₦airaland Forum

Chimamanda Adiche has written a story that was in this week's Newyorker Magazine titled "The Headstrong Historian.

It is an interesting story and is good reading for anyone who wants to read it.


Here is an excerpt of the story -

                     The Headstrong Historian by Chimamanda Adiche

Many years after her husband had died, Nwamgba still closed her eyes from time to time to relive his nightly visits to her hut, and the mornings after, when she would walk to the stream humming a song, thinking of the smoky scent of him and the firmness of his weight, and feeling as if she were surrounded by light. Other memories of Obierika also remained clear—his stubby fingers curled around his flute when he played in the evenings, his delight when she set down his bowls of food, his sweaty back when he brought baskets filled with fresh clay for her pottery. From the moment she had first seen him, at a wrestling match, both of them staring and staring, both of them too young, her waist not yet wearing the menstruation cloth, she had believed with a quiet stubbornness that her chi and his chi had destined their marriage, and so when he and his relatives came to her father a few years later with pots of palm wine she told her mother that this was the man she would marry. Her mother was aghast. Did Nwamgba not know that Obierika was an only child, that his late father had been an only child whose wives had lost pregnancies and buried babies? Perhaps somebody in their family had committed the taboo of selling a girl into slavery and the earth god Ani was visiting misfortune on them. Nwamgba ignored her mother. She went into her father’s obi and told him she would run away from any other man’s house if she was not allowed to marry Obierika. Her father found her exhausting, this sharp-tongued, headstrong daughter who had once wrestled her brother to the ground. (Her father had had to warn those who saw this not to let anyone outside the compound know that a girl had thrown a boy.) He, too, was concerned about the infertility in Obierika’s family, but it was not a bad family: Obierika’s late father had taken the Ozo title; Obierika was already giving out his seed yams to sharecroppers. Nwamgba would not starve if she married him. Besides, it was better that he let his daughter go with the man she chose than to endure years of trouble in which she would keep returning home after confrontations with her in-laws; and so he gave his blessing, and she smiled and called him by his praise name.

Read More of the Headstrong Historian,

scorpio1:
Ooooowwww, You remind me of those days, i was addicted to Enid Blyton,
I had the whole collections of famous five then and their was this thick,big Enid collection i had, contained lots of stories, how i cherished them.
But,what has happened to the guy,children of these days no longer read his books or have they stopped publishing,
How i wish i was wise enough to collect them, Long live the Famous Five"

First of all Enid Blyton is a woman not a man and secondly, she died forty years ago (probably before you ever read her books - certainly before I was born).

When I read the story called "Communion" on Faith and Doubt, I could not come to the conclusion that it was fiction. In fact I do not think it is. It seems the New Yorker did turn where they asked half a dozen writers to write things/articles/stories on "Faith and Doubt".

This should be on another new post but I can't be bothered to start a new thread.

Rose Tremain has won the 2008 Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction for her book "The Road Home" .

Also, Joanna Kavenna won the Orange Broadband Award for New Writers 2008 for her book "Inglorious".

There is this blog of stories called Fourteenth and Serenity that has been undertaken by about a dozen of the top Naija bloggers. It is a "pass-the-baton" kind of story which will span a little over three weeks and can be found by clicking this link FOURTEENTH AND SERENITY. I must say that I have found it thus far to be a high calibre string of intricately woven stories. The first installment was posted on monday and the second installment was posted online today. The next is due on friday and the timetable involves posting a new addition by a different blogger every other day. If you want to start at the beginning, the first installment is titled "Scorned" while the second is entitled "Hypocrisy". if nothing else, I promise that you'd be entertained.

Take a look and ENJOY!

SMC

Ndipe:
Who has read his new debut?

The book is not out until next month.

The competition is now closed.

The waiting game now begins. Results will be released later on in November 2008.

A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini

Hosseini is a brill writer and although I have not finished it yet, I highly recommend it.

Ndipe:
Elechi Amadi is not the author of The Cyclist.

Indeed he isn't. The author is someone called Phillip Phil Ebose (or something similar. I apologise if the name is spelt wrong. It's been well over 20 years, but I am sure I won't be far off as I remember the book well).

Last day. Less than 3 hours to go.

Just One Day to Go. Keep Submitting.

Caine Prize 2008 shortlist announced

The shortlist for the 2008 Caine Prize for African Writing has been announced.  With over 90 entries coming in from 17 African countries, the shortlist is once again a reflection of the Caine Prize’s pan-African reach.  The winner of the £10,000 prize is to be announced at a celebratory dinner at the Bodleian Library, Oxford , on Monday, 7 July.
 

The 2008 shortlist comprises:

(1) Mohammed Naseehu Ali (Ghana) ‘Mallam Sile’, from ‘The Prophet of Zongo’, published by Amistad, an imprint of Harper Collins, NY, 2005


(2) Stanley Onjezani Kenani (Malawi) ‘For Honour’ from ‘African Pens’, published by Spearhead, an imprint of New Africa Books, Cape Town, 2007


(3) Henrietta Rose-Innes ( South Africa ) ‘Poison’ from ‘Africa Pens’, published by Spearhead, an imprint of New Africa Books, Cape Town , 2007


(4) Gill Schierhout ( South Africa ) ‘The Day of the Surgical Colloquium’ from ‘African Pens’, published by Spearhead, an imprint of New Africa Books, Cape Town , 2007


(5) Uzor Maxim Uzoatu ( Nigeria ) ‘Cemetery of Life ’ from ‘Wasafiri’ No52 Autumn 2007


This year’s panel of judges is chaired by the Artistic Director of the Southbank Centre, Jude Kelly OBE, who is responsible for creating a unified artistic vision for the whole 21 acre site. An experienced director of over 100 productions, she was awarded an OBE for services to the theatre in 1997 and is Chair of Culture, Ceremonies and Education at the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games.


Joining her on the panel is Jamaican poet and professor of English, Mark McMorris, Hisham Matar, the Libyan author of the internationally successful first novel, In the Country of Men, Eritrean-born Hannah Pool, a Guardian journalist, and the previous 2007 judge, South African poet, novelist and lecturer Jonty Driver.


Once again the winner of the £10,000 Caine Prize, known as Africa’s Booker Prize, will be given the opportunity of taking up a month’s residence at Georgetown University, Washington DC, as a ‘Caine Prize/Georgetown University Writer-in-Residence’. The award will cover all travel and living expenses.

 
Last year’s winner was Uganda ’s Monica Arac de Nyeko, for Jambula Tree from ‘African Love Stories’.  The story was described by last year’s chair of judges, Jamal Mahjoub, as “a witty and touching portrait of a community which is affected forever by a love which blossoms between two adolescents”. Monica is currently in Nairobi working on her first novel.

 
This is the ninth year of The Caine Prize for African Writing. Previous winners include, South Africa ’s Mary Watson for Jungfrau from Moss, Kwela Books, 2004, who is currently in Cape Town and also working on her first novel; and Segun Afolabi from Nigeria for Monday Morning published by Wasafiri (2004), later published in his first collection of short stories, A Life Elsewhere. Segun has completed his first novel Goodbye Lucille.


Helon Habila, the 2001 Caine Prize winner, has published his third novel, Waiting for an Angel described by Doris Lessing as, ‘tender, funny and compassionate’. Kenya ’s Binyavanga Wainaina, 2002 winner of the Prize, is the founding editor of the literary magazine, Kwani? He is currently Writer-in-Residence at Union College and working on a memoir which is to be published by Granta Books.

 
This year the shortlisted writers will be reading from their work at the Royal Over-Seas League on Friday, 4 July at 7pm and at the South Bank Centre literary festival on Sunday, 6 July at 7pm. There will also be a seminar at the Institute for English Studies, Senate House, University of London , on Wednesday, 9 July at 1.30pm.


For further information on the Caine Prize please contact:

Abigail Cochrane
Raitt Orr & Associates Ltd   

Tel:      020 7630 9778
Fax:     020 7630 5067
E-mail: abigail@raittorr.co.uk
Nick Elam
The Caine Prize for African Writing   

Tel:       +44 (0) 20 7378 6234
E-mail: info@caineprize.com
Web:    www.caineprize.com

Just one week to go. Keep writing! Keep submitting!!

The Deadline has been extended to the 9th of May 2008. Best of Luck to Everyone who enters.

kay9:
Finally, our muse of literature (at least on nairaland!) is back. Orinkila, where've you been?? Me and other folks around here have given up hopes of ever seeing you - umm, hearing from you again. 'Twas only by a great act of undiluted faith that I was able to resist the tempatation of starting a thread titled "Ode To The Great Orinkila". Anyway, nice to have you back, and real nice write-up you came with, too. Wish I could write like that. _{(Care to tell us where you been, friend?)}

Orikinla posted this thread last year mate (check the date). He aint coming back (unless he can be persuaded to do so) which is quite a pity.

Raymond88:
Indecent proposal
He saw her sitting alone in the pub, chewing gum like a road side hooker in the cold night. There was something about her, something about her that compelled him to walk over there and stare at her face.

"What do you want?".

He smiles, " There is something you have that i really need right now" he says and sits.

She looks amazed, he continues " i want to put it in my mouth and roll my tongue all over it, i want to suck and suck until it becomes dry. . .oh god, i want put my fingers into it and stretch it about. . ." he says all this with ecstasy in his eyes, she looks at him. . . surprised.

"Are you sure I have this. . .this thing you want?"

He smiles again, pointing downwards in the direction of her legs. "Yes, i believe it's down there. . .er. . .in your hand bag".

"What is it?"

He hesitates and says "Can i have a piece of chewing gum? i haven't had one for ages. . ."

You obviously did not see where it was clearly stated by the original poster that the story must be exactly 100 words.

Roughly 20 days to the deadline. Hope your entries have been submitted (or soon will be)

Nella:
Welkl seing that I write and I'm planing to be a future writter, my advice would be this :

Every writter has their own way of writting, what works for one writter might not work for the other, and sometimes how a writter deals with blockness is different 4rom how d other deals with it. Beacuse if you're a true writter u would nottice that every time u pick up a pen and just wish an idea would come, notting happens, but when you're not concentrating or even thinking of writting u just suddenly get an idea, and of course u write depending on your mood, so. . . the kind of story u imagine alwaYS depends on your mood, so if your sad and expecting to write a happy story, it doesn't work at all.


And if have an idea and is in that mood to write that always come from deep below, it all just flows out as u pick the pen.

Every writter is unique . . . so Go find your own way of writting and dealling with writting problems inside u. No one needs to advice u, if you're a writter you're a writter,

@ Nella, you seem to love the use of double "T"s (and/or double letters generally). Writer, writing, nothing and notice all have one "T", not two.

ariblaze:
myths oooo folktales ooooo

bottom line is she gives us another perspective to it, comprende?

There is nothing to comprehend. I have already made my point.

@ Kay9, What's your e-mail address?

ariblaze:
bgees

i beg to differ

anne rice rather than overhype vampires gave a realistic veiw to them,

before her, vampires where bat turning ,gravity defying,leather jacket wearing supermen, with one Frailty , they couldnt be daywalkers!!

but with her you see the lonely side the dark side what it means to be cursed to walk ones remaining days on earth

she said something about vampires rolling over to die because they can't comprehend with change of time,

i remember at the end of interveiw with the vampire, the way lestat was potrayed as a vampire living in filth and calling for death,

no she gave an inside veiw to a vampires life

Vampires are products of myths and folklore, so there can be no such thing as a "realistic view to them". It's almost akin to saying someone gives a realistic view to unicorns, it is an impossibility.

mactao:
Dizzy Angel, Grace Usifo

OMG!!! I can remember that book. It was written by the mother of one of my former schoolmates in the 1980's (I think her name was Pamela Osifo - or something similar) and she was on the cover of the book if my memory serves me right. I have run through my memory but I still cannot remember what the book is about. I recall though that it was popular with my schoolmates for that period and I'd like to lay my hands on it again.

It has not been released yet, though people can pre-order it. I have read two of the stories (the ones which appeared in the New Yorker). I look forward to reading the whole collection.

The book is not a novel. It is a collection of his short stories.

Hey Kay9,

Got the book in the post. I will fully read it as soon as I can. I have to get through J.M. Coetzee's "Disgrace" which I have started and "Life and Times of Michael K" which is waiting, as well as Dupe Olorunjo's "Tailed" and quite a number of other books I have in my possession. It does not help that I am doing 1001 things at the same time. I will cut through most of the other books and read yours next. I have read the prologue and 1st chapter but I reserve my comments for when I finish it.

SMC