I have just read Ishmael Mzwandile Soqaga’s book,
Promoting Quintessential African writing (2013). I have read a prior review of this work (by R Mokoena) which is adequate enough. However I was also struck by the approach of the author – when near the end of the book, he refers to case studies of five “outstanding African writers” – Achebe, Ngugi, Ayi Kwei Armah, Es’kia Mphahlele, and Wole Soyinka. This is followed by a long list of “prolific” African writers.
The problem is that many a-reader could be confused here; thinking that the “outstanding” writers should not be prolific; or/and the “prolific” ones might lack enough quality. This is not the case. The first thing to point out is that largely, even these “outstanding” writers are prolific themselves.
Chinua Achebe, though famed globally for “
Things fall apart” published many other books; at least 20 of them, including other brilliant novels, essays, short stories, criticism and the like. The same applies to Ngugi wa Thiong’o who has published some 30 books too. South Africa’s Es’kia Mphahlele, a literary pioneer during his lifetime, published all this and more too; at least 20 books in his case!
As for Ayi Kwei Armah, the Ghanaian writer, he might not have published up to twenty books, but we must remember that the world class novels he is now famous for were largely published within a period of ten years (around 1968 to 1978). The works include
The beautyful ones are not yet born, Fragments, 2000 seasons, and The Healers) Armah also later published other novels which further put him on the map.
In fairness to author Soqaga, he does at least point out briefly that in the case of Wole Soyinka, he has been very prolific too: “On my own part I am very proud that many African writers have been prolific in their output…David Maillu for example, has published over 60 books; and Nobel award winner Soyinka might well have surpassed this figure (60)…” (Page 30, Promoting Quintessential African Writing, by I.M Soqaga). And no one would doubt the shining quality of Soyinka’s works despite his being prolific!
But perhaps we should not dwell on prolificacy too much. As writers, critics, researchers etc, we must always learn from current developments. Charmaine Kolwane, the South African female writer in her new, updated, revised study on the writer O Bolaji (2013), asks him how many books he has published thus far. Bolaji’s reply is illuminating, touching on ‘prolific writing’:
‘I don’t think writers should dwell on the number of books they have published – quality will always be more important than quantity. Most literary pundits like to state that I have published some 30 books, discounting ghost-writing and stuff like that. Yeah, maybe that is a figure one can hang a hat on! There are some writers obsessed with how many books they have published; but I am not one of them. I have been writing books since I was a kid for decades and as I write in so many literary genres, the figure might not be so bad by now. But what is the point of having so many books if most or even all of them are ignored by serious critics? I always mention female icons like Yvonne Vera and Tsitsi Dangarembga as examples; they published relatively few books; but studies and books on them continue to appear world-wide. These are people who have really made their mark. How many countless studies have been issued globally on Tsitsi’s one book,
Nervous Conditions?’
Whilst bearing this in mind, one should still commend our African writers, especially those who are BOTH qualitative and prolific; I am sure the author, Ishmael Soqaga will appreciate my perspective here.
The problem is that many a-reader could be confused here; thinking that the “outstanding” writers should not be prolific; or/and the “prolific” ones might lack enough quality. This is not the case. The first thing to point out is that largely, even these “outstanding” writers are prolific themselves.
Chinua Achebe, though famed globally for “Things fall apart” published many other books; at least 20 of them, including other brilliant novels, essays, short stories, criticism and the like. The same applies to Ngugi wa Thiong’o who has published some 30 books too. South Africa’s Es’kia Mphahlele, a literary pioneer during his lifetime, published all this and more too; at least 20 books in his case!
As for Ayi Kwei Armah, the Ghanaian writer, he might not have published up to twenty books, but we must remember that the world class novels he is now famous for were largely published within a period of ten years (around 1968 to 1978). The works include The beautyful ones are not yet born, Fragments, 2000 seasons, and The Healers) Armah also later published other novels which further put him on the map.
In fairness to author Soqaga, he does at least point out briefly that in the case of Wole Soyinka, he has been very prolific too: “On my own part I am very proud that many African writers have been prolific in their output…David Maillu for example, has published over 60 books; and Nobel award winner Soyinka might well have surpassed this figure (60)…” (Page 30, Promoting Quintessential African Writing, by I.M Soqaga). And no one would doubt the shining quality of Soyinka’s works despite his being prolific!
But perhaps we should not dwell on prolificacy too much. As writers, critics, researchers etc, we must always learn from current developments. Charmaine Kolwane, the South African female writer in her new, updated, revised study on the writer O Bolaji (2013), asks him how many books he has published thus far. Bolaji’s reply is illuminating, touching on ‘prolific writing’:
‘I don’t think writers should dwell on the number of books they have published – quality will always be more important than quantity. Most literary pundits like to state that I have published some 30 books, discounting ghost-writing and stuff like that. Yeah, maybe that is a figure one can hang a hat on! There are some writers obsessed with how many books they have published; but I am not one of them. I have been writing books since I was a kid for decades and as I write in so many literary genres, the figure might not be so bad by now. But what is the point of having so many books if most or even all of them are ignored by serious critics? I always mention female icons like Yvonne Vera and Tsitsi Dangarembga as examples; they published relatively few books; but studies and books on them continue to appear world-wide. These are people who have really made their mark. How many countless studies have been issued globally on Tsitsi’s one book, Nervous Conditions?’
Whilst bearing this in mind, one should still commend our African writers, especially those who are BOTH qualitative and prolific; I am sure the author, Ishmael Soqaga will appreciate my perspective here.
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