Murmures
Blame Kwani? for East Africa’s literary swamp
décembre 2012 | Projets culturels | Littérature / édition | Kenya
Source : Standard Digital
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The region has been accused of literary barrenness. Today Abenea Ndago looks at credibility of Kwani? in its efforts to demystify literary blame.
The late Francis Imbuga said the following to a newspaper journalist a few days before his demise: « It is true that creative writers don’t earn big money, unless your book becomes a set book, but still this is not an excuse for writers to walk around in sandals. »
Evan Mwangi, a Kenyan literary scholar, also wrote in the same paper: « Although I would wish that 21st century Kenyan writers should be included in the syllabus, it is hard to think of any that we would want our children to emulate. Their works are opportunistically written for the high school syllabus by pretending to tackle ‘burning issues of the day’, such as drug abuse. This tactic works better in ephemeral short skits for inter-dormitory competition than in an ambitious work of art that seeks to stand the test of time. » But Egara Kabaji has been more belligerent (…)
[Read more on Standard Digital]
[Kwani? Litfest]
Evan Mwangi, a Kenyan literary scholar, also wrote in the same paper: « Although I would wish that 21st century Kenyan writers should be included in the syllabus, it is hard to think of any that we would want our children to emulate. Their works are opportunistically written for the high school syllabus by pretending to tackle ‘burning issues of the day’, such as drug abuse. This tactic works better in ephemeral short skits for inter-dormitory competition than in an ambitious work of art that seeks to stand the test of time. » But Egara Kabaji has been more belligerent (…)
[Read more on Standard Digital]
[Kwani? Litfest]
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