At the International Literature Festival Dublin (ILFD), held in Ireland in May, Nigerian-German writer Olumide Popoola and literary agent Bibi Bakare-Yusuf discussed the past, present and future of Nigerian and, more broadly, African writing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a renewed energy and excitement, and I want that to continue across the African literary landscape,\u201d says Bakare-Yusuf, founder of Cassava Republic Press.<\/p>\n
The publishing house was founded in 2006, with its headquarters in the Nigerian capital of Abuja. Since then it has been at the forefront of promoting Nigerian writing to Nigerian, African and global audiences and now also has offices in the United Kingdom and the United States.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith the existence of Cassava, we have really shown the world that, in the way that Africans are, we exist in a multitude, and our stories must exist in a multitude as well,\u201d she explains. \u201cIt must encompass as much variety as possible; from the village to a slum in Kinshasa or Lagos, to the luxury of Cape Town.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bakare-Yusuf spoke alongside Nigerian-German writer Olumide Popoola (who is represented by Cassava Republic) at the ILFD event \u2018Cities of Literature: Abuja\u2019 on May 22.<\/p>\n
Abuja is seeking designation as a UNESCO City of Literature, part of UNESCO\u2019s wider \u2018Creative Cities Network\u2019 which was launched in 2004. South Africa is currently the only African country with a designated city, with both Durban and Buffalo City being recognised for their literary wealth.<\/p>\n
\u201cAbuja has really grown in terms of its literary offerings,\u201d says Bakare-Yusuf. \u201cThere are so many book clubs, a lot of theatres outdoors and indoors, and many bookshops. These are things that make for a great \u2018City of Literature\u2019 and I would really welcome Abuja to become the first city in Nigeria to be designated.\u201d<\/p>\n
Writer Popoola says she always looks to Nigerian writing for inspiration.<\/p>\n
\u201cNigerian literature is very, very rich,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019m obviously very inspired by it and the different ways of storytelling to the Western canon. It\u2019s something that I deeply admire.\u201d<\/p>\n
Popoola is one of the writers changing how African literature is seen by international readers.<\/p>\n
The author, who grew up between Nigeria and Germany and is now based in London, published her first novel \u2018When We Speak of Nothing\u2019 with Cassava Republic in 2017.<\/p>\n
Her new book \u2018Like Water, Like Sea\u2019 looks at relationships, motherhood and mental health, with a central character who has bipolar disorder.<\/p>\n
\u201cI’m slightly on the experimental side, because I want to rethink how we shape narratives and how we tell stories,\u201d says Popoola. \u201cWe’re very used to a certain three act structure of linear and narrative arc, and \u2013 not that my books don\u2019t have that or that there isn\u2019t a conclusion \u2013 but my stories takes you in a slightly round about way.\u201d<\/p>\n
She adds that having her books published with Cassava Republic has been very freeing.<\/p>\n
\u201cCassava\u2019s ethos is to have a much richer idea of what African literature should be, and that is really inspiring as a writer and freeing,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n
In the years since Cassava Republic opened, the continent’s publishing industry has grown. So too has the international readership.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we started 17 years ago, there was just a handful of writers that we would have heard about internationally,\u201d says Bakare-Yusuf. \u201cI think that when you have a publishing house on the continent that is sharing what\u2019s possible, it inspires other people. At least five other publishers have come on board, which is really exciting and we want more across the continent.\u201d<\/p>\n
The publishing house offers a wide range of books for adults, young adults and children, and places emphasis on affordability.<\/p>\n
Beyond the streets of Abuja, the interest in Nigerian and African writing has clearly expanded.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it’s definitely a time for diversity in literature,\u201d says Popoola. \u201cI think there’s so much hunger for different voices that are not just coming from dominant voices or the West that we’ve been used to.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Bakare-Yusuf, publishing African voices is not just about the readers of today.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to have a more expansive story about the continent, about our people,\u201d she says. \u201cIf we don’t have those stories done now, we’re not going to have anything in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
She terms the concept \u201cthe archive of the future\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI strongly believe that the future archive that our children\u2019s children are going to open in 500 years\u2019 time, it\u2019s what we\u2019re already creating today,\u201d she says. \u201cI want to be part and parcel of the people creating that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
At the International Literature Festival Dublin (ILFD), held in Ireland in May, Nigerian-German writer Olumide Popoola and literary agent Bibi Bakare-Yusuf discussed the past, present and future of Nigerian and, more broadly, African writing. \u201cThere\u2019s a renewed energy and excitement, and I want that to continue across the African literary landscape,\u201d says Bakare-Yusuf, founder of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12052,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":6,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"source_name":"Africa News","source_url":"","via_name":"","via_url":"","override_template":"0","override":[{"template":"1","single_blog_custom":"","parallax":"1","fullscreen":"1","layout":"right-sidebar","sidebar":"default-sidebar","second_sidebar":"default-sidebar","sticky_sidebar":"1","share_position":"top","share_float_style":"share-monocrhome","show_share_counter":"0","show_view_counter":"0","show_featured":"1","show_post_meta":"1","show_post_author":"0","show_post_author_image":"1","show_post_date":"1","post_date_format":"default","post_date_format_custom":"Y\/m\/d","show_post_category":"0","show_post_reading_time":"0","post_reading_time_wpm":"300","show_zoom_button":"0","zoom_button_out_step":"2","zoom_button_in_step":"3","show_post_tag":"1","show_prev_next_post":"0","show_popup_post":"0","number_popup_post":"1","show_author_box":"0","show_post_related":"1","show_inline_post_related":"1"}],"override_image_size":"0","image_override":[{"single_post_thumbnail_size":"crop-500","single_post_gallery_size":"crop-500"}],"trending_post":"0","trending_post_position":"meta","trending_post_label":"Trending","sponsored_post":"0","sponsored_post_label":"Sponsored by","sponsored_post_name":"","sponsored_post_url":"","sponsored_post_logo_enable":"0","sponsored_post_logo":"","sponsored_post_desc":"","disable_ad":"0"},"jnews_primary_category":{"id":"","hide":""},"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":{"override_view_counter":"0","view_counter_number":"0","override_share_counter":"0","share_counter_number":"0","override_like_counter":"0","like_counter_number":"0","override_dislike_counter":"0","dislike_counter_number":"0"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,27],"tags":[2572,2571,175],"class_list":["post-12051","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-west-africa","tag-cassava-republic-press","tag-international-literature-festival-dublin-ilfd","tag-nigeria"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12051","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12051"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12051\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12052"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12051"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12051"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12051"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}