or colored impressions, the paths chosen are entirely indicative of the writer’s surmise of the best mode of interaction with his chosen audience. Besides, they live and share common space with the community, or are emotionally linked with the space that is called home.

It would alien and unwelcomed to write of manicured gardens and an ordered society, in one that clearly abhors it, nor would any appreciation, nay- apprehension, come with descriptions that suggest an Eldorado or bliss-it just wouldn’t settle in. The present derives from the past, and a people who deny their own, only guarantee themselves a hollow future.

So many "big" words. The summary is that writers should be free to write about their environment as they see it- for good or bad.

1 Like

Re: The Fate Of Nigerian Writers by nollywood20: 5:49pm On Dec 22, 2012
The Nigeria Prize for Literature sponsored by the Nigeria LNG Limited makes every winner a millionaire in naira.
$100, 000 is the biggest literary prize for literature in Africa and among the biggest prizes in the world.

The most outstanding recent books of poetry are Prof. Niyi Osundare's City Without People: The Katrina Poems, Prof. J.P. Clark's Full Tide (a compilation including 9 previous collections) and Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima's The Prophet Lied.
One of our foremost poets Tanure Ojaide has brought out more prose works than poetry in the last four years. But he is still relatively unknown to most Nigerians who have little or no knowledge of the best contemporary writers until they win a big prize.
But what makes a great writer is not the prizes you win, but sacrifices you have made for enlightenment of your community, society and humanity.

Re: The Fate Of Nigerian Writers by nollywood20: 5:51pm On Dec 22, 2012
maclatunji:

So many "big" words. The summary is that writers should be free to write about their environment as they see it- for good or bad.
Finis.
Re: The Fate Of Nigerian Writers by Redmosquito(m): 5:56pm On Dec 22, 2012
Mehn! I know so little nigerian writers! What is up with Vigorous advertisements?! God knows I will be willing to buy the first nigerian book that gets advertised on NL (and is easily purchased online). Everybody expects us to know writers when the writers dont bother with advertisements. undecided
Re: The Fate Of Nigerian Writers by maclatunji: 5:59pm On Dec 22, 2012
Redmosquito: Mehn! I know so little nigerian writers! What is up with Vigorous advertisements?! God knows I will be willing to buy the first nigerian book that gets advertised on NL (and is easily purchased online). Everybody expects us to know writers when the writers dont bother with advertisements. undecided

Lack of funds is the problem.
Re: The Fate Of Nigerian Writers by maclatunji: 6:01pm On Dec 22, 2012
Redmosquito: Mehn! I know so little nigerian writers! What is up with Vigorous advertisements?! God knows I will be willing to buy the first nigerian book that gets advertised on NL (and is easily purchased online). Everybody expects us to know writers when the writers dont bother with advertisements. undecided

View this https://www.createspace.com/4023008
Re: The Fate Of Nigerian Writers by Redmosquito(m): 6:05pm On Dec 22, 2012
maclatunji:

Lack of funds is the problem.
Lack of fund?! Writing is not meant to be a full time job ooooo! In my Opinion! See Isaac Asimov, master of sci fi, even he believed that! He was a chemistry lecturer, nothing to do with english. All I'm trying to say is Writers are meant to have another job that they can then use to fund adverts of their books, Damn! angry
grin grin grin grin
Re: The Fate Of Nigerian Writers by Redmosquito(m): 6:07pm On Dec 22, 2012
maclatunji:

View this https://www.createspace.com/4023008
See! You have enough funding to have ur own webpage! I dont know how expensive that page cost, but wouldn't it be better and easier to to advertise the book on NL.
Re: The Fate Of Nigerian Writers by dumodust(m): 6:23pm On Dec 22, 2012
i strongly feel the old stereotypic writing is dying out... the world is more like a village now, literature anywhere can be read with a click of a mouse and we have a new generation of Nigerians that grew with both local and foreign novels, both dstv and nta grin and have traveled widely.
i'm optimistic that things are going to get more interesting soon...
the only thing that bothers me is the publicity and publishing aspect. i think writer organizations in Nigeria have sort of turned themselves into cliques and cabals that endorse and promote their cronies and members... some published work from Nigeria applauded by the ANA and their likes are heart wrenching and excruciating to read. if they cant connect to the new generation, then they wont be read and they wont sell and a books success is ultimately measured by that not some reviews from a bunch of supposedly experienced and learned nigerian critics. maybe we need to form a group, take the bull by the horns, form a small company, wean talent from nairaland and co, patiently develop them and edit their work and publish them. it wont be easy, but it can work...
the other alternative is international publishers but the competition is too much and it's so hard because our writing maynot connect with their ideas...
Re: The Fate Of Nigerian Writers by maclatunji: 6:30pm On Dec 22, 2012
Redmosquito:
See! You have enough funding to have ur own webpage! I dont know how expensive that page cost, but wouldn't it be better and easier to to advertise the book on NL.

Have you ever written or published a book? Like play, like play, I have interacted with some writing and publishing experts in Nigeria and the consensus is that writers are undervalued and most remain poor in a country like Nigeria. Even the few that are lucky to have their books published suffer from piracy and meagre royalties from publishers.

It is little wonder that most take to lamentation in their works. Poverty and disillusionment are very strong themes in their lives.
Re: The Fate Of Nigerian Writers by maclatunji: 6:32pm On Dec 22, 2012
dumodust: i strongly feel the old stereotypic writing is dying out... the world is more like a village now, literature anywhere can be read with a click of a mouse and we have a new generation of Nigerians that grew with both local and foreign novels, both dstv and nta grin and have traveled widely.
i'm optimistic that things are going to get more interesting soon...
the only thing that bothers me is the publicity and publishing aspect. i think writer organizations in Nigeria have sort of turned themselves into cliques and cabals that endorse and promote their cronies and members... some published work from Nigeria applauded by the ANA and their likes are heart wrenching and excruciating to read. if they cant connect to the new generation, then they wont be read and they wont sell and a books success is ultimately measured by that not some reviews from a bunch of supposedly experienced and learned nigerian critics. maybe we need to form a group, take the bull by the horns, form a small company, wean talent from nairaland and co, patiently develop them and edit their work and publish them. it wont be easy, but it can work...
the other alternative is international publishers but the competition is too much and it's so hard because our writing maynot connect with their ideas...

This guy has his hands on something.
Re: The Fate Of Nigerian Writers by dumodust(m): 6:33pm On Dec 22, 2012
redmosquito i feel you on the mysticism and mythology aspect, i have something in the pipeline, a great idea but it's so hard getting the right facts about nigerian gods and history... our ancestors never had written records unlike the greeks, egyptians etc. research is very important when planning to write such a book so that facts are not misrepresented and so that your book wont be ridiculed. i'm still researching and writing and when it clicks, it will be on nairaland for criticism and reviews.
anyway, see how the western writers have popularized and romanticized their gods(eg-thor), some africans have tried to do the same but werent so successful but there was a ghanaian that wrote like two books about ananse(very good).

a friend once said the difference between thor, sango and amadioha na packaging...lol. besides, sango also carries a hammer. the problem is that nigerians innately want to kill that aspect of our beautiful history to demonstrate their religiousness.
i pity our kids, they may have no history or mythology to fall back on and refer to... our history will start from when the missionaries came.
Re: The Fate Of Nigerian Writers by dumodust(m): 6:40pm On Dec 22, 2012
maclatunji:

This guy has his hands on something.

check out the music industry, they took over their destiny and stopped blaming people- see where they are. maybe nigerian literature hasnt been packaged and made available in a way that is appealing to them. just saying that we can try... there so much great literature in nigeria, check out nairaland and u'll understand that it will be a shame to let it waste.with proper editing and projection... it will sell
Re: The Fate Of Nigerian Writers by Redmosquito(m): 6:42pm On Dec 22, 2012
dumodust: redmosquito i feel you on the mysticism and mythology aspect, i have something in the pipeline, a great idea but it's so hard getting the right facts about nigerian gods and history... our ancestors never had written records unlike the greeks, egyptians etc. research is very important when planning to write such a book so that facts are not misrepresented and so that your book wont be ridiculed. i'm still researching and writing and when it clicks, it will be on nairaland for criticism and reviews.
anyway, see how the western writers have popularized and romanticized their gods(eg-thor), some africans have tried to do the same but werent so successful but there was a ghanaian that wrote like two books about ananse(very good).

a friend once said the difference between thor, sango and amadioha na packaging...lol. besides, sango also carries a hammer. the problem is that nigerians innately want to kill that aspect of our beautiful history to demonstrate their religiousness.
i pity our kids, they may have no history or mythology to fall back on and refer to... our history will start from when the missionaries came.
I actually have a story in my head about Sango, it has been in my head for like a month now. It is even older than African Nerd. But mehn! I agree with you, facts are scare. And ummm...Sango carries an Axe not Hammer. But in one village Sango was white, in another tale he was black, Unlike greek gods who are very bold in their forms. I have decided that if I am to write about any african gods, I will do so without listening Mr A and B, they will just muddle up the character of the gosd undecided
grin grin grin
Re: The Fate Of Nigerian Writers by Redmosquito(m): 6:44pm On Dec 22, 2012
maclatunji:

Have you ever written or published a book? Like play, like play, I have interacted with some writing and publishing experts in Nigeria and the consensus is that writers are undervalued and most remain poor in a country like Nigeria. Even the few that are lucky to have their books published suffer from piracy and meagre royalties from publishers.

It is little wonder that most take to lamentation in their works. Poverty and disillusionment are very strong themes in their lives.
That is why I spoke of getting another job! Writing should be a side thing not a main thing. And mehn! I agree with you on piracy angry
grin grin grin
Re: The Fate Of Nigerian Writers by maclatunji: 6:49pm On Dec 22, 2012
Redmosquito:
That is why I spoke of getting another job! Writing should be a side thing not a main thing. And mehn! I agree with you on piracy angry
grin grin grin

How can you be a creative writer when you struggle to survive with most crappy jobs out there?
Re: The Fate Of Nigerian Writers by Redmosquito(m): 6:52pm On Dec 22, 2012
maclatunji:

How can you be a creative writer when you struggle to survive with most crappy jobs out there?
haba! What about Asimov? What about stephen king? These are only the few I can mention, but there are many more
Re: The Fate Of Nigerian Writers by maclatunji: 7:26pm On Dec 22, 2012
Redmosquito:
haba! What about Asimov? What about stephen king? These are only the few I can mention, but there are many more

Let them come to Nigeria, make we see whether dat dem talent go blossom under our harsh environment.
Re: The Fate Of Nigerian Writers by Nobody: 7:32pm On Dec 22, 2012
goldenbrown: Which way Nigeria literature? Guess writing has become a medium and strategy for another Civil war in Nigeria. For instance,Niger Delta Authors are found of writing Angry books.. First they lament the plight of their homeland and devasted environments caused by Oil companies. Its not bad writing about your Environment but writers should bring these settings to a limit. For instance I read an excerpt of a Novel tittled "THE ELEME BOY" written by a young writer christened Jonah Okpabi. Its a good book to read but I view that book as an authobiography and a direct attack on the Government and Oil Companies. I think writers of this generation should have gone beyond the extent of making much emphasy to their immediate environment in what they claimed to be fiction. The same is said of writers from the East who think the only way of restoring their lost world is by publishing books that is incapable of standing the test of Truth and Time. What about writers from the West whose literary works is a direct attack on their Northern counterparts. On the part of the North, I think writers like Yusuf, Usman etc should be off from the literary scene. What is the fate of Nigerian Writers?

This article and the writer are myopic. On reading this article my first intention was to dismiss it like I have done to other crappy articles proliferating NL. But on a second thought I decided to correct the erroneous scholarship the poster was propagating. Prominent writers in Africa and other continents of the world have stressed that the most fundamental role of the writer lies in his attempt or ability to foreground and interrogate the topical issues emanating in their immediate society. Wole Soyinka at a UN conference in Dar es Salem stated that "the writer is the visionary of his people he recognises the past and present... He anticipates he warns... The writer cannot help but envisage and seek to protect the future which is the declared aim of contemporary struggle". Taiwo Oladele notes thus: " the writer today must see around him bad politics bad religion the misleading of ordinary people and he is bound to write about his environment of course he can opt out and decide to write space fiction or something like that but I feel that the writer has to write about what happens around him" I could go on quoting various scholars but in all of this what is to be considered is that the writer is influenced by his environment and so his literature must encapsulate these influences. Ngugi, achebe, Soyinka, Adichie, Conrad,Golding,Selvon and several others are recognised today because their literature re enacted their immediate society. I wouldn't have been so critical if the poster encouraged romance and escapist and space fiction writing but to set them against social writers indicates a poor grasp of what literature and writers represent for the immediate society.

(1) (2) (3) (Reply)

Lost In Passion (18+) / Rise And Fall Of Warri 2pac»street Life« / A Night With Him - By Zeemah Write

(Go Up)

Sections: politics (1) business autos (1) jobs (1) career education (1) romance computers phones travel sports fashion health
religion celebs tv-movies music-radio literature webmasters programming techmarket

Links: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10)

Nairaland - Copyright © 2005 - 2024 Oluwaseun Osewa. All rights reserved. See How To Advertise. 71
Disclaimer: Every Nairaland member is solely responsible for anything that he/she posts or uploads on Nairaland.