READERS' CORNER: Write for the love of craft; forget the money and fame

Write for the love of craft; forget the money and fame

I must applaud the Saturday Nation for taking literary discourse to a whole new level. The Writers’ Clinic is an idea whose time has come.

Aspiring creative writers are often oblivious to the fact that writing is an art just like painting or carpentry which requires specific skills that make the outcome desirable. Prof Egara Kabaji and Mr John Mwazemba have so far affirmed that with the right guidance, we can produce great writers. However, I would like to engage the two scholars on the all-important question of what drives people to write.

Prof Kabaji, in his article, “Are writers made or born? A blend of method and madness” (Saturday Nation, April 25) opines that the birth and the making coalesce into what he calls method and madness, which ultimately mould a creative writer.

What caught my eye in this well-written piece is the idea of inspiration (madness) which is very critical to every creative writer. But what should motivate one to write? And does this motivation have an impact on the overall quality of the literary work?

Two types of writers emerge based on their kind of motivation. First, those who write because they are driven by their urge to tell the story, and those who are driven by the prospects of monetary gain and instant fame.

Great writers tend to fall in the first category. These writers creatively engage their imagination to come up with works of art that stand the test of time. Take Chinua Achebe, the father of the African Novel. He was driven to tell the African story, showcasing to the world the literary beauty inherent in Africa. What came first was the inspiration to come up with beautifully written stories to address key issues and then the fame and other benefits followed. This is made clear in his essays Morning Yet on Creation Day.

As Prof Kabaji puts it, writing is an excruciating endeavour that heavily taxes the mind; one has to forego a lot of social commitments in order to compose works that stand the test of time.

It is at this point that I find Mwazemba’s article, “Why it’s important to target a specific audience in writing” (Saturday Nation, April 25) potentially counter-productive to creative writing. The overriding subject in Mwazemba’s article is how to boost the chances of selling literary works and garnering awards, a notion that encourages utilitarianism in writing much to the detriment of creativity.

A good example is President Kenyatta’s biography, Hard Tackle, by Irungu Thatiah. In a bid to capitalise on the President’s electoral victory, the writer hastily put together a book that received negative criticisms in literary circles for its poor research quality.

The writer teaches at Sakuri Girls’ in Kuria East. ([email protected])

By VIVERE NANDIEMO

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View on new Kenyan writers was misguided

Halfway through John Mwazemba’s pessimistic article “Shallow, predictable and very boring — the problem with Kenya’s new writers” (Saturday Nation, March 28) I paused and sincerely wished he’d have run out of ink and paper. This would have saved many of us readers from his eloquent yet somewhat misguided view of the contemporary Kenyan writer.

Mwazemba indeed starts off cleverly, by quoting the Booker Prize winning  The God of Small Things. He then, to my chagrin, abruptly resorts to calling the new writers “shallow” and claiming this is the reason Nigerians are beating them in literary awards.

Did he consider the possibility that the reason Nigerians win comparatively more awards might have something to do with, let us say, the tyranny of numbers?

Has Mwazemba also considered that the Kenyan publishing industry, of which he is a major player, could be the  poison that puts to sleep fictional writing with its obsession with school texts?

I wish the good publisher had gone ahead and named those “shallow” writers he has given money to engage in full time writing and research to produce a great Kenyan novel and have failed. He could also have told us how many literary awards he has helped establish in his long career in publishing.

Just how many writers’ workshops and mentorships has the Kenyan Publishers Association established to nurture talent? Why, I wonder, haven’t publishers like him partnered with PEN-Kenya in their ongoing schools and colleges writing workshops across the country? Why does the association donate books to State House instead of public schools?

If Mwazemba had bothered to answer the above questions, then maybe, just maybe, we would have forgiven his speaking ill of the new writer.

His other shocking declaration is that Kenyans are beaten at literary awards. What of Okwiri’s  2014 Caine Prize and her inclusion in Africa’s 39 most promising writers? Or Ndinda Kioko, winner of the 2014 Morland Scholarship?

Or Yvonne Owuor’s Dust that was short-listed for the Folio Prize last month? Kiprop Kimutai’s Kwani? novel win? Stanley Gazemba, Clifton Gachagua, Mehul Gohil? Does Mwazemba know of the poetry prize on whose shortlist Ngwatilo Mawiyoo was recently named? Do the above count or which other prizes is Mwazemba speaking of?

Mr Mwazemba is right that more can be done to squeeze great novels from new Kenyan writers. Yet this needs as much effort from publishers and editors as from writers. Writers need finances so they take time off chasing bread and focus on writing great works.

Who better to see this happen than the good publisher and his peers?

Nevertheless Mwazemba’s  chief undoing is without a doubt his “shallow” claim. I have read Arudhati Roy and I have read Yvonne Owuor and Ndinda and Okwiri and Kimutai  and even Adichi. And I daresay, no.  Kenyan writers are not even close to shallow.

I also question Mwazemba’s lament on our  lack of traditions. Ndinda chooses to write of  scalding passions, mourning, sexuality and travels of an independent woman?

Has it occurred to Mwazemba that Ndinda’s theme may qualify as tradition for the many urban youth for whom holiday means going off  to  Mombasa or Malindi to watch the ocean and “swear in coastal Kiswahili”? Truth be told, the literary wheel is turning!

 By GLORIA MWANIGA

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West must let Africans tell their tales

Picking my copy of the Saturday Nation of 18th, the headline on the literary pull-out was a bit disturbing to me. Evan Mwangi, professor designate at Chuka University had titled his article: “I’m coming back to Kenya but no; I will not teach queer literature”.

Combing through his piece, I found him attacking the United States, where African literature is given a wide berth.

He tells us that critics here argue that writing on serious topics about Africa won’t take you anywhere in America.

If you are an avid reader of these pages, then bear in mind one Ben Okri, a Nigerian novelist who sometimes back wrote: “How mental tyranny is keeping African writers from greatness” (Saturday Nation, January 3). Okri’s artwork got a splendid share of criticism then, but it seems like that was only a precursor of a bone fire.

Just like Okri, Mwangi believes African writers have fallen into disfavour because of penning themes such as slavery, colonialism and poverty. Perhaps the West expects the African pen to scribble much lighter subjects such as music and dance, but no people can achieve greatness without a literature of their own.

The writer teaches at Ng’iya Girls’ High School in Siaya County.

By OUMAH OTIENOH

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Link up new writers with publishers

It’s certainly thrilling that we — aspiring writers — finally have something to celebrate; the Writers Clinic in the Saturday Nation.

I appreciate the efforts of the pioneer contributors, Prof Egara Kabaji and publisher John Mwazemba. So far so good, but more needs to be done if the noble goals of this exciting new column are to be fully realised.

This column should help the hordes of budding writers achieve their ultimate desire: get published.

I greatly enjoyed reading Mr Mwazemba’s in-depth account on  his experience with prospective authors seeking to get published (Saturday Nation, April 18). For many, the maiden attempt to get published is a gargantuan task.

Bridge the gap

This is where the Writers Clinic should fit in and bridge the gap that seems to separate publishers from new writers. Considering that most of us usually start off without the slightest idea about what it really takes to succeed as a writer, this is no mean assignment. Nevertheless, I believe it can be done.

Just as a skilled football coach would not be content merely to offer a theoretical demonstration of the game to his charges, this column should likewise go the extra mile. It needs to take the writers to the pitch, so to speak, and guide them on the easiest way to score that all-important goal without either circumventing the established rules or tricking the umpire.

Our “coaches” should try and go beyond the quest to tackle the raw demands of the craft, important as  it is, and help budding writers strike home.

They can initiate collaboration between writers and publishers. This way, the coluimn will curve out an indelible niche for itself in the minds and hearts of its enthusiasts.

The writer is a teacher at Ikerege Mixed Secondary School, Kuria West.

By JOHN NDAR