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David Olusoga explores the incredible journey of the African novel - how a fearless collection of writers created books that were to define the image of Africa in the world.
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00:04O que eu tudo é?
00:30E isso é porque é totalmente normal.
00:33For décadas agora, african writers
00:35have been winning awards
00:37e writing bestsellers.
00:38O continente african tem become
00:40a super-power
00:41no mundo da novel.
00:43O Boca Prize de 2019
00:46foi controversial
00:47porque tinha dois ganhos,
00:49Margaret Atwood
00:50e Bernadine Evaristo.
00:54Mas esse double-win
00:56talvez eclipsa
00:57a história de verdade.
01:00Eu vou dizer que eu sou a primeira
01:01mulher que ganha esse prize.
01:08Evaristo's
01:09Historic Victory
01:10foi apenas o último capítulo
01:12em uma história que
01:13retornou muitas décadas.
01:16Dez no 1950s,
01:18african writers
01:19se desce a novel
01:20para dar voz
01:22para o seu experiência.
01:25Meu writing é
01:26muito político.
01:27Eu não acredito que
01:29um escreveu
01:30um livro
01:30simplesmente
01:31para amigas.
01:34As african nations
01:35became independent,
01:37esses escritores
01:38became
01:38a consciência
01:39de seu continente.
01:45o livro
01:48O livro
02:05então spread around the world,
02:08creating books that changed lives,
02:10especially here in Britain.
02:12Ben Okri is our Poet Laureate.
02:16When Ben speaks, we listen.
02:20And as writers from the continent have grown in fame,
02:24they have even begun to question
02:26being pigeonholed as African novelists.
02:30When somebody calls me an African writer,
02:33I look at who's saying it.
02:34But these novelists created a series of books
02:37that were funny, witty, and often tragic.
02:41But they achieved something
02:42that stretched beyond the world of literature.
02:45They helped transform the image of Africa itself.
03:02The story of these great African novels
03:05has a deep personal resonance for me.
03:37When I was a kid growing up in the UK,
03:39reading these novels is that books like this,
03:41by Africans who are writing about Africa,
03:44that they represented a profound break
03:47with how Africa had been portrayed in novels
03:50right up until the 1950s.
03:57The picture of Africa presented to Western readers
04:01before these books was a bit of a problem.
04:03The most popular novels set on the continent
04:06were The Boys Own Adventures of Ryder Haggard.
04:09John Buchan's Presta John was hugely popular.
04:12The story of a Westerner battling unruly savages.
04:16These books were written as entertainment.
04:21But one writer took the African adventure story
04:24and turned it into something far more troubling.
04:29At the beginning of the 20th century,
04:31Joseph Conrad published Heart of Darkness.
04:34It begins on the Thames,
04:37as the sailor Marlow recalls travelling from here
04:40to a great river in Africa
04:42as he struggles to understand that continent.
04:48Going up the river
04:49was like travelling back
04:51to the earliest beginnings of the world
04:54when vegetation rioted on the earth
04:57and the big trees were kings.
05:01The steamer toiled along slowly
05:04on the edge of a black and incomprehensible frenzy.
05:10Prehistoric man was cursing us,
05:13praying to us, welcoming us.
05:16Who could tell?
05:22Heart of Darkness was an attack on European imperialism.
05:25But in the 20th century,
05:27African writers began to rebel against the idea
05:30that their continent should be thought of
05:32or described as a place of darkness.
05:35And one writer in particular
05:36condemned the way European novelists
05:39like Joseph Conrad
05:40had portrayed the people of Africa
05:42as passive victims
05:44with no inner thoughts or inner lies.
05:47What he wanted was for African writers
05:49to seize control of the novel
05:51and use it to tell their own stories
05:53from an African perspective.
05:57This writer,
05:58who took on the Western canon,
06:00was the Nigerian Chinua Achebe.
06:04Born in 1930,
06:06he was educated under British rule
06:08and steeped in the colonial literature
06:11of the motherland.
06:14When I was younger,
06:16an adventure story was simply an adventure story.
06:18And if there were good white people
06:21surrounded by carnivals or savages,
06:25my sympathies would go with the good white people.
06:28I mean, I didn't see any problem there.
06:32Later on,
06:34I began to see that these stories
06:35were in fact saying more than
06:38they appeared to be saying when I was younger.
06:41And then I read them more carefully.
06:44And I began to feel and to think that
06:48every people must tell their own story.
06:53Achebe wrote a novel
06:55that gave African characters
06:56a full sense of humanity.
06:59Things Fall Apart,
07:01published in 1958,
07:03featured a highly complex Nigerian hero,
07:07Okonkwo.
07:09Okonkwo ruled his household with a heavy hand.
07:13His wife lived in perpetual fear
07:16of his fiery temper.
07:18Okonkwo was not a cruel man,
07:20but his whole life was dominated by fear.
07:24The fear of failure
07:26and of weakness.
07:28It was the fear of himself,
07:31lest he should be found to resemble his father.
07:36I think it was the first time
07:38I had read a book
07:39entirely from a West African perspective.
07:43It mattered so much
07:45that the experience of reading
07:48and inhabiting the life of another person,
07:51the mind of another person,
07:52was also extended to African people.
07:58The novel was groundbreaking
08:00because it looked at colonisation
08:02from the viewpoint of the colonised.
08:05As the characters adapted
08:07to British occupation
08:08and to the arrival of a new religion.
08:17In the book,
08:18it's actually a missionary
08:19spreading the kind of,
08:20literally the gospel.
08:22It was a twin gospel.
08:23It was a gospel of Christianity,
08:25but also a gospel of British justice,
08:29fair play, superiority,
08:31whatever you want to call it.
08:32It was multifaceted.
08:34And I think the book
08:35actually does gently talk about
08:36the gospel,
08:37but also the military side.
08:39You know,
08:39all of that put together
08:41in a very rich
08:42and troubling in many ways,
08:44but very rich context.
08:53The white man is very clever.
08:56He came quietly and peaceably
08:58with his religion.
09:00We were amused at his foolishness
09:02and allowed him to stay.
09:06Now he has won our brothers
09:07and our clan no longer act like one.
09:11He has put a knife on the things
09:13that held us together
09:15and we have fallen apart.
09:21Things Fall Apart is today viewed
09:23as a literary classic.
09:25However,
09:26it might never have seen
09:28the light of day
09:29as there was little publishing industry
09:31in Nigeria.
09:33But in the mid-1950s,
09:35Achebe came to London
09:36to train as a radio producer
09:38at the BBC.
09:41Great artists need talent,
09:43but they also often need luck.
09:46And Chinua Achebe's lucky break
09:47took place here at the BBC
09:49because one of his trainers
09:51was the novelist Gilbert Phelps.
09:53Achebe gave Phelps
09:55a copy of his manuscript.
09:57He realised that what he'd been given
09:59was something special.
10:01He wrote to a publisher
10:02saying he'd made
10:03an exciting discovery,
10:05the first novel to examine
10:06the break-up of tribal life.
10:08And that connection
10:10between Achebe and Phelps
10:11led to the publication
10:13of Things Fall Apart
10:15and a revolution
10:16in African literature.
10:22I don't want to sound
10:26melodramatic and say
10:27there would be no modern
10:28African literature
10:29without Chinua Achebe.
10:30But actually,
10:31I am going to sound
10:31melodramatic and say that
10:33because I believe that.
10:34It forced people
10:36who otherwise
10:37would not have respected
10:38writing coming from Africa
10:40to respect it
10:41because you had to respect
10:44work that was that sparkling
10:45and that true.
10:48Achebe put Nigeria
10:49on the world literary map
10:51and he became a role model
10:53for writers across the continent.
10:56Always outspoken,
10:58his attacks on government corruption
11:00forced him into exile.
11:02You must criticise yourself.
11:04This, to me,
11:05is one of the real,
11:08the hallmarks
11:09of true patriotism
11:11that you see yourself
11:12as you are
11:12and you don't accept anything
11:14except the best
11:15from your people.
11:19But whatever problems
11:20he had with the government,
11:22the Nigerian people
11:23always recognised
11:25his astonishing work.
11:27Chinua Achebe
11:28was a very brilliant man.
11:30He taught us many things.
11:32He taught us
11:32that we are not just black,
11:34we are beautiful.
11:39He died in 2013.
11:42His funeral
11:43was one of the largest
11:44in the country's history.
11:47Nelson Mandela
11:48said that Achebe
11:49had brought Africa
11:50to the rest of the world.
11:52But Mandela
11:53wasn't just talking
11:53about the impact
11:54of Achebe's writing.
11:56Because as well
11:57as leaving behind
11:59all his novels,
12:00Achebe left
12:01another legacy,
12:02a new generation
12:03of African writers
12:05who wrote about Africa
12:06and about what it is
12:08to be African.
12:09And they were able
12:10to get their voices
12:11out onto the global stage.
12:16Things Fall Apart
12:17was published
12:18when Britain still ruled
12:19great swathes of Africa.
12:23But by the late 1950s,
12:26nations on the continent
12:27were finally
12:27gaining independence.
12:30It's a very touching moment
12:32as the Union Jack
12:34is brought down
12:36in darkness
12:37and the Nigerian flag
12:39is gradually
12:41taking its place
12:42to the shouts
12:43of all the spectators.
12:46The time was ripe
12:48for African writers
12:49to tell African stories.
12:53But even the best novelists
12:55wouldn't get far
12:56without an imaginative publisher.
13:01Up there
13:02on the second floor
13:03of this building
13:04is a site
13:05of special literary significance
13:07because this
13:08was where the Heinemann
13:09African Writers Series
13:10had their offices.
13:12Now, Heinemann
13:13had made their name
13:14publishing school textbooks.
13:16But from the early 1960s,
13:17they began to publish
13:18a series of new novels
13:20by new African writers.
13:22Each book in the series
13:23was numbered
13:24and they began
13:25with a republication
13:27of Chinua Echebe's
13:28Things Fall Apart,
13:29which came
13:30with a little number one
13:31stamped onto the spine.
13:33So what happened here
13:34helped a whole new generation
13:36of African writers
13:37get their books published
13:39and out to new audiences.
13:44With their distinctive branding
13:46and cheap prices,
13:48readers on the continent
13:49devoured this series
13:50of paperback books.
13:56Their success
13:57shone a spotlight
13:58on new African voices
14:00who made the novel
14:02their own.
14:05They're really important
14:06and there's a period
14:07in time where
14:08all of the greats
14:09from across the continent
14:10were being gathered together
14:11in one place.
14:12And when something
14:14like that happens,
14:15people then are aspiring.
14:16So you're writing
14:17a novel in isolation,
14:18but you're thinking
14:19there's this place
14:20that will take my work
14:21and will publish me.
14:22It was the centre of power
14:24and there was
14:25a gathering together.
14:26But also having a space
14:28for writers to look to,
14:29an outlet for them
14:30to look to.
14:31and that was important
14:32at that moment in time.
14:36One author,
14:37published by Heinemann,
14:38was Ngugi Wathiongo.
14:40Born in 1930s Kenya,
14:43he witnessed the brutality
14:44of colonialism
14:45at first hand.
14:47One of your volumes
14:49of your memoirs
14:51opens with you
14:52as a small boy
14:53returning home
14:54from school
14:54to your village,
14:56which you hadn't seen
14:56for several months,
14:57and the village
14:58has been destroyed.
14:59I just wondered
14:59how far you still
15:01remember that
15:01moment today.
15:03The British literally
15:05destroyed
15:05our whole culture,
15:08our whole tradition
15:09where our lives
15:12were turned upside down.
15:14And that image
15:15of after desolation,
15:17just returning home
15:20after being away
15:21for three months,
15:22and you go to a place
15:23where you were born,
15:24and all you see
15:26are burnt down houses.
15:28you don't see anybody.
15:30It's an absolute
15:32sort of, you know,
15:32image of desolation.
15:36His debut novel,
15:38Weep Not Child,
15:40was published in 1964
15:41under his original name
15:44of James Ngugi.
15:45It immediately sold out
15:47its print run
15:48of 10,000 copies.
15:50It's about British
15:52attempts to suppress
15:53and imprison
15:54the Mau Mau,
15:55an anti-colonial
15:56guerrilla army.
15:58The main aim
15:59is to try and bring
16:00these rather
16:01fanatical people
16:02back to normal life,
16:04to clear the Mau Mau
16:04out of their system,
16:05and bring them back
16:06to normal,
16:08decent,
16:09civilised people again.
16:11The book features
16:12a white farmer
16:13who despairs
16:14as his workers
16:15joined the rebellion.
16:19Who were the Mau Mau
16:20anyway?
16:21He asked for the
16:22thousandth time.
16:24Mere savages.
16:27Previously,
16:28he had not thought
16:29of them as savages
16:30or otherwise,
16:31simply because
16:32he had not thought
16:33of them at all,
16:34except as part
16:35of the farm,
16:36the way one thought
16:37of donkeys
16:38or horses.
16:43Kenya finally achieved
16:45independence from
16:46Britain in 1963.
16:48But for Ngugi,
16:50this liberation
16:51only produced
16:52cosmetic changes.
16:56Everywhere he looked,
16:57Ngugi saw
16:58the remnants of empire.
17:00In Africa,
17:01he believed,
17:01the Europeans
17:02had left behind
17:03what he called
17:04a cultural bomb.
17:05The administrators,
17:07the missionaries,
17:07the soldiers
17:08may have gone
17:09but what they'd
17:10left behind
17:10was a colonial mindset,
17:13one that said
17:13that Africa
17:14and African languages
17:15were inferior.
17:16So his mission
17:17in writing
17:18was simple.
17:19He called it
17:20decolonizing
17:21the mind.
17:23In the late 1960s,
17:25he renamed himself
17:26Ngugi Wa Thiongo.
17:29Eventually,
17:30he even abandoned
17:31English,
17:32preferring to write
17:33in his Kenyan
17:34mother tongue,
17:35Kikuyu.
17:36Language is so
17:38basic to
17:39in a community.
17:41And what I found
17:42is this,
17:42very interesting,
17:44that wherever
17:44one people have
17:46colonized another,
17:48they always
17:49impose
17:50their language.
17:53Ngugi's son,
17:54Mukoma,
17:54is a celebrated
17:55novelist and critic
17:56who has a special
17:58insight into
17:59why his father
18:00moved away
18:01from English.
18:02When he was writing
18:03in English,
18:04he was very popular
18:05with the elite,
18:06right?
18:06But he wasn't
18:08being read by the
18:08people who he was
18:09writing for.
18:10He didn't want to
18:11write a book
18:11that his mother
18:12couldn't read,
18:13you know,
18:14because she couldn't
18:14read English.
18:15He wanted to be in
18:16direct communication
18:17with his audience.
18:18One of the points
18:20that Ngugi made
18:21was that people
18:22had been convinced
18:23that their language
18:24was inferior,
18:25that they look
18:27to English as just
18:28a higher form
18:29of language.
18:30Ngugi saw that
18:31as reflective
18:33of an entire
18:34colonial project
18:35which was,
18:36you know,
18:36the replacing
18:37of the African
18:39self
18:39with a kind
18:41of British
18:42self
18:43and that was
18:44through language
18:45for Ngugi.
18:47Appalled
18:47at the poverty
18:48in his newly
18:49independent country,
18:51Ngugi embraced
18:52Marxism
18:53to critique
18:54the Kenyan
18:55government.
18:56Poverty
18:57is like prison,
18:58in English
19:01society.
19:02But in fact,
19:03when you get
19:04a few people
19:05getting the lion's
19:07share of what
19:08is produced
19:09by the people
19:10of Kenya,
19:11then this does
19:12not ogre well
19:13for our society.
19:18In 1980,
19:20Ngugi's
19:21revolutionary
19:21consciousness
19:22produced
19:22Devil on the Cross,
19:24a satire
19:25that saw
19:25Kenyans
19:26impoverished
19:27by a criminal
19:28conspiracy.
19:30History shows
19:31us that there
19:31has never been
19:32any civilization
19:33that was not
19:34built on the
19:34foundations
19:35of robbery
19:36and theft.
19:37Where would
19:38America be today
19:39without theft
19:39or robbery?
19:40What about
19:41England?
19:42France?
19:44It's theft
19:45and robbery
19:45that have made
19:46possible the
19:46developments
19:47of the
19:47Western world.
19:53It became a book
19:54of the people
19:55because for the
19:55first time
19:57they had this
19:57novel that was
19:58speaking to the
19:59times we were in
20:01in the 70s and 80s
20:02where they could
20:03recognize themselves
20:04in the novel.
20:06That novel proves
20:07that you do have
20:07readers if you write
20:08in a language
20:09they speak.
20:10The publication
20:12of Devil on the Cross
20:13was controversial
20:14as Ngugi demanded
20:16all African novelists
20:18should now write
20:19in their mother tongue.
20:21By our continuing
20:23to write in foreign
20:24languages
20:24paying homage
20:26to them
20:26are we not
20:27on the cultural level
20:28continuing
20:30that neo-colonial
20:31Slavish
20:32and cringing
20:33spirit?
20:35But a counter
20:36argument came
20:37from Chenua Achebe
20:38who thought
20:39that English
20:40was the best way
20:41for the African
20:42novel to reach
20:43a wide readership.
20:45It's always set up
20:46as the debate
20:48and it's one
20:48versus the other.
20:50I think there's
20:50space for both
20:52these perspectives.
20:54Ngugi of course
20:54his works are now
20:55being translated
20:56into the English
20:57language.
20:58So I think
20:59translation really
21:00is the key
21:01you know
21:02it's rather than
21:03Achebe versus
21:03Ngugi
21:04it's about
21:04how do we make
21:05these works
21:06more available
21:07to more people.
21:09But the debate
21:10about language
21:11should not diminish
21:12the literary
21:13importance
21:13of Ngugi
21:14a man
21:15who many believe
21:16should have already
21:17won the Nobel Prize
21:18for Literature.
21:20If you look at
21:20Ngugi
21:21Wath-Yungo
21:22as a writer
21:23and compare
21:24a book
21:25like
21:25A Grain of Wheat
21:27to
21:28one of his
21:29most recent books
21:30Wizarding
21:30there is an
21:32astonishing
21:32range
21:33there
21:34in style.
21:35A Grain of Wheat
21:37is a book
21:38that is
21:38realist
21:39it is set
21:40in the
21:40Maumau rebellion
21:41it is deeply
21:42political
21:43if you look at
21:44Wizarding
21:44you're looking at
21:45something completely
21:46different
21:46it's three
21:47four times
21:48the length
21:48it's got
21:49a comedic
21:50quality
21:51extraordinary
21:52things happen
21:53people grow
21:53huge limbs
21:54ears
21:55and noses
21:56and feet
21:57so there is
21:58this incredible
21:59range
21:59that he has
22:00a wonderful
22:00versatility
22:01and I think
22:03that is his
22:03greatest strength
22:04as a writer
22:05not just the
22:06politics
22:06but this ability
22:07to storytell
22:08to narrate a story
22:09in any form
22:10he chooses
22:13after
22:14Rangugi
22:14the African
22:15novel
22:15was defiantly
22:17political
22:17the Ghanaian
22:20Aie Kweama
22:21was the angry
22:22young man
22:22of African
22:23literature
22:24one critic
22:26said his work
22:27dealt with defeat
22:28decay
22:28frustration
22:29and disappointment
22:34he became famous
22:36across the continent
22:37because of one
22:38shocking novel
22:39the beautiful ones
22:41are not yet born
22:42a savage attack
22:44on how consumerism
22:45and the pursuit
22:46of wealth
22:47had led
22:47to the corruption
22:48of the people
22:52it's showing
22:53how difficult
22:55it is
22:55to be
22:56decent
22:58in post-colonial
22:59Ghana
22:59that corruption
23:01has reached
23:02such an extent
23:03that it's impossible
23:04for an ordinary
23:06person to be
23:07simply a decent
23:08human being
23:13how long
23:14will Africa
23:14be cursed
23:15with its leaders
23:17there were men
23:18dying from the
23:18loss of hope
23:19and others
23:20were finding
23:21gaudy ways
23:21to enjoy power
23:22they did not have
23:24we were ready
23:25here for big
23:26and beautiful
23:27things
23:28but what we had
23:30was our own
23:31black men
23:32scrambling
23:33to ask the white
23:34man to welcome
23:35them onto their
23:35backs
23:37but Kwe Amar
23:39was far more
23:40than just a
23:40polemicist
23:42in his mystical
23:43experimental novel
23:452000 Seasons
23:46he travelled
23:47far back
23:48into Africa's
23:50history
23:512000 Seasons
23:52for me
23:53it's probably
23:54one of the most
23:55influential books
23:56in terms of
23:57African literature
23:58and certainly
23:59influential
24:00on my life
24:01and really
24:01it covers
24:02a period
24:02of 2000 Seasons
24:04from the moment
24:06when
24:07it was a kind
24:07of Arab
24:08invasion
24:09of North Africa
24:10and for 2000
24:11years on
24:12from there
24:12and it speaks
24:14to
24:14those who are
24:16tasked with
24:16seeing
24:17those who are
24:18tasked with
24:18remembering
24:19how well
24:20have they done
24:21their job
24:22it's magnificent
24:24in its anger
24:24and its
24:27soul
24:32that we
24:33the black
24:33people
24:34are one
24:34people
24:34we know
24:38destroyers
24:39will travel
24:39long distances
24:40in their minds
24:41and out
24:42to deny
24:42you this
24:43truth
24:44we do not
24:45argue with
24:46them the
24:46fools
24:47let them
24:48presume to
24:49instruct us
24:49about ourselves
24:52that too
24:52is in their
24:53nature
24:55that too
24:56is in the
24:57flow
24:57of their
24:582000 Seasons
24:59against us
25:04it has a
25:05passion
25:06and a
25:07questioning
25:07and a
25:08consciousness
25:08right at
25:09the core
25:10of it
25:10which is
25:12is it
25:13our job
25:14to change
25:15the world
25:16or is it
25:17our job
25:17to be
25:18victims
25:18of the
25:18world
25:22in the
25:23late 1960s
25:24recently
25:25independent
25:25Nigeria
25:26was torn
25:27apart
25:27by civil
25:28war
25:29some
25:30in the
25:30east
25:31wanted
25:31to break
25:32away
25:32and form
25:33a new
25:34state
25:34called
25:35Biafra
25:36the
25:37resulting
25:37conflict
25:38haunts
25:39the imagination
25:39of many
25:40African
25:41writers
25:41to this
25:42day
25:46independence
25:47held
25:47such
25:48promise
25:49and such
25:49hope
25:49and with
25:51the Biafran
25:51war
25:52the conflict
25:53that ensued
25:54was a wound
25:55that many
25:55people felt
25:56it was a
25:57moment in
25:57Nigeria's
25:58history
25:58where
25:59all these
26:00aspirations
26:00and all
26:01these hopes
26:01and dreams
26:02of independence
26:03came crashing
26:04down
26:04and it ushered
26:06in a new
26:07era
26:07in Nigeria's
26:08politics
26:10and so I
26:11think for that
26:12generation
26:12it was something
26:13that many
26:14wrote about
26:15because it
26:16was something
26:17that was so
26:17traumatic
26:18and was so
26:20consequential
26:20to the
26:21development
26:21of the
26:21nation
26:21that they
26:22had to
26:23try and
26:24exercise it
26:25through their
26:26writing
26:28one writer
26:29was jailed
26:30for his
26:31attempts
26:31to broker
26:32a truce
26:33during the
26:33conflict
26:35he is
26:36the
26:36distinguished
26:37writer
26:37Wale
26:38Soyinka
26:38a Nigerian
26:39who spent
26:39most of the
26:40civil war
26:40in prison
26:42and who
26:42for much
26:42of that
26:43time
26:43was in
26:43solitary
26:44confinement
26:44I knew
26:45I would
26:46be released
26:46sooner or
26:47later
26:48either that
26:49or I
26:49would be
26:49quietly
26:50done away
26:50with
26:51in some
26:51obscure
26:52cell
26:52it was
26:52one of
26:53two
26:53things
26:53so
26:54one of
26:55them
26:55has come
26:55to pass
26:56and I
26:56suppose
26:56it's
26:56just a
26:57fact
27:00during his
27:01detention
27:02Soyinka
27:03was reduced
27:03to writing
27:04about his
27:05experiences
27:05using
27:06improvised
27:07pens
27:08and ink
27:09there's
27:10something
27:10annoying
27:10about
27:11being
27:11reduced
27:12to this
27:13children's
27:14adventure
27:14level
27:15you know
27:15which
27:16you literally
27:16recreate
27:17tools
27:18in the
27:19age of
27:19typewriter
27:21how did
27:22you improvise
27:22ink
27:23well
27:24I can't
27:24tell you
27:25let's just
27:25say that
27:25I've passed
27:26me
27:26I've passed
27:27the
27:27information
27:28on
27:28to
27:28those
27:28who
27:29are
27:29likely
27:29to
27:29get
27:29in
27:30the
27:30same
27:30situation
27:31one
27:32doesn't
27:32want
27:32to
27:32have
27:33the
27:33material
27:33stop
27:34but
27:34I can't
27:36talk
27:36about
27:36it
27:37but
27:37it
27:37came
27:37from
27:37the
27:37food
27:38which
27:38was
27:38given
27:38it's
27:38part
27:38of
27:39the
27:39underground
27:39wisdom
27:40yeah
27:40yeah
27:42it was
27:43hard
27:43because
27:44you know
27:44essentially
27:45they put
27:46him
27:46in one
27:47of the
27:47most
27:47notorious
27:48prisons
27:48so
27:49and
27:49really
27:50punish
27:50him
27:50because
27:50he
27:51was
27:51an
27:52internationally
27:52known
27:52writer
27:53but
27:53really
27:53kind
27:57saying
27:57how
27:58dare
27:58you
27:59go
28:00against
28:00this
28:00you know
28:01you
28:01might
28:01be
28:02the
28:02internationally
28:04acclaimed
28:04writer
28:04but
28:05in
28:05Nigeria
28:06you're
28:06nothing
28:07the
28:08novel
28:09season
28:09of
28:10enemy
28:10was
28:10Sri Yinka's
28:11attempt
28:11to make
28:12sense
28:12of the
28:13terrible
28:13things
28:14he
28:14witnessed
28:15during
28:15the
28:16war
28:19Ofei
28:20wondered
28:20was the
28:22bloodlust
28:23that seized
28:23upon the
28:24populace
28:24just
28:25another
28:25legacy
28:26of
28:26climate
28:28or
28:28was there
28:30a truly
28:30metaphysical
28:31condition
28:32called
28:32evil
28:33that made
28:34the people
28:35so open
28:35to the
28:36manipulation
28:36of
28:37coldly
28:37unscrupulous
28:38men
28:43people saw
28:44things
28:44people
28:45shouldn't
28:45see
28:48it's
28:49that
28:49horror
28:50of
28:50war
28:53dead
28:54bodies
28:54littered
28:56on roads
28:57and
28:58buildings
28:58smashed
28:59and
29:00babies
29:01killed
29:01so this
29:02is shocking
29:05I think
29:06he tries
29:07to convey
29:07that
29:07horror
29:08because
29:08not many
29:09Nigerians
29:10actually saw
29:10that
29:11but they were
29:11protected
29:12from it
29:12so I think
29:13it's a way
29:13of registering
29:14the degree
29:15of dehumanization
29:17that had been
29:18brought about
29:19by the war
29:20but also
29:20that was linked
29:21to the corruption
29:23at the heart
29:23of Nigeria
29:24itself
29:27I cannot
29:28separate
29:29the ills
29:30of my society
29:31the repressiveness
29:32the corruption
29:33from the causes
29:35of the war
29:36and as a writer
29:39I feel obliged
29:41to interpret
29:41my experiences
29:42in terms
29:43of what
29:44really is
29:45the normal
29:46experience
29:47of others
29:48who haven't
29:48got the kind
29:49of voice
29:50and who do not
29:51command the kind
29:52of attention
29:52I do
29:53for me
29:54what is most
29:54remarkable
29:55and most
29:55meaningful
29:57about
29:57Woleshoenka
29:58is not just
29:59his writing
29:59it's everything
30:00else
30:00it's the man
30:02that he is
30:02it's the fearlessness
30:03of him
30:04and so the reason
30:05that he's been
30:05a guiding light
30:06for me
30:06for many years
30:07is that
30:07his entire life
30:09has been about
30:09saying
30:10that an artist
30:11is also a citizen
30:12that you write
30:13your art
30:14but you participate
30:15and that's kind
30:15of the attitude
30:16that I have
30:17about life
30:17and so
30:18he for me
30:19is a model
30:22of how you
30:22can do it
30:23how you can
30:24occupy your space
30:25in the world
30:25and just be like
30:26yep
30:26this is what
30:27I'm doing
30:28For all the
30:29trouble it had
30:30caused him
30:30in Nigeria
30:32Shayinka's mixture
30:32of politics
30:33and prose
30:34earned him
30:34the world's
30:35highest
30:36literary accolade
30:37the 1986
30:39Nobel Prize
30:40for literature
30:40has been awarded
30:41to an African
30:42playwright
30:42poet
30:43and novelist
30:44he's Woleshoenka
30:45and he's the first
30:46African
30:46indeed the first
30:47black
30:47to win the prize
30:48in its 85 year
30:49history
30:52Shankar won the
30:53Nobel Prize
30:54it was a very
30:55special moment
30:56it was
30:57in a way
30:58a validation
31:00of what
31:01we all knew
31:02that
31:02Shankar
31:04was an
31:05incredible writer
31:06amazing
31:06but also
31:08that African
31:09writing
31:10itself
31:11I mean
31:11it had
31:12come of age
31:13and that
31:14the writers
31:15from Africa
31:17were
31:17using the English
31:19language
31:19they were
31:21actually
31:22international writers
31:23and that
31:24you know
31:24they're not
31:25simply
31:25writing
31:26a minority
31:28literature
31:28but they were
31:29actually writing
31:30world literature
31:31the Nobel Prize
31:32recognized
31:33Shankar
31:34as a representative
31:35of the African
31:36continent
31:39Shankar's novels
31:40like those
31:41of his great
31:41predecessors
31:42were all set
31:43on the African
31:44continent
31:45but does
31:46an African novel
31:47have to be set
31:48in Africa
31:54this is the
31:55Penshurst estate
31:56in North London
31:58in the 1960s
31:59and 70s
32:00it was home
32:01to an author
32:01who gave voice
32:03to the African
32:04diaspora
32:08Buchi Emacheta
32:09was born in
32:10Nigeria
32:11in 1944
32:13but she came
32:14to Britain
32:15at the age
32:15of 18
32:16full of
32:17optimism
32:20I cannot
32:21remember
32:22when I first
32:23heard of the
32:24name
32:24United Kingdom
32:26but my
32:28father
32:28gave the
32:29name
32:29weight
32:30in my
32:30mind
32:31whenever
32:32he pronounced
32:33the title
32:34United Kingdom
32:35it sounded
32:37so heavy
32:38so reverential
32:40going to
32:42the United
32:42Kingdom
32:43might surely
32:45be like
32:45paying God
32:46a visit
32:51Emma Chetta
32:52and her
32:53five children
32:53lived here
32:54in the
32:551960s
32:56and 70s
32:57her
32:58experiences
32:59on the
32:59estate
33:00inspired
33:01In the
33:01Ditch
33:02her debut
33:02novel
33:03which showed
33:04her disenchantment
33:05with the idea
33:06of Britain
33:06as a
33:07promised land
33:09Emma Chetta
33:10described In the
33:11Ditch
33:11as a
33:12documentary
33:12novel
33:13it's an
33:13account of
33:14the life
33:14of a woman
33:15called Ada
33:15as she
33:16adjusts to
33:17life in
33:17the London
33:18of the
33:181960s
33:19in one
33:20passage
33:21a neighbour
33:21mentions
33:22the colour
33:23of her skin
33:24Ada
33:24is astonished
33:25because
33:26for obvious
33:27reasons
33:27back in
33:28Nigeria
33:28her skin
33:29colour
33:29is never
33:30mentioned
33:30whereas here
33:31in London
33:32it will
33:33define
33:33her entire
33:34existence
33:37Adar
33:38jumped
33:40colour
33:42what colour
33:43was he
33:43talking about
33:45well
33:46human nature
33:47being what
33:48it is
33:48Ada
33:49looked at
33:50the back
33:50of her
33:50hand
33:52Mr Small's
33:53eyes
33:53followed her
33:54movements
33:54and smiled
33:56happy
33:58he had
33:59put
33:59Adar
33:59in her
33:59place
34:06for me
34:06her novels
34:07really were
34:08documentaries
34:09because I
34:10hadn't read
34:11any novels
34:11up to
34:12now
34:12that
34:13faithfully
34:14and
34:15realistically
34:16depicted
34:17what it
34:18was
34:18like
34:19to be
34:20black
34:20and not
34:21so well
34:21off
34:22in London
34:24it's also
34:25worth noting
34:25that she
34:25studied
34:26sociology
34:26so in
34:27terms of
34:28her academic
34:28career
34:28she was
34:29a sociologist
34:30and I
34:30think
34:30her
34:31writing
34:31became
34:32a medium
34:33for her
34:33to express
34:34and to
34:35write about
34:36the experiences
34:37of herself
34:37but also
34:38people that
34:39were close
34:39to her
34:40and so
34:40there's
34:41sort of
34:41this hybrid
34:41writing
34:42that's
34:42it's a
34:43fictionalised
34:44account
34:44but it's
34:45very much
34:45documenting
34:45the lives
34:46of people
34:47like herself
34:48and often
34:49those are
34:49the lives
34:49of marginalised
34:51people
34:51people that
34:52history
34:52wouldn't
34:53remember
34:53people that
34:54wouldn't
34:54make it
34:55into the
34:55history books
34:56but nevertheless
34:57she
34:57recognizes
34:58the importance
34:58of these
34:59stories
35:01Emma Chetter
35:03might have
35:03begun her
35:04literary career
35:05on a
35:06councilor's
35:06date
35:06but her
35:07work was
35:08gradually
35:08recognised
35:09by the
35:10cultural
35:10establishment
35:13in 1983
35:14Granter took
35:15a famous
35:16photograph
35:16of the
35:17best young
35:18British
35:18novelists
35:20it featured
35:21the likes
35:22of Ian
35:22McEwan
35:23Martin
35:24Amos
35:24Pat Barker
35:27but it
35:28also
35:28featured
35:29Bucci
35:29Emma Chetter
35:34many people
35:35have asked
35:35Bucci
35:36Emma Chetter
35:36how a
35:36Nigerian
35:37woman
35:37could come
35:38to Britain
35:38and make
35:39a living
35:39writing books
35:39in a language
35:40that is not
35:41her first
35:41nor her second
35:42or third
35:42but her fourth
35:43she appeared
35:44on the BBC
35:45in the 1980s
35:46when she discussed
35:47her struggle
35:48to become a
35:49writer
35:50your husband
35:51burnt your
35:52first novel
35:53didn't he
35:53yes
35:53yes
35:54he thought
35:55I was aiming
35:55above my
35:56station
35:56and the
35:57woman
35:58you know
35:58especially
35:59Bucci
35:59is supposed
35:59to be at
36:00home
36:00docile
36:01nice
36:01and doing
36:02exactly
36:03what your
36:03husband
36:03told you
36:04to do
36:04but I
36:05started
36:05writing a
36:06book
36:06but he
36:07didn't like
36:07that very
36:08much
36:08so he
36:09burned
36:09that book
36:10I mean
36:10your book
36:11is an
36:11epic
36:11it's
36:12extraordinary
36:13but in
36:15retrospect
36:15I think
36:16he ought
36:16to have
36:16a little
36:17bit more
36:18sense of
36:19humour
36:19if that's
36:20possible
36:20absolutely
36:21extraordinary
36:22thank you
36:23Bucci
36:24Emma Chetta's
36:25stardom
36:26came about
36:26because she'd
36:27published her
36:28bleak masterpiece
36:29The Joys
36:30of Motherhood
36:31this has got
36:33to be one of
36:33the most ironic
36:34titles ever
36:35given to a
36:35novel because
36:36there's precious
36:37little joy
36:38in this tale
36:39of a woman
36:40who dreams
36:41of being
36:41a loving
36:42caring mother
36:43to her
36:43children
36:44but is let
36:44down and
36:45betrayed
36:45at every turn
36:47The Joys
36:48of Motherhood
36:48is so
36:50beautiful
36:51but also
36:52for me
36:53so refreshing
36:53because it
36:54was about
36:54women
36:55it was a
36:56book that
36:56actually said
36:57it's worthwhile
36:58that what
37:00happens to
37:00a woman
37:00propels a
37:01novel
37:02I hadn't
37:03seen that
37:03before in
37:04African
37:05literature
37:09Men
37:12All they
37:12were interested
37:13in was male
37:14babies to keep
37:15their names
37:15going
37:18God
37:19when will
37:20you create
37:21a woman
37:21who will
37:22be fulfilled
37:22in herself
37:24a full
37:25human being
37:26not anybody's
37:27appendage
37:30after all
37:32I was born
37:33alone
37:33and I shall
37:35die alone
37:40Sylvester
37:41onwardy
37:42is the son
37:43of Bucci
37:43Emacetta
37:46This one
37:46I particularly
37:47like because
37:47it's my mother
37:48when she was
37:49younger
37:50but what
37:50I find striking
37:51is just the eyes
37:52because they
37:52just remain
37:53the same
37:53and this kind
37:55of piercing
37:55gaze
37:56that she
37:56always had
37:57as a child
37:58he didn't
37:59realise
37:59his mother
38:00was a
38:01celebrity
38:02We were aware
38:03that she was
38:03a writer
38:03but we didn't
38:04really understand
38:05the significance
38:05of what she was
38:06doing
38:06we were aware
38:07of what she
38:08went through
38:08the process
38:10of writing
38:10because it was
38:11very much a
38:11domestic thing
38:12because she
38:12used to write
38:13in the kitchen
38:14so it was
38:15very much
38:15something we
38:16saw every
38:17single day
38:18but to
38:19actually understand
38:20the impact
38:21that she had
38:21on other people
38:22that only came
38:22much later
38:23and for me
38:24really
38:24it was after
38:25she died
38:27she had this
38:27impact
38:28on particularly
38:29women
38:29of a certain
38:30age
38:30and I think
38:31she was
38:31a role model
38:32because of the
38:33fact that she
38:33had quite a
38:34difficult life
38:35and she
38:36triumphed
38:36against adversity
38:37and all those
38:38things
38:38and her story
38:39is quite
38:39a powerful
38:40one
38:41so I think
38:41that resonated
38:42with a lot
38:42of people
38:44but also the
38:45fact that she
38:45was writing
38:46about things
38:46which nobody
38:46else was
38:47writing about
38:47at that time
38:50So why
38:51is a novelist
38:52who made
38:52such a mark
38:53in the 1970s
38:55and the 1980s
38:56not better
38:57known today
38:59I think she's
39:00a very important
39:01voice
39:01I think so
39:03as a black
39:04woman writer
39:05she was somewhat
39:06overtaken
39:07by the American
39:08black women
39:09writers
39:10the Alice
39:12Walkers
39:13and the Maya
39:14Angelus
39:17Since Emma
39:18Chetter's death
39:19in 2017
39:20her son
39:21Sylvester
39:21has been
39:22republishing
39:23his mother's
39:24novels
39:24to get them
39:25back
39:25in the public
39:26eye
39:28I decided
39:29that I was
39:29going to make
39:30sure that all
39:30those books
39:30remained in print
39:32forever
39:33It also gave me
39:34the opportunity
39:35to re-read
39:36all the books
39:36again
39:36which is quite
39:37interesting
39:37and in a funny
39:39way to rediscover
39:39my mother
39:40see her in a
39:41completely different
39:42light
39:42and I think
39:43she'll be
39:43gratified that
39:44this is happening
39:45and I think
39:46it's what she
39:47deserves
39:48really
39:50But by the
39:52early 1990s
39:53one voice
39:54of the African
39:55diaspora
39:55was to achieve
39:56global
39:57recognition
39:59Good evening
39:59and welcome
40:00to the 1991
40:01Booker Prize
40:02for Fiction
40:02coming to you
40:03live from Guildhall
40:04in London
40:05In just under
40:0650 minutes
40:07the chairman
40:07of the judges
40:08will announce
40:08the winner
40:09of certainly
40:09the most
40:10prestigious
40:10of the literary
40:11prizes
40:11The Booker Prize
40:13for 1991
40:14goes to Ben Ocri
40:17for the famished
40:17rose
40:20Ben Ocri
40:21was born in
40:22Nigeria
40:23but went to
40:24school in London
40:25Like Emma Chetta
40:27his writing
40:28speaks as much
40:29to Britain
40:30as it does
40:30to Africa
40:31Ben Ocri
40:33is our
40:34poet laureate
40:35When Ben
40:36speaks
40:36we listen
40:38He
40:39has an
40:40eloquence
40:41and a
40:42statesman
40:42like
40:43status
40:44amongst
40:45us
40:46Africans
40:48in the
40:48diaspora
40:49He understands
40:50Europe
40:51and writes
40:51in those
40:52traditions
40:52and does
40:52it very well
40:53but he never
40:55he never
40:56forgets
40:56his African
40:57gaze
41:00In 1991
41:01Ocri
41:02became the
41:03first ever
41:03black writer
41:04to win
41:05the Booker
41:06Prize
41:06When
41:08my first
41:09novel was
41:10published
41:10I went
41:11home
41:11and my
41:12father
41:13rather
41:13cunningly
41:14got together
41:15all the
41:15elders
41:16of our
41:16town
41:17and they
41:18contributed
41:19a certain
41:19amount of
41:20money
41:20impromptu
41:21to buy
41:22me a pen
41:23to carry on
41:23writing
41:23I suppose
41:24this
41:24will buy
41:25me
41:25quite a lot
41:26of pens
41:29his booker
41:30winning
41:30novel
41:31The Famished
41:32Road
41:32was written
41:33in Notting Hill
41:34but it
41:35tapped in
41:35to Nigerian
41:37myths
41:37in which
41:38the living
41:38dwell
41:39among the
41:39dead
41:42When Ben
41:43won the
41:43Booker Prize
41:44I think
41:44what it
41:45signaled
41:45to everybody
41:46else
41:46is that
41:46that kind
41:48of literature
41:48that kind
41:49of imagination
41:49that kind
41:50of non-linear
41:51way of thinking
41:52that kind
41:53of celebration
41:54of an African
41:55cosmology
41:56could be
41:57appreciated
42:00I just
42:01love the
42:02magic realism
42:03in the novel
42:03I loved
42:04his prose
42:04style
42:05I found
42:05it incredibly
42:05immersive
42:06and I love
42:07the spirituality
42:08that he was
42:09the Nigerian
42:09spirituality
42:10that he was
42:11exploring
42:12in the novel
42:12so
42:14it was
42:14just
42:15had a
42:15profound
42:15effect
42:15on me
42:17I dedicate
42:18this prize
42:19to all
42:19those
42:19who struggle
42:20and who
42:20suffer
42:21in silence
42:22and in public
42:22and who never
42:23stop fighting
42:24and always
42:25keep on dreaming
42:26Thank you very much
42:32Ocri's success
42:33showed that
42:34Africans could
42:34write books
42:35that were
42:35highly experimental
42:37but also
42:38that had
42:38deep emotional
42:39resonance
42:40that could
42:40connect
42:41with readers
42:42across the world
42:43and importantly
42:44he also showed
42:45that Africans
42:46could write books
42:47that could
42:48break in
42:48to the best
42:49seller lists
42:51Aminat Afona
42:52is one
42:53of this new
42:54generation of
42:55writers
42:55from the
42:56African
42:56diaspora
42:58Happiness
42:59is centered
43:00around a
43:00character
43:00from Ghana
43:01staying
43:02in London
43:04When I came
43:05to write
43:05Happiness
43:06instead of
43:07having
43:07the Westerner
43:08go to
43:08Africa
43:09I brought
43:10the
43:11African
43:12character
43:12to the
43:13West
43:13and I
43:14wanted
43:14to show
43:15readers
43:15what
43:16a city
43:17like
43:17London
43:17a country
43:18like
43:19Britain
43:19looks like
43:20from
43:21a West
43:22African
43:22perspective
43:23to invite
43:24Britons
43:25to look at
43:26themselves
43:27from the
43:27outside
43:31Fauna's
43:32father
43:32was from
43:33Sierra Leone
43:34a country
43:34that from
43:35the early
43:3590s
43:36was devastated
43:37by 10
43:38years
43:38of civil
43:39war
43:44Fauna
43:44only spent
43:45a small
43:46part of
43:46her childhood
43:47in the
43:47country
43:48but she
43:49brought
43:49the war
43:49to an
43:50international
43:51leadership
43:51in
43:52the memory
43:52of love
43:53which
43:54examined
43:54the scars
43:55left behind
43:56by the
43:56conflict
43:58for me
43:59the task
43:59of an
44:00artist
44:00is to
44:01hold the
44:02pain
44:02of a
44:02country
44:03to
44:03memorialize
44:04it
44:04and to
44:04find a
44:05way
44:05to help
44:05a
44:06country
44:06bear
44:07it
44:11he knows
44:12nothing
44:12about how
44:13this will
44:13all end
44:15except
44:15that it
44:15will
44:16surely
44:16end
44:17he tries
44:18to imagine
44:19himself
44:19into a
44:20future
44:21somewhere
44:21past
44:21this
44:22point
44:23but he
44:23cannot
44:25there is
44:26nothing
44:26to do
44:26but to
44:27keep
44:27on
44:27existing
44:27in this
44:28exact
44:29time
44:29and
44:29place
44:32this is
44:32what
44:32hell
44:33must
44:33be
44:33like
44:35waiting
44:36without
44:37knowing
44:39not
44:40hell
44:41but
44:42purgatory
44:44worse
44:45than
44:45hell
44:50the
44:50memory
44:50of love
44:51tears
44:51you
44:51apart
44:52it's
44:53a book
44:53that
44:54takes
44:54you
44:55into
44:55direct
44:56aftermath
44:56of war
44:57and deals
44:58with quite
44:58severe
44:59trauma
44:59but not
45:00in a
45:00way
45:00that
45:01is
45:01watching
45:02it's
45:02in a
45:03way
45:03that
45:03forces you
45:04as the
45:04reader
45:04to
45:04experience
45:05it
45:05at many
45:06different
45:06levels
45:07and also
45:07to experience
45:08the difficult
45:08decisions
45:09people make
45:10about
45:10survival
45:11what has
45:12been the
45:12reaction
45:13of Sierra Leonean
45:14readers
45:14to your
45:16books that
45:17examined that
45:18trauma of that
45:19war
45:19I don't expect
45:21Sierra Leoneans
45:22actually to
45:24sit and read
45:26all my work
45:26but the fact that
45:28the work exists
45:29and it exists for
45:30future generations
45:31I think is
45:32tremendously
45:32important
45:35but Fauna's
45:36novels also
45:37range beyond
45:38the bounds
45:38of Africa
45:39her 2013
45:40book
45:41The Hired Man
45:42was set
45:42in Croatia
45:45and she
45:46is suspicious
45:47of that
45:48catch-all
45:48label
45:49African
45:50novelist
45:51when somebody
45:52calls me
45:53an African
45:54writer
45:54I look
45:55at who's
45:55saying it
45:56you know
45:57if a
45:57Sierra Leonean
45:58says to me
45:59she's a
45:59Sierra Leonean
45:59writer
46:00I love that
46:01they're claiming
46:02me
46:02At other times
46:03as somebody
46:04who is
46:05frequently
46:05labelled
46:06I'm suspicious
46:07of labels
46:07because labels
46:09are put on
46:09people in order
46:10to try to
46:10constrain them
46:11in order to
46:12try to
46:12distill them
46:13down to
46:13only one
46:14thing
46:14and it's
46:15impossible
46:16nowadays
46:16to do that
46:18it's been
46:18impossible
46:18forever
46:19actually
46:19but you
46:21know
46:21it is
46:22self-evidently
46:24impossible
46:24nowadays
46:25we live
46:26in a
46:27global
46:27context
46:28so it
46:28doesn't
46:28make sense
46:29to call
46:29somebody
46:30an African
46:31writer
46:32unless
46:32you
46:33also
46:33accept
46:34that
46:34that
46:34person
46:34is
46:35many
46:35other
46:35kinds
46:35of
46:36writer
46:36as
46:36well
46:37these
46:38labels
46:38are
46:38always
46:39reductive
46:39and
46:40writers
46:41are
46:41always
46:41railing
46:42against
46:42them
46:42I mean
46:43I'm
46:43also
46:44called
46:44a
46:44black
46:45British
46:45writer
46:45but
46:46actually
46:46I
46:46own
46:46it
46:47because
46:47that
46:48is
46:48the
46:48perspective
46:48from
46:49which
46:49I
46:49write
46:49but
46:50at
46:51the
46:51same
46:51time
46:52white
46:52writers
46:53don't
46:53often
46:54wear
46:54these
46:54labels
46:55you
46:55know
46:55white
46:56male
46:56middle
46:56class
46:56writers
46:57are
46:57not
46:57called
46:57that
46:58so
46:58I
46:59can
46:59see
46:59that
46:59it's
46:59problematic
47:00and
47:00I
47:00understand
47:01why
47:01it's
47:01problematic
47:02but
47:02I
47:02can
47:02see
47:02that
47:02it
47:02also
47:03serves
47:03a
47:04function
47:04just
47:05in
47:05terms
47:05of
47:06identifying
47:07who
47:08we
47:08are
47:08and
47:09what
47:09we
47:10might
47:10be
47:10writing
47:10about
47:11I
47:13will
47:13do
47:13all
47:13kinds
47:14of
47:14acrobatics
47:14to
47:15avoid
47:15saying
47:15African
47:15writer
47:16so
47:16a
47:17writer
47:17of
47:17African
47:17descent
47:18or
47:18a
47:19writer
47:19from
47:19an
47:19African
47:20country
47:20and
47:20all
47:20of
47:20those
47:21things
47:21because
47:21I
47:21too
47:22have
47:22problem
47:22with
47:22that
47:23because
47:23African
47:23writer
47:24has
47:25come
47:25to
47:26be
47:26something
47:26that
47:27seeks
47:27to
47:27limit
47:28what
47:28someone
47:28does
47:29and
47:29so
47:30I
47:30think
47:31that
47:31you
47:31know
47:31Aminata's
47:32refusal
47:32of a
47:33term
47:33or
47:33refusal
47:34to be
47:34bound
47:35by that
47:35is
47:35absolutely
47:36right
47:36because
47:36we
47:37lose
47:37something
47:37where
47:38we
47:38say
47:38well
47:38you
47:38should
47:38only
47:39be
47:39able
47:39to
47:39write
47:39about
47:39this
47:40continent
47:40or
47:40this
47:41family
47:42or
47:42this
47:42region
47:43because
47:43the
47:44themes
47:44that
47:44are
47:44being
47:44explored
47:45are
47:45much
47:45wider
47:46than
47:52Chimamanda
47:52Ngozi
47:53Adichie
47:55set
47:56in both
47:57Nigeria
47:57and
47:58America
47:58her
47:59three
47:59diverse
47:59books
48:00fight
48:00against
48:01western
48:02stereotypes
48:02of
48:03Africa
48:05those
48:06stories
48:06have been
48:07told
48:07so
48:07often
48:08and
48:09are
48:09told
48:09so
48:09singularly
48:10that
48:11they
48:11start
48:11to
48:11define
48:11an
48:12entire
48:12place
48:12and
48:13you
48:13cannot
48:13understand
48:13Africa
48:14if
48:14that's
48:14the
48:14only
48:14thing
48:15you
48:15know
48:15about
48:15it
48:15her
48:17most
48:17famous
48:17novel
48:18Half
48:18of a
48:19Yellow
48:19Sun
48:19looks
48:20back
48:20to
48:21the
48:21Biafran
48:21War
48:21but
48:22it
48:23is
48:23as
48:23much
48:23a
48:24tale
48:24of
48:24love
48:24and
48:25youthful
48:25idealism
48:26as
48:26of
48:26the
48:27conflict
48:27itself
48:31a
48:32student
48:32leader
48:32spoke
48:32into
48:33the
48:33microphone
48:33and
48:34the
48:34singing
48:34stopped
48:35some
48:36young
48:36men
48:36were
48:37carrying
48:37a
48:37coffin
48:37with
48:37Nigeria
48:38written
48:38on
48:38it
48:39in
48:39white
48:39chalk
48:40they
48:41raised
48:41it
48:41up
48:42mock
48:42solemnity
48:43on
48:43their
48:43faces
48:44when
48:45they
48:45lowered
48:45the
48:45coffin
48:46into
48:46the
48:46hole
48:46a
48:47cheer
48:48rose
48:48in
48:48the
48:48crowd
48:49and
48:49spread
48:50ripple
48:51like
48:51until
48:52it
48:52was
48:52one
48:53cheer
48:54until
48:55Olana
48:55felt
48:56that
48:56everyone
48:57there
48:57had
48:58become
48:58someone
49:01do
49:01what
49:01I
49:02told
49:02you
49:04as
49:04I
49:04say
49:04I
49:05decided
49:06to
49:06write
49:06about
49:06Biafra
49:07because
49:07I
49:08grew up
49:08in
49:08the
49:08shadow
49:08of
49:09Biafra
49:09and
49:10my
49:10grandfathers
49:11died
49:11in
49:11the
49:11war
49:12my
49:12parents
49:12lived
49:13through
49:13it
49:13they
49:13lost
49:14everything
49:14they
49:14owned
49:15and
49:15so
49:15when
49:15you're
49:16born
49:16into
49:16a
49:16family
49:16that
49:17was
49:17deeply
49:17affected
49:18by
49:18something
49:18that
49:18you
49:18did
49:19not
49:19experience
49:19I
49:20think
49:21that
49:21if
49:21you're
49:21a
49:22storyteller
49:22there's
49:22something
49:23in
49:23you
49:23that
49:23then
49:23wants
49:24to
49:24try
49:24and
49:24make
49:25sense
49:25of
49:25it
49:25through
49:25storytelling
49:26I
49:27think
49:27what
49:27Chimamanda
49:27is able
49:28to do
49:28in
49:28Half of
49:28Yellow Sun
49:29is to
49:30weave
49:30quite
49:30masterfully
49:31a sort
49:32of
49:32history
49:32there's
49:33a real
49:33sense
49:34of
49:34what
49:35happened
49:35in
49:36the
49:36build-up
49:36to
49:37the
49:37war
49:37and
49:37during
49:37the
49:37war
49:38but
49:38that's
49:39not
49:39the
49:39expense
49:39of
49:40the
49:41human
49:41story
49:41This
49:42is
49:42actually
49:42why
49:42you
49:43have
49:43to
49:43tell
49:43the
49:43story
49:43because
49:45it's
49:45important
49:45for
49:45us
49:46to
49:46remember
49:46I
49:47really
49:47think
49:47it's
49:47important
49:48to
49:48remember
49:48I
49:48think
49:48we
49:49live
49:49in
49:49a
49:49society
49:50that
49:51is
49:51so
49:52eager
49:52to
49:52forget
49:53and
49:54when
49:54we
49:54forget
49:54it's
49:55not
49:55just
49:55that
49:55we
49:56risk
49:56repeating
49:57what
49:57happened
49:58in
49:58the
49:58past
49:58which
49:59I
49:59think
49:59is
50:00reason
50:00enough
50:00to
50:01remember
50:01but
50:01also
50:02that
50:02we
50:02should
50:02remember
50:03for
50:03the
50:03sake
50:03of
50:03remembering
50:04we
50:04should
50:05remember
50:05because
50:05the
50:05people
50:06who
50:06passed
50:06the
50:06would
50:06deserve
50:07to
50:07be
50:07remembered
50:10Adichie
50:10is
50:11important
50:11not
50:12just
50:12for
50:12her
50:12books
50:13but
50:14because
50:14her
50:15writing
50:15has
50:15made
50:16her
50:16a
50:16global
50:16celebrity
50:18a
50:18role
50:19model
50:19for
50:20other
50:20novelists
50:22Chimamanda
50:23occupies
50:24space
50:24in many
50:25different
50:25spheres
50:26in a
50:27way
50:27that
50:27I
50:27haven't
50:27seen
50:28other
50:29writers
50:29do
50:30and
50:31she
50:31seems
50:31to have
50:31captured
50:31the
50:32public's
50:32imagination
50:33I
50:34think
50:34prior
50:35to
50:35Chimamanda
50:35it was
50:36like
50:36you
50:36have
50:36to
50:36look
50:37a
50:37certain
50:37way
50:37if
50:37you
50:37were
50:37an
50:37author
50:38and
50:38then
50:38she
50:39came
50:39along
50:39and
50:39just
50:39tossed
50:40out
50:40the
50:40window
50:40so
50:41it
50:42became
50:42cool
50:44to be
50:44a
50:45writer
50:45and
50:46be
50:46fashionable
50:46In
50:48Adichie's
50:49wake
50:49authors
50:50like
50:50Oyinkan
50:51Braithwaite
50:51now have
50:52the
50:52freedom
50:53to
50:53write
50:53best-selling
50:54genre
50:55fiction
50:59Braithwaite
51:00grew up
51:01in
51:01Britain
51:01but
51:02moved
51:02to
51:02Nigeria
51:03as
51:03a
51:03teenager
51:04the
51:05country's
51:05commercial
51:06capital
51:06Lagos
51:07is a
51:07huge
51:08inspiration
51:09on
51:09her
51:09writing
51:11There are
51:11things that
51:12my characters
51:12get away
51:13with that
51:13I think
51:13is because
51:14they're
51:15in Lagos
51:16Lagos is
51:17mad
51:17which is why
51:18it's a great
51:19backdrop
51:20for a thriller
51:20Lagos is a
51:21crazy
51:21crazy
51:22crazy
51:22place
51:23and there's
51:24so much
51:25range
51:25you can
51:26be living
51:27in Lagos
51:27and feel
51:28like you're
51:29living in
51:29Dubai
51:30for example
51:32you've got
51:33everything
51:33and then
51:36not too
51:37far away
51:37from you
51:37there's
51:38someone
51:38who
51:39doesn't
51:40know
51:40where
51:40their
51:40next
51:40meal
51:41will
51:41come
51:41from
51:41there's
51:42so
51:42so
51:43so
51:43much
51:43going
51:43on
51:44it's
51:44material
51:44for
51:44every
51:45genre
51:45to be
51:46honest
51:47her
51:48her debut
51:49novel
51:49uses
51:50the city
51:50as a
51:51backdrop
51:51for a
51:52darkly
51:52subversive
51:53crime
51:53story
51:54my
51:54sister
51:55the
51:55serial
51:55killer
51:58I'm
51:58just
51:58drawn
51:59to
51:59women
52:01who
52:01don't
52:02fit
52:02those
52:03modes
52:03in life
52:04we're not
52:04all
52:05pure
52:06we're not
52:06all good
52:07we're not
52:07all kind
52:08also
52:08writing about
52:09a character
52:10who's perfect
52:10from morning
52:11to night
52:11is really
52:12boring
52:12writing about
52:14imperfect characters
52:14is a lot
52:16of fun
52:19have you heard
52:20this one
52:20before
52:21two girls
52:22walk into
52:22a room
52:23the room
52:23is in
52:24a flat
52:24the flat
52:25is on
52:26the third
52:26floor
52:27in the
52:27room
52:28is a
52:28dead
52:28body
52:29of an
52:29adult
52:29male
52:30how do
52:31they get
52:31the body
52:31to the
52:32ground
52:32floor
52:32without
52:32being
52:33seen
52:34first
52:34they gather
52:35supplies
52:38my
52:39sister
52:39the
52:39serial
52:40killer
52:40is the
52:40book
52:41that I
52:41am
52:41most
52:41jealous
52:42of
52:42because
52:43I
52:43wish
52:43I
52:43had
52:44published
52:44that
52:44book
52:45I
52:45think
52:45it's
52:46brilliant
52:46but
52:47I
52:47know
52:48that
52:48you
52:48wouldn't
52:49get
52:49my
52:49sister
52:50the
52:50serial
52:50killer
52:51without
52:51volume
52:51all of
52:52the
52:52writers
52:53who've
52:53come
52:53before
52:53her
52:54had to
52:54have been
52:55publishing
52:55and selling
52:56their work
52:56at different
52:57levels
52:58that then
52:58allows it
52:59to break
52:59out so it
53:00becomes a
53:00book that
53:00you see
53:01everybody
53:01reading
53:02and the
53:03fact that
53:03we've
53:04reached
53:04the point
53:04where
53:05we can
53:06be making
53:06noise
53:07about a
53:07book
53:08that's
53:08about
53:08young
53:08African
53:09girl
53:09who's
53:09a
53:09serial
53:10killer
53:10seems
53:11to me
53:11such
53:12an
53:12achievement
53:13and such
53:13a wonderful
53:14thing
53:15for us
53:15to have
53:16reached
53:16that
53:16point
53:19The
53:20African
53:20novel
53:20has come
53:21a long
53:21way
53:22since
53:22Achebe's
53:23masterpiece
53:23Things Fall
53:25Apart
53:25a book
53:26set in
53:27Nigeria
53:27with a
53:28flawed
53:28and
53:29tragic
53:29protagonist
53:32Today
53:32African
53:33novelists
53:34can emerge
53:34from London
53:35as well
53:36as Lagos
53:36and follow
53:37the stories
53:38of not
53:38just one
53:39hero
53:39but of
53:4012
53:41heroines
53:45Bernadine
53:46Evaristo's
53:47Girl
53:47Woman
53:48Other
53:48conveys
53:49a panorama
53:50of the
53:51black
53:51British
53:51experience
53:55It
53:56begins
53:56with
53:57Amma
53:58as she
53:58strolls
53:59by the
53:59Thames
54:00Amma
54:01is walking
54:02along
54:02the promenade
54:03of the
54:03waterway
54:04that
54:04bisects
54:05her
54:05city
54:05A few
54:07early morning
54:07barges
54:08cruise
54:08slowly
54:09by
54:09To her
54:10left
54:10is the
54:11nautical
54:11themed
54:11footbridge
54:12with its
54:13deck-like
54:13walkway
54:14and sailing
54:14mask
54:15pylons
54:15To her
54:16right
54:16is the
54:17bend
54:17in the
54:17river
54:18as it
54:18heads
54:19east
54:19past
54:19Waterloo
54:20Bridge
54:20towards
54:21the
54:21Dome
54:21of
54:21St.
54:22Paul's
54:22She
54:23feels
54:23the
54:23sun
54:24begin
54:24to
54:24rise
54:25the
54:25air
54:25still
54:26breezy
54:26before
54:27the
54:27city
54:27clogs
54:28up
54:28with
54:28heat
54:28and
54:28fumes
54:29A
54:30violinist
54:30play
54:31something
54:31suitably
54:31uplifting
54:32further
54:32along
54:33the
54:33promenade
54:33Amma's
54:35play
54:35The
54:39National
54:40tonight
54:43I
54:43wanted
54:43to write
54:44a novel
54:44about
54:44black
54:45British
54:45women
54:46and I
54:46wanted
54:47to
54:47create
54:48as many
54:48protagonists
54:49as
54:49possible
54:50who
54:51would
54:51feature
54:51in the
54:51novel
54:51on an
54:52equal
54:52footing
54:52and
54:53eventually
54:54I
54:54settled
54:55on 12
54:56co-protagonists
54:57and the
54:58novel is
54:58about
54:59their
54:59lives
55:00Her
55:01book
55:01is not
55:01an easy
55:02book
55:02it's
55:02one
55:02that
55:02challenges
55:03you
55:03she
55:04bends
55:05the
55:05form
55:05of
55:05what
55:05a
55:05novel
55:06can
55:06be
55:06in
55:07a
55:07way
55:07that's
55:07very
55:07exciting
55:08and
55:08I
55:09performed
55:09quite
55:09that
55:09way
55:10it's
55:10something
55:10she's
55:11always
55:11done
55:11but
55:11she
55:12kind
55:12of
55:12perfects
55:12it
55:13here
55:14I
55:15wanted
55:15to
55:15show
55:16multiplicity
55:17in a
55:18sense
55:18as a
55:19weapon
55:19against
55:20invisibility
55:21and
55:22stereotyping
55:23that's
55:24why it
55:24was
55:24important
55:24that
55:25I
55:25would
55:26not
55:26aim
55:26to
55:27represent
55:27black
55:28British
55:28womanhood
55:28because
55:29we
55:29can't
55:29be
55:29represented
55:30because
55:30we
55:30are
55:31as
55:32pluralist
55:33as
55:33any
55:33other
55:33individual
55:34in
55:34this
55:34society
55:35but
55:35I
55:35just
55:36wanted
55:36to
55:36show
55:36the
55:37spread
55:37of
55:37who
55:37we
55:38can
55:38be
55:38the
55:39possibility
55:39and
55:40the
55:40possibilities
55:40of
55:41who
55:41we
55:41are
55:41that
55:42was
55:42my
55:42intention
55:43and
55:44of
55:44course
55:44it's
55:45a
55:45novel
55:45that
55:46made
55:46history
55:47by
55:47winning
55:48the
55:48Booker
55:48prize
55:50Bernardine
55:51Bernadine
55:51ever
55:51ever
55:51ever
55:53I
55:56was
55:56genuinely
55:57surprised
55:58when my
55:58name
55:59came out
55:59of the
55:59chair's
56:00mouth
56:00I
56:00was
56:00like
56:01oh
56:01my
56:01god
56:02I
56:02was
56:02swearing
56:07but
56:07ever
56:07ever
56:08is
56:08her
56:09success
56:09to be
56:10just
56:10the
56:10start
56:11of
56:11the
56:11story
56:13I'm
56:13a
56:13diversity
56:14champion
56:14I have
56:14been
56:15all my
56:15life
56:15so
56:15you
56:16know
56:16I
56:16would
56:17really
56:17like
56:17another
56:18black
56:18woman
56:19to win
56:19the
56:19Booker
56:19prize
56:20in the
56:21next
56:21few
56:21years
56:23if
56:23that
56:24doesn't
56:24happen
56:24and
56:25there
56:25are
56:25always
56:25sort
56:26of
56:26worthy
56:26contenders
56:27for
56:27these
56:27prizes
56:28and
56:28if
56:29that
56:29doesn't
56:29happen
56:29then
56:30I'm
56:30going
56:30to
56:30kick
56:30up
56:30fuss
56:33Bernadine
56:33winning
56:34it
56:34is
56:34fantastic
56:35it's
56:37taken
56:37so
56:38long
56:38for
56:39an
56:39African
56:40woman
56:40to
56:40win
56:41the
56:41Booker
56:42prize
56:42and
56:43you
56:43know
56:43she's
56:44not
56:44going
56:44to
56:44be
56:44the
56:44last
56:45these
56:46prizes
56:46are
56:46important
56:47I mean
56:47it's
56:47been
56:48a
56:48breakthrough
56:48moment
56:48for
56:49my
56:49career
56:49but
56:50I
56:50don't
56:50want
56:50it
56:50just
56:51to
56:51be
56:51a
56:51breakthrough
56:51moment
56:52for
56:52my
56:52career
56:52I
56:53want
56:53people
56:53to
56:53be
56:54you
56:54know
56:54coming
56:55up
56:55really
56:56quickly
56:56and
56:57walking
56:57off
56:58with
56:58the
56:58Booker
56:59thank
57:00you
57:00everybody
57:01thank
57:01you
57:01to
57:01the
57:01judges
57:02of
57:02course
57:02phenomenal
57:03you know
57:04one man
57:05four women
57:05made a
57:06difference
57:06I think
57:07two women
57:07of color
57:08that made
57:08history
57:09so
57:09thank
57:10you
57:10so
57:11much
57:15would be
57:16crazy to me
57:17to judge
57:17a book
57:18prize
57:18without
57:19looking
57:19to
57:20African
57:20writers
57:20of all
57:21generations
57:21because
57:22I think
57:22what they're
57:23doing
57:23is so
57:23creative
57:24so
57:25bold
57:25in
57:26pushing
57:26the
57:26boundaries
57:26of the
57:27novel
57:28narrative
57:28of the
57:28literary
57:29form
57:29that
57:30you
57:30can't
57:30have
57:30a
57:31serious
57:31prize
57:31without
57:32looking
57:33at
57:33the
57:33writers
57:33coming
57:34out
57:34of
57:34Africa
57:34today
57:36hugely
57:36successful
57:37novels
57:37written
57:38by
57:38Africans
57:39are
57:39just
57:39part
57:40of
57:40the
57:40cultural
57:41mainstream
57:41and
57:42modern
57:43African
57:43writers
57:43are
57:44still
57:44inspired
57:45by
57:45authors
57:46like
57:46Chinua
57:46Achebe
57:47and
57:47Bucheb
57:48Emacheta
57:49It's
57:50been
57:51an
57:51extraordinary
57:52journey
57:52since
57:53Chinua
57:54Achebe's
57:54groundbreaking
57:55novel
57:56story
57:58is
57:58power
57:58and
58:00this
58:01seems
58:02to me
58:02to be
58:02so
58:03basic
58:04to
58:05our
58:05humanity
58:06that
58:07every
58:07generation
58:08will
58:09discover
58:10to
58:11a
58:11new
58:11wave
58:12of
58:12authors
58:12who've
58:13turned
58:13the
58:14African
58:14novel
58:14into
58:15a
58:15global
58:16business
58:16It has
58:17always
58:18been my
58:18dream
58:18to be
58:19around
58:19at the
58:20tipping
58:20point
58:20where
58:21African
58:21writing
58:21is no
58:22longer
58:22foreign
58:22We're
58:24close
58:24to that
58:24and to
58:25me
58:25that's
58:25the
58:26best
58:26thing
58:26for
58:26readers
58:27really
58:27is
58:33To
58:34Mexico
58:35next
58:35where
58:36giant
58:36volcanoes
58:37simmer
58:37and
58:37ancient
58:38and
58:38modern
58:38cultures
58:39collide
58:39Earth's
58:40festival
58:41of life
58:41here
58:41on BBC
58:424
58:42Then
58:43back
58:43to
58:44Africa
58:44with
58:44Storyville
58:45and
58:45the
58:45woman
58:46they
58:46called
58:46Mama
58:47Africa
58:47singer
58:48and
58:48activist
58:49Miriam
58:49Makeba
58:50at
58:5011
58:50Outro
58:58Outro