Dialogues: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - 2021 TOYIN FALOLA PRIZE SHORTLIST

To tell the truth, I couldn't say it any better.

Professor Gloria Emeagwali
History Department, Central Connecticut State University
www.africahistory.net

http://web.ccsu.edu/afstudy/archive.html

Chief Editor- "Africa Update"

www.vimeo.com/gloriaemeagwali

Gloria Emeagwali's Documentaries

2014 Distinguished Research Excellence Award in African Studies

University of Texas at Austin

2019 Distinguished Africanist Award

New York African Studies Association

From: Harrow, Kenneth <harrow@msu.edu>
Sent: Friday, October 15, 2021 10:06 PM
To: Emeagwali, Gloria (History) <emeagwali@ccsu.edu>; usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - 2021 TOYIN FALOLA PRIZE SHORTLIST

Please be cautious: **External Email**

gloria

it isn't always very easy to translate the politics of a novel to that of the author. the author created the novel: if it winds up representing people in an ugly, racist fashion, and celebrates that representation, it would be very hard to say, well, i like the poetry so i will ignore the racism. for most of us it would be impossible.

if an ancient figure from biblical times were to curse the israelites, i would not take it personally. if celine, or even hemingway, created typical jewish characters following antisemitic tropes, i would go from unhappy to very angry....and probably have to leave the book unread.

i'd be angry at the author, not the characters created by the author.

there is always grey in this. conrad was tricky in Heart of darkness since we saw africans only through the eyes/lens of europeans whom he was clearly condemning for their colonial values, which he judged as bad. but the narrator, marlowe, is not like that--he is the one who gives us the eyes on the colonial types, and he is much more ambiguous. achebe reached out to other works by conrad in order to make his case re racism, and it was a strong case. said was strong in defending the novelette...but couldn't really deny the racism. not sure he cared so much.

you ask, should we let the author go scot free. i don't regard works of art as independent of larger "political"--i.e. ideological, or intellectual--values, and i am normally pretty judgmental on those scores. i don't let authors off scot free. not for the negative characters they create, but the kind of world they create and in which they place those characters.

i think of the terribly vexed creations of african figures in so many european texts--like mr. johnson, by joyce cary. the stereotypes are unforgiveable. i mean that sincerely. so when cary, who is very humorous, is loved by his brits, it is because they are willing to enter into a universe that sees africans as simple and so on, and join the laughter at those characters. that's why achebe felt the need to write back. he himself didn't do a great job with his european characters, mr. smith, mr jones, who were themselves way too simplified. but he wrote back against a huge world of misrepresentation of africans that was painful and costly

if i were to carry this on to films, well, we could go on all night, esp with hollywood's history of monstrous typing.

in the past people could stomach the "mammies" and "coons" and "bucks" and "toms" and "mulattos," those types don bogle showed as denigrating black characters. michaux did not really "film back," we had to wait for spike lee.

sorry for the long answer. not sure i really addressed your question, but it is a good one.

ken

kenneth harrow

professor emeritus

dept of english

michigan state university

517 803-8839

harrow@msu.edu

From: Emeagwali, Gloria (History) <emeagwali@ccsu.edu>
Sent: Friday, October 15, 2021 9:34 PM
To: Harrow, Kenneth <harrow@msu.edu>; usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - 2021 TOYIN FALOLA PRIZE SHORTLIST

Ken,

There is a difference between ambiguity

with respect to the plot, and fictional characters,

and ambiguity with respect to the authors and

their actual world views, attitudes to race, etc.

No one is calling for simplistic plots and

characters, but should critics allow a racist

or anti- Semitic author to go scot free, and

remain unquestioned? You gave some

illuminating examples with respect to Conrad

and Naipaul and concluded that Naipaul's

"Bend in the River" crossed the line ( my words).

I am yet to read that book.

Professor Gloria Emeagwali
Prof. of History/African Studies, CCSU
africahistory.net; vimeo.com/ gloriaemeagwali
Recipient of the 2014 Distinguished Research
Excellence Award, Univ. of Texas at Austin;
2019 Distinguished Africanist Award
New York African Studies Association

From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Harrow, Kenneth <harrow@msu.edu>
Sent: Friday, October 15, 2021 4:39 PM
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - 2021 TOYIN FALOLA PRIZE SHORTLIST

Please be cautious: **External Email**

historians love clarity; literary types ambiguity.

many years ago i taught things fall apart, and it was a time of the rising black consciousness. at msu, as elsewhere. maybe 40 or so years ago.

my most radical students--black radicalists--could not tolerate the notion of a hero committing suicide. i tried to say, well, okonkwo was no hero, but he did resist the british.

amgiguity!

and to add to it, achebe made plain in interviews afterward he was not interested in constructing a hero without warts. a bit like richard wright in his character bigger thomas. no hero. lots of warts.

these were not attempts at humanism, but at complicating the figures, especially under the impress of race. and the result? two classics, no?

ken

kenneth harrow

professor emeritus

dept of english

michigan state university

517 803-8839

harrow@msu.edu

From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Gloria Emeagwali <gloria.emeagwali@gmail.com>
Sent: Friday, October 15, 2021 9:15 AM
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Cc: 'Michael Afolayan' via Yoruba Affairs <yorubaaffairs@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - 2021 TOYIN FALOLA PRIZE SHORTLIST

Some authors cowardly hide behind racist tropes. Others get smeared by their own characters.

So my humble advice to budding writers, is that you really should deploy some creative literary device that sets you apart from your racist characters.

Ambivalence is compliance. Even if the racist characters in the text were to fall off a cliff, drown in a tsunami, be eaten by a crocodile, or be murdered by a faceless drone, readers like me would be wondering about the author's relationship to the toxic concepts and fictional characters created.

Congrats to the nominees.

Prof. Gloria Emeagwali

On Oct 15, 2021, at 07:18, Olusegun Olopade <bcmanager@toyinfalolanetwork.org> wrote:

2021 TOYIN FALOLA PRIZE SHORTLIST

From the longlist of 11 entries to a strong shortlist of 6 stories.

Following the feedback of our judges and readers on the longlist, we do not doubt any of the stories making the shortlist, and this particularly emphasizes the quality of stories we received as well as that of those that have made it this far. Thus, we acknowledge the assiduousness of our judges in making this list possible. Also, we consider ourselves fortunate to be witnessing this period in African history and literature, and to be positioned as bearers of these tremendous reads to the world!

Mentioned in no order of importance:

1.     "Superposition" – Justin Clement (Nigeria)

2.     "Iphopho Le Vezandlebe" – Tshepiso Mabula (South Africa)

3.     "Sinmot" – Blessing Nwodo (Nigeria)

4.     "Should have Listened to Mother" – Mandisi Nkomo (South Africa)

5.     "Hunger for Crystals" – Ernestine-Vera Kabushemeye (Burundi)

6.     "Eavesdroppers" – Mary-Ann Egbudom (Nigeria)

Our judges have praised "Iphopho Le Vezandlebe" for its excellent narrative and intriguing weaving of time that allowed the story to move several bodies and minds effortlessly through loops of time. Justin Clement's story, "Superposition," received effusive mentions for its character-development strategies and the way it deftly shifts scenes in the mind of the readers. "Sinmot" by Blessing Nwodo also stood out for the vivid world it builds, a world crafted not only to upend familiar understanding of power dynamics but provoke readers into reconsidering popular understanding of the present. "Should have Listened to Mother" by Mandisi Nkomo packs a lot into making highly remarkable characters around whom the plot pivots, "Hunger for Crystals" by Ernestine-Vera Kabushemeye wields a story whose own materials penetrate the characters, and "Eavesdroppers" develops a main character whose presence fills up the plot without consuming it.

Once again, we are happy about this shortlist, and we hope that the coming weeks will yield a worthy winner from this already excellent pool. Given the strength of the stories in this shortlist and the Prize's vision to support literature on and outside the continent, not only will each shortlisted story receive $200; the strongest entries from the submissions received by the Prize will be published in an edited volume by 2022.

To the shortlisted writers, cheers!

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Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - 2021 TOYIN FALOLA PRIZE SHORTLIST

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