Literature
Even though the age-long maxim that writers are born and not made still holds true, today?s writer who wishes to distinguish himself from the crowd can no longer afford to rely entirely on his creative instinct, given the increasing competitive nature of the teeming literary environment. To get attention in the busy arts and media traffic, powered by the ever advancing information technology, he needs to acquaint himself with some basic facts about writing; facts that would ignite his craft. This is the sacred duty the Lagos-based non-profit literary foundation, Farafina Trust, has taken upon itself through an annual international forum tagged Farafina Trust Creative Writing Workshop.
This year?s edition of the workshop, sponsored by Nigerian Breweries Plc, took place in Lagos from 20th to 29th of May, 2010. It was presided over by the award-winning writer and Creative Director of the Trust, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Other facilitators at the workshop were Chika Unigwe, Belgium-based Nigerian writer and winner of Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship for Creative Writing, Binyavanga Wainaina, the Caine Prize winning Kenyan writer, and Niq Mhlongo, a South African writer described by New York Times as ?one of the most high-spirited and irreverent new voices of South Africa?s post-apartheid literary scene?.
It was ten days of intensive study and significant discoveries about the art of writing for the twenty participants drawn from Nigeria and Zimbabwe. The exercise, which was held daily from 10 am to 5 pm at the Lagos Resource Centre, Victoria Island, was in form of an informal class featuring reading, discussion of fiction and non-fiction pieces produced by participants and renowned writers, and writing exercises based on the tips provided by the resource persons.
The instructions ranged from the need for the writer to, while writing, focus on the significant details of his subject-matter, to the need to avoid making his story too dramatic.
The views expressed by the resource persons were basically the same and were aimed at making the stories credible, entertaining, informative and, most of all, artistic. But each of them laid emphasis on particular aspects. For instance, Chimamanda?s focus was more on techniques that make stories believable, such as showing the subject-matter rather than talking about it. She observed that though works of fiction are from creative imagination, they have to reflect reality, else they become fictitious rather than fictional. According to her, the reader would be more convinced and involved if the writer describes the appearance of a character rather than simply stating that the character is beautiful or ugly. To practise this, each of the participants was asked to look in the mirror and describe his or her face. And the result was quite revealing!
Binyavanga was emphatic on the need for the writer to be a committed reader: ?You will be a better writer the more fiction you read. Those who don?t read fiction don?t write well. You can measure it mathematically. Read without discrimination. Read the books you think you hate, read the books that are too difficult. When you master the books you thought were too difficult, it means you?ve grown.?
To Chika, creativity means ?finding inspiration everywhere, finding a story in every incident that happens, taking notes and telling your stories all the time?. And in telling the stories, according to Niq, the writer should create ?real? settings.
Other tips from the facilitators included: ?write to express, not to impress?, ?don?t be conclusive or judgmental?, ?put the reader in the scene?, ?create emotions?, and ?be simple and concise?. Exercises were given to demonstrate some of the concepts.
The workshop sessions were intermittently graced by guests. One of such guests was Funmi Iyanda, presenter of the popular TV show, ?Talk with Funmi?. Addressing the participants, she acknowledged the fact that the past decade had witnessed a flowering of a new literary voice, particularly in Africa. But the challenge, she said, is how to marry literature and mass media as countries like America have done, selling their culture, their way of life through the mass media. To overcome this challenge she stressed, ?We need creative anarchy. There is so much of telling how we must be as against what is going on. And what is going on around us is amazing. Something transformational is happening and there have to be voices that will put it out there. Marry literature with mass media; make those stories accessible so that the woman who is out there with her children can get it, maybe as a movie. So that every Nigerian film you see, for example, will not be the one where a woman is a victim or an idiot?.
The socio-literary interaction among participants and with renowned writers was one of the most interesting aspects of the event. The interaction was not limited to the workshop sessions and venue alone. In the Lekki Waterfront Hotel, at Lekki Phase 1, where the participants were lodged, assignments and other literary and social matters were discussed over breakfast in the mornings and throughout the bus ride through the infamous Lagos traffic congestion to and from the workshop venue.
Participants also attended the monthly literary event, Book Jam, organised by Silverbird Lifestyle Store. The occasion, held on Saturday 22nd, at the book section of the store, along Ahmadu Bello Way, consisted of book reading, discussions, literary performances, book signing and raffle draw. Guest writers were Chimamanda, Binyavanga, Sade Adeniran and Chima Nwokolo. They all read from their works, except Chimamanda who read two of the best stories by the workshop participants, namely, Rayo Falade and Kesiena Eboh.
The subsequent Saturday witnessed similar event, but on a more grand style. It was a Literary Evening to mark the end of the workshop. The ceremony, open to the public, took place at Civic Centre, Victoria Island, with a cream of writers in attendance, including the celebrated Ghanaian writer, Ama Ata Aidoo, who was the special guest of honour.
The event began with a welcome address by Muhtar Bakare, Trustee of Farafina Trust.
Explaining the process by which participants for the workshop were selected, he said, ?When we sent out calls for participants, we had about 2000 applications and we chose 20 whose writings show a lot of promise. And we try to make sure that these 20 are representative of our diverse country. But we never sacrificed quality. None of these 20 talented and gifted writers was preferred. Everybody was here because he or she has something that we recognise and we want to assist in nurturing.?
He then expressed gratitude to Nigerian Breweries for their support and all the guests for coming, particularly Ama Ata Aidoo, who he had ?waited for thirty-five years to meet?.
In his own address, the Managing Director of Nigerian Breweries, Mr. Paul Hamers, said the workshop was part of the company?s efforts to develop Nigerian talents for development.
According to him, ?This is only the second year we have been a part of this initiative... and it is fast gaining recognition as one of the major platforms of skills development in the specialised area of learning?.
He assured that the company would continue to identify with the creative writing programme in line with its strategic vision for Nigeria.
Highlights of the event were readings by the workshop facilitators, Ama Ata Aidoo and others, and presentation of certificates to the workshop participants.
In her speech, Ama Ata Aidoo observed that writing is more than just black scratches against white surfaces. She said writings outlast us and it is universal, and called on everyone to make the statement that ?if you want to hide something from an African you should put it in a book? a piece of rubbish that it is.
Answering a question from a member of the audience on whether she and her colleagues on the high table see themselves as African writers, she said the ?African writer? label was insignificant, ?what matters is the commitment to the cause of writing, which is humanising the society?.
Chimamanda, who said she had been confronted with the same question several times, responded thus: ?There have been many labels like African writer, woman writer, but as long as I can define them for myself, that?s fine. But, if it becomes somebody saying to me because you are an African writer you cannot do this, then it is unacceptable?. Her colleagues spoke in the same vein.
It wasn?t all speeches and discussions, there were also things to eat and drink and music to dance to.
Two of the workshop participants, Lola Okusami and Bem Iordaah, thrilled the audience with scintillating musical performance. And Seun Kuti and the Egypt 80 Band rounded off the show with the Fela brand of Afro-beat.
The event finally came to a close with a scrumptious dinner same evening at Protea Hotel, Ikoyi Westwood.
The ten-day literary exploration was indeed a life-changing opportunity, as testified by some of the participants who spoke to this reporter. According to Wanna Udobang, a radio presenter and producer at Inspiration FM, Lagos, ?Before the workshop I was just an instinctive writer. I was a less controlled writer, I didn?t always think about things like details. But now I?m refined. I now appreciate the beauty in the ordinary things. Before, I thought writing has to be on big things, ignoring those things such as childhood memories, which are so much more magical when you express them?.
Novuyo Tshuma, a Zimbabwean writer living in South Africa, was also not a proper writer before the workshop: ?I was a timid writer. I?ve always known I would like to write but I was really afraid to put everything into it, because people don?t take writing too seriously in Africa, we have other things to consider. But the workshop has given me a sense of grounding, a sense of identity and pride to be a writer. I now know that to succeed as a writer I need to be serious about it, no room for being timid.? She added that meeting writers she had only been hearing about has inspired her. ?I?m grateful to Farafina for this opportunity.?
Tracy Nnanwubar, who works with Goge Africa, said she had applied for the workshop in 2008 and 2009 but couldn?t get it. She applied consistently because she believed the workshop would be a great opportunity for her writing career. And she was very excited about the way it turned out: ?In the workshop, they take your work from where it is to where you want it to be. It gives you a direction. Now I?m sure I will be a better Chimamanda... [laughs] Chimamanda, I?m sorry-o! But the idea is for the student to be better than the teacher!?
Tesiro Dore, a Lagos-based lawyer and writer, was in last year?s workshop, and he said, ?This year?s edition is ten times better in terms of packaging; the hall is bigger and the hotel accommodation is lovely.? He gave kudos to Okey Adichie, the programme manager of the Trust, who is the brain behind the flawless logistics.
Going by Bakare?s promise, the organisational, and indeed other aspects of the programme, are expected to get even better for future participants as the Trust keeps exploring new ways of carrying on with this annual ritual aimed at promoting ?reading, writing, and a culture of social introspection and engagement through the literary arts?.
(c) Reported by SUMAILA UMAISHA in the New Nigerian newspaper of 12th June, 2010.
- Farafina Trust Workshop 2013: Call For Applications
Farafina Trust will be holding a creative writing workshop in Lagos, organized by award winning writer and creative director of Farafina Trust, Chimamanda Adichie, from August 6 to August 16 2013. The Caine Prize winning Kenyan writer Binyavanga Wainaina,...
- Nal, Nlng In Quest For Literary Excellence
L ? R: Prof. Ayo Bamgbose, Miss Siene Allwell-Brown, Prof. Ben Elugbe, Mrs. Mabel Segun, Prof. Ayo Banjo and Malam Denja Abdullahi at the opening ceremony Why does a book considered by the author as a masterpiece at times fail to make it in literary...
- Poetry: Sentinel Nigeria Spreads The Gospel
The 3rd of July, 2010 was a special day for the members of the Kaduna State chapter of Association of Nigerian Authors and writers resident in Kaduna, as Unoma Azuah, Professor of Creative Writing at Lane College, USA, lectured them on some vital techniques...
- Farafina's Window To The Publishing World
THE writer is often regarded as a lone figure in the process that makes him an author. Hence, in celebrating the author, the publisher is hardly featured in the success story. But the fact is, while the author is the source and central element in the...
- Ana, Atiku Promote Children Literature
It is a common knowledge that Children?s Literature is the least patronised literary genre in Nigeria. Nigerian writers tend to shy away from producing the genre while parents and teachers seem to care less. And those who care simply resort to foreign...
Literature
Farafina: Nurturing emerging writers (report)
Even though the age-long maxim that writers are born and not made still holds true, today?s writer who wishes to distinguish himself from the crowd can no longer afford to rely entirely on his creative instinct, given the increasing competitive nature of the teeming literary environment. To get attention in the busy arts and media traffic, powered by the ever advancing information technology, he needs to acquaint himself with some basic facts about writing; facts that would ignite his craft. This is the sacred duty the Lagos-based non-profit literary foundation, Farafina Trust, has taken upon itself through an annual international forum tagged Farafina Trust Creative Writing Workshop.
This year?s edition of the workshop, sponsored by Nigerian Breweries Plc, took place in Lagos from 20th to 29th of May, 2010. It was presided over by the award-winning writer and Creative Director of the Trust, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Other facilitators at the workshop were Chika Unigwe, Belgium-based Nigerian writer and winner of Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship for Creative Writing, Binyavanga Wainaina, the Caine Prize winning Kenyan writer, and Niq Mhlongo, a South African writer described by New York Times as ?one of the most high-spirited and irreverent new voices of South Africa?s post-apartheid literary scene?.
It was ten days of intensive study and significant discoveries about the art of writing for the twenty participants drawn from Nigeria and Zimbabwe. The exercise, which was held daily from 10 am to 5 pm at the Lagos Resource Centre, Victoria Island, was in form of an informal class featuring reading, discussion of fiction and non-fiction pieces produced by participants and renowned writers, and writing exercises based on the tips provided by the resource persons.
The instructions ranged from the need for the writer to, while writing, focus on the significant details of his subject-matter, to the need to avoid making his story too dramatic.
The views expressed by the resource persons were basically the same and were aimed at making the stories credible, entertaining, informative and, most of all, artistic. But each of them laid emphasis on particular aspects. For instance, Chimamanda?s focus was more on techniques that make stories believable, such as showing the subject-matter rather than talking about it. She observed that though works of fiction are from creative imagination, they have to reflect reality, else they become fictitious rather than fictional. According to her, the reader would be more convinced and involved if the writer describes the appearance of a character rather than simply stating that the character is beautiful or ugly. To practise this, each of the participants was asked to look in the mirror and describe his or her face. And the result was quite revealing!
Binyavanga was emphatic on the need for the writer to be a committed reader: ?You will be a better writer the more fiction you read. Those who don?t read fiction don?t write well. You can measure it mathematically. Read without discrimination. Read the books you think you hate, read the books that are too difficult. When you master the books you thought were too difficult, it means you?ve grown.?
To Chika, creativity means ?finding inspiration everywhere, finding a story in every incident that happens, taking notes and telling your stories all the time?. And in telling the stories, according to Niq, the writer should create ?real? settings.
Other tips from the facilitators included: ?write to express, not to impress?, ?don?t be conclusive or judgmental?, ?put the reader in the scene?, ?create emotions?, and ?be simple and concise?. Exercises were given to demonstrate some of the concepts.
The workshop sessions were intermittently graced by guests. One of such guests was Funmi Iyanda, presenter of the popular TV show, ?Talk with Funmi?. Addressing the participants, she acknowledged the fact that the past decade had witnessed a flowering of a new literary voice, particularly in Africa. But the challenge, she said, is how to marry literature and mass media as countries like America have done, selling their culture, their way of life through the mass media. To overcome this challenge she stressed, ?We need creative anarchy. There is so much of telling how we must be as against what is going on. And what is going on around us is amazing. Something transformational is happening and there have to be voices that will put it out there. Marry literature with mass media; make those stories accessible so that the woman who is out there with her children can get it, maybe as a movie. So that every Nigerian film you see, for example, will not be the one where a woman is a victim or an idiot?.
The socio-literary interaction among participants and with renowned writers was one of the most interesting aspects of the event. The interaction was not limited to the workshop sessions and venue alone. In the Lekki Waterfront Hotel, at Lekki Phase 1, where the participants were lodged, assignments and other literary and social matters were discussed over breakfast in the mornings and throughout the bus ride through the infamous Lagos traffic congestion to and from the workshop venue.
Participants also attended the monthly literary event, Book Jam, organised by Silverbird Lifestyle Store. The occasion, held on Saturday 22nd, at the book section of the store, along Ahmadu Bello Way, consisted of book reading, discussions, literary performances, book signing and raffle draw. Guest writers were Chimamanda, Binyavanga, Sade Adeniran and Chima Nwokolo. They all read from their works, except Chimamanda who read two of the best stories by the workshop participants, namely, Rayo Falade and Kesiena Eboh.
The subsequent Saturday witnessed similar event, but on a more grand style. It was a Literary Evening to mark the end of the workshop. The ceremony, open to the public, took place at Civic Centre, Victoria Island, with a cream of writers in attendance, including the celebrated Ghanaian writer, Ama Ata Aidoo, who was the special guest of honour.
The event began with a welcome address by Muhtar Bakare, Trustee of Farafina Trust.
Explaining the process by which participants for the workshop were selected, he said, ?When we sent out calls for participants, we had about 2000 applications and we chose 20 whose writings show a lot of promise. And we try to make sure that these 20 are representative of our diverse country. But we never sacrificed quality. None of these 20 talented and gifted writers was preferred. Everybody was here because he or she has something that we recognise and we want to assist in nurturing.?
He then expressed gratitude to Nigerian Breweries for their support and all the guests for coming, particularly Ama Ata Aidoo, who he had ?waited for thirty-five years to meet?.
In his own address, the Managing Director of Nigerian Breweries, Mr. Paul Hamers, said the workshop was part of the company?s efforts to develop Nigerian talents for development.
According to him, ?This is only the second year we have been a part of this initiative... and it is fast gaining recognition as one of the major platforms of skills development in the specialised area of learning?.
He assured that the company would continue to identify with the creative writing programme in line with its strategic vision for Nigeria.
Highlights of the event were readings by the workshop facilitators, Ama Ata Aidoo and others, and presentation of certificates to the workshop participants.
In her speech, Ama Ata Aidoo observed that writing is more than just black scratches against white surfaces. She said writings outlast us and it is universal, and called on everyone to make the statement that ?if you want to hide something from an African you should put it in a book? a piece of rubbish that it is.
Answering a question from a member of the audience on whether she and her colleagues on the high table see themselves as African writers, she said the ?African writer? label was insignificant, ?what matters is the commitment to the cause of writing, which is humanising the society?.
Chimamanda, who said she had been confronted with the same question several times, responded thus: ?There have been many labels like African writer, woman writer, but as long as I can define them for myself, that?s fine. But, if it becomes somebody saying to me because you are an African writer you cannot do this, then it is unacceptable?. Her colleagues spoke in the same vein.
It wasn?t all speeches and discussions, there were also things to eat and drink and music to dance to.
Two of the workshop participants, Lola Okusami and Bem Iordaah, thrilled the audience with scintillating musical performance. And Seun Kuti and the Egypt 80 Band rounded off the show with the Fela brand of Afro-beat.
The event finally came to a close with a scrumptious dinner same evening at Protea Hotel, Ikoyi Westwood.
The ten-day literary exploration was indeed a life-changing opportunity, as testified by some of the participants who spoke to this reporter. According to Wanna Udobang, a radio presenter and producer at Inspiration FM, Lagos, ?Before the workshop I was just an instinctive writer. I was a less controlled writer, I didn?t always think about things like details. But now I?m refined. I now appreciate the beauty in the ordinary things. Before, I thought writing has to be on big things, ignoring those things such as childhood memories, which are so much more magical when you express them?.
Novuyo Tshuma, a Zimbabwean writer living in South Africa, was also not a proper writer before the workshop: ?I was a timid writer. I?ve always known I would like to write but I was really afraid to put everything into it, because people don?t take writing too seriously in Africa, we have other things to consider. But the workshop has given me a sense of grounding, a sense of identity and pride to be a writer. I now know that to succeed as a writer I need to be serious about it, no room for being timid.? She added that meeting writers she had only been hearing about has inspired her. ?I?m grateful to Farafina for this opportunity.?
Tracy Nnanwubar, who works with Goge Africa, said she had applied for the workshop in 2008 and 2009 but couldn?t get it. She applied consistently because she believed the workshop would be a great opportunity for her writing career. And she was very excited about the way it turned out: ?In the workshop, they take your work from where it is to where you want it to be. It gives you a direction. Now I?m sure I will be a better Chimamanda... [laughs] Chimamanda, I?m sorry-o! But the idea is for the student to be better than the teacher!?
Tesiro Dore, a Lagos-based lawyer and writer, was in last year?s workshop, and he said, ?This year?s edition is ten times better in terms of packaging; the hall is bigger and the hotel accommodation is lovely.? He gave kudos to Okey Adichie, the programme manager of the Trust, who is the brain behind the flawless logistics.
Going by Bakare?s promise, the organisational, and indeed other aspects of the programme, are expected to get even better for future participants as the Trust keeps exploring new ways of carrying on with this annual ritual aimed at promoting ?reading, writing, and a culture of social introspection and engagement through the literary arts?.
(c) Reported by SUMAILA UMAISHA in the New Nigerian newspaper of 12th June, 2010.
- Farafina Trust Workshop 2013: Call For Applications
Farafina Trust will be holding a creative writing workshop in Lagos, organized by award winning writer and creative director of Farafina Trust, Chimamanda Adichie, from August 6 to August 16 2013. The Caine Prize winning Kenyan writer Binyavanga Wainaina,...
- Nal, Nlng In Quest For Literary Excellence
L ? R: Prof. Ayo Bamgbose, Miss Siene Allwell-Brown, Prof. Ben Elugbe, Mrs. Mabel Segun, Prof. Ayo Banjo and Malam Denja Abdullahi at the opening ceremony Why does a book considered by the author as a masterpiece at times fail to make it in literary...
- Poetry: Sentinel Nigeria Spreads The Gospel
The 3rd of July, 2010 was a special day for the members of the Kaduna State chapter of Association of Nigerian Authors and writers resident in Kaduna, as Unoma Azuah, Professor of Creative Writing at Lane College, USA, lectured them on some vital techniques...
- Farafina's Window To The Publishing World
THE writer is often regarded as a lone figure in the process that makes him an author. Hence, in celebrating the author, the publisher is hardly featured in the success story. But the fact is, while the author is the source and central element in the...
- Ana, Atiku Promote Children Literature
It is a common knowledge that Children?s Literature is the least patronised literary genre in Nigeria. Nigerian writers tend to shy away from producing the genre while parents and teachers seem to care less. And those who care simply resort to foreign...