The author did a lot of research for ‘In Dependence
In Sarah Ladipo Manyika's debut novel, ‘In Dependence' Tayo goes off to study in Oxford and encounters the love of his life in the person of Vanessa, a young English woman. The story opens in 1963, in the heady days of independence and optimism for the newly liberated nations of Black Africa. By the novel's close in the late 90s, Manyika has taken us on a narrative journey of love and loss, age and regret; with the optimism of independence having slowly wilted away.
"The title goes to the fact that the book begins in the independence era. The political implications are there in the story," the author says of her novel. Chief among the motivations to write the story, she readily confesses, was what she saw as a dearth of universal themes like love in most books being published by African writers. Whilst acknowledging that stories of conflict are African realities, the author, a literature lecturer at San Francisco State University, insists that war and carnage, hunger and disease are not the only stories. So, she set out to write a simple yet complex story about the need to love and be loved - as writers the world over have done down the ages.
Capturing the era
The world of the novel is an elegiac, romantic one of ships and postcards and letters, symbols of a now disappeared world. "The sixties, seventies and eighties were times when people wrote letters. That's been eclipsed by email now," Manyika observes, while explaining that she used the ‘I' of the letter writers to bring readers closer to the characters' thoughts. "This is a novel that spanned a lifetime. I wanted the story to mirror the evolution of the characters; as they are young earlier in the novel and we follow them till they're older."
Among the things that strike the reader about ‘In Dependence' are the many eras and milieus convincingly evoked in the novel. "I actually did a lot of research. I wanted to make sure that I was true to the spirit of Oxford during that period," she informs. "I read all the student newspapers for the years my characters were at Oxford. None of it made it into the book, but it gave me the confidence to know that I could capture that period in history. I did many interviews with old students, too." She also spoke to her own family and friends' parents for not only "contextual detail, but also a feel for the language, films of the time and the music they were listening to."
Telling Africa's stories
The experience has shown her that there is a wealth of stories of Africa and Africans yet untold. "I feel that there are so many stories to be told," she reiterates. While researching for ‘In Dependence, she interviewed someone who had been instrumental in bringing Malcolm X to Oxford University in the early sixties; and who had corresponded with the African American leader via postcard for sometime afterwards. "There is a whole, fascinating history in that connection between those two people," she asserts.
Manyika talks about the need to "overturn this power structure" that means only certain stories about Africa come to the fore through Western publishing deals. "Africa needs good writers, wherever those writers come from," she declares. "I hope more and more books will be published. I would love to see a burgeoning of writings, more writing awards, residencies." She also hopes to see more Africans in positions of ownership in the publishing industry.
Indeed, one of the points raised early in ‘In Dependence' is the need for Africans to tell their own stories, for the continent's stories not to be seen via the constricting prism of Western eyes. Yet in a seeming contradiction, Vanessa goes on in the novel to become a renowned journalist on Africa, a white Africanist of sorts, telling the continent's stories. Manyika concedes that, "Any book is open to interpretation. At the end, it's up to the reader... All my characters are flawed to one extent or another and Vanessa is no exception."
Pan-Africanism
In the West African Society in Oxford, Tayo and friends discuss issues including racism, love across the boundaries of race and country, identity, as well as power relations between Africa and Europe. Asked if the discussion topics mirror her own concerns, Manyika is emphatic: "The writing is certainly is not a voice piece for my thoughts. I am there in those conversations to the extent that I care very deeply about the African continent. Through the various characters, I am exploring the questions that I've asked and that others have asked."
A Nigerian of mixed ancestry, Manyika has lived in Nigeria as well as in Kenya, among other places; and is connected to Zimbabwe by marriage. One of her short stories is published in the anthology, ‘Women Writing Zimbabwe', and she keeps a close eye on writings out of Harare even as she is a part of the Nigerian literary community, albeit from the Diaspora. "It's really exciting to see what's coming out of Zimbabwe," she says of wave-making writers like Petina Gappah and Brian Chikwava. "Because I'm married to a Zimbabwean, I have extended family there and spend time there. I feel connected in many ways. There's an element of West Africa in Zimbabwe." To buttress this point, she cites Chielo Zona Eze's novel, ‘The Trial of Robert Mugabe' that begins with the reference that his first wife was Ghanaian.
It's no surprise perhaps that the novel begins in the sixties, the high noon of Pan Africanism, with the likes of Nkrumah striding the length and breadth of the Black world canvassing the dream of a united Africa. Manyika hopes her readers will take something meaningful from ‘In Dependence', not least "that aspect of hope, that the original Pan-African spirit will resonate with them."
On women writers
‘In Dependence' is published in the UK by Legend Press and in a West African edition by Abuja-based Cassava Republic Press. A blurb on the book notes, in a complimentary tone, that "even the sex is well mannered." Why has Ladipo Manyika not gone with roaring sex scenes, as is de rigueur in contemporary novels by Nigerian female writers? "Just wait till my next book!" she jokes, then adds, "I personally find some of the most enticing... a lot can be left to the reader's imagination." The allure of many a romantic scene, she suggests, "is not about the roaring sex but the anticipation of what is to come."
The author feels an affinity with fellow women writers. "I'm conscious of women writers. It's often a struggle for women to write because we have to juggle more things," she says. As a reader therefore, she is especially drawn to short works by women, including Petina Gappah's stories, Virginia Woolf's essays and the stories of Edith Wharton and Jhumpa Lahiri, among others.
A constancy of themes
The themes in her works reflect "ideas that are occupying my mental space." There is a constancy to the themes. "Africa is always there somewhere in my consciousness," she reflects. She touches on recent news headlines about race riots in Italy: "African immigrants who have been used as slaves by the Mafia - these stories aren't really being told, they've been subsumed." Other preoccupations include women and ageing; and identity - "This notion of who we are and where do we fit?"
Sarah Ladipo Manyika did a book tour of Nigeria late last year, and was pleased that she didn't have to explain as much as she would have had to do with European readers. "I feel that Nigerians are maybe able to engage with the novel more," she says with satisfaction.
The author is currently working on a collection of short stories set in Harare, ‘Transatlantically Speaking'; and a novella set in San Francisco, with women from different parts of the world as the main characters.
As part of the drive to see more confident writings from the continent, she actively encourages other writers, "due to my desire to read stories that haven't been written, because it inspires me."
‘In Dependence' will be reviewed in next week's edition of The Lagos Review.
Source:234next.com
"The title goes to the fact that the book begins in the independence era. The political implications are there in the story," the author says of her novel. Chief among the motivations to write the story, she readily confesses, was what she saw as a dearth of universal themes like love in most books being published by African writers. Whilst acknowledging that stories of conflict are African realities, the author, a literature lecturer at San Francisco State University, insists that war and carnage, hunger and disease are not the only stories. So, she set out to write a simple yet complex story about the need to love and be loved - as writers the world over have done down the ages.
Capturing the era
The world of the novel is an elegiac, romantic one of ships and postcards and letters, symbols of a now disappeared world. "The sixties, seventies and eighties were times when people wrote letters. That's been eclipsed by email now," Manyika observes, while explaining that she used the ‘I' of the letter writers to bring readers closer to the characters' thoughts. "This is a novel that spanned a lifetime. I wanted the story to mirror the evolution of the characters; as they are young earlier in the novel and we follow them till they're older."
Among the things that strike the reader about ‘In Dependence' are the many eras and milieus convincingly evoked in the novel. "I actually did a lot of research. I wanted to make sure that I was true to the spirit of Oxford during that period," she informs. "I read all the student newspapers for the years my characters were at Oxford. None of it made it into the book, but it gave me the confidence to know that I could capture that period in history. I did many interviews with old students, too." She also spoke to her own family and friends' parents for not only "contextual detail, but also a feel for the language, films of the time and the music they were listening to."
Telling Africa's stories
The experience has shown her that there is a wealth of stories of Africa and Africans yet untold. "I feel that there are so many stories to be told," she reiterates. While researching for ‘In Dependence, she interviewed someone who had been instrumental in bringing Malcolm X to Oxford University in the early sixties; and who had corresponded with the African American leader via postcard for sometime afterwards. "There is a whole, fascinating history in that connection between those two people," she asserts.
Manyika talks about the need to "overturn this power structure" that means only certain stories about Africa come to the fore through Western publishing deals. "Africa needs good writers, wherever those writers come from," she declares. "I hope more and more books will be published. I would love to see a burgeoning of writings, more writing awards, residencies." She also hopes to see more Africans in positions of ownership in the publishing industry.
Indeed, one of the points raised early in ‘In Dependence' is the need for Africans to tell their own stories, for the continent's stories not to be seen via the constricting prism of Western eyes. Yet in a seeming contradiction, Vanessa goes on in the novel to become a renowned journalist on Africa, a white Africanist of sorts, telling the continent's stories. Manyika concedes that, "Any book is open to interpretation. At the end, it's up to the reader... All my characters are flawed to one extent or another and Vanessa is no exception."
Pan-Africanism
In the West African Society in Oxford, Tayo and friends discuss issues including racism, love across the boundaries of race and country, identity, as well as power relations between Africa and Europe. Asked if the discussion topics mirror her own concerns, Manyika is emphatic: "The writing is certainly is not a voice piece for my thoughts. I am there in those conversations to the extent that I care very deeply about the African continent. Through the various characters, I am exploring the questions that I've asked and that others have asked."
A Nigerian of mixed ancestry, Manyika has lived in Nigeria as well as in Kenya, among other places; and is connected to Zimbabwe by marriage. One of her short stories is published in the anthology, ‘Women Writing Zimbabwe', and she keeps a close eye on writings out of Harare even as she is a part of the Nigerian literary community, albeit from the Diaspora. "It's really exciting to see what's coming out of Zimbabwe," she says of wave-making writers like Petina Gappah and Brian Chikwava. "Because I'm married to a Zimbabwean, I have extended family there and spend time there. I feel connected in many ways. There's an element of West Africa in Zimbabwe." To buttress this point, she cites Chielo Zona Eze's novel, ‘The Trial of Robert Mugabe' that begins with the reference that his first wife was Ghanaian.
It's no surprise perhaps that the novel begins in the sixties, the high noon of Pan Africanism, with the likes of Nkrumah striding the length and breadth of the Black world canvassing the dream of a united Africa. Manyika hopes her readers will take something meaningful from ‘In Dependence', not least "that aspect of hope, that the original Pan-African spirit will resonate with them."
On women writers
‘In Dependence' is published in the UK by Legend Press and in a West African edition by Abuja-based Cassava Republic Press. A blurb on the book notes, in a complimentary tone, that "even the sex is well mannered." Why has Ladipo Manyika not gone with roaring sex scenes, as is de rigueur in contemporary novels by Nigerian female writers? "Just wait till my next book!" she jokes, then adds, "I personally find some of the most enticing... a lot can be left to the reader's imagination." The allure of many a romantic scene, she suggests, "is not about the roaring sex but the anticipation of what is to come."
The author feels an affinity with fellow women writers. "I'm conscious of women writers. It's often a struggle for women to write because we have to juggle more things," she says. As a reader therefore, she is especially drawn to short works by women, including Petina Gappah's stories, Virginia Woolf's essays and the stories of Edith Wharton and Jhumpa Lahiri, among others.
A constancy of themes
The themes in her works reflect "ideas that are occupying my mental space." There is a constancy to the themes. "Africa is always there somewhere in my consciousness," she reflects. She touches on recent news headlines about race riots in Italy: "African immigrants who have been used as slaves by the Mafia - these stories aren't really being told, they've been subsumed." Other preoccupations include women and ageing; and identity - "This notion of who we are and where do we fit?"
Sarah Ladipo Manyika did a book tour of Nigeria late last year, and was pleased that she didn't have to explain as much as she would have had to do with European readers. "I feel that Nigerians are maybe able to engage with the novel more," she says with satisfaction.
The author is currently working on a collection of short stories set in Harare, ‘Transatlantically Speaking'; and a novella set in San Francisco, with women from different parts of the world as the main characters.
As part of the drive to see more confident writings from the continent, she actively encourages other writers, "due to my desire to read stories that haven't been written, because it inspires me."
‘In Dependence' will be reviewed in next week's edition of The Lagos Review.
Source:234next.com
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