This was such an intelligent article! As a U.S. writer and reader whose close relative has lived, studied, and worked in East and West Africa for 8 years, I found it a breath of fresh air, in the way that physical fresh air comes to renew us from all directions and perspectives. The omnipresence of cell phones, the dominance of WhatsApp and Telegram, the lack of WiFi access to many throughout the continent, the importance of social media platforms, rang entirely true. But I also responded to what Simango says about the NYT and big-name journals as gatekeepers. One of the reasons I love the Lit Mag News is that it encourages writers to find other venues in which to establish their reputations. Kudos to Audrey and to Becky for this piece.
The temptation is huge to do a riposte as an "African writer" on this platform but I'd rather not rain on the writer's parade. I'd just like to say that it's counterintuitive to say that consumers who access online resources via WhatsApp and Facebook are not using the Internet because it's on their cellphones.
Again the piece sets out on the worn path of criticising the phrase "African writing" when used in the generic sense only for it to fall for the same error as it talks about " Old school radio ... is a more important part of the future of African writing than are the equally old-school literary journals." Who says the Zimbabwean experience in literary evangelism via short wave radio signals is shared by Ghana and Nigeria, for example?
Literary journals and online access are not mutually-exclusive as the piece tends to presume. They cannot be compared with cell phone ephemera and textual limitations of Twitter and WhatsApp.
It's gratifying to know that the word is well and thriving in Zimbabwe using arcane technology and limited platforms. That's the beauty of diversity and necessity being invention's mother. But that certainly shouldn't be something more prosperous economies should go back to.
I think the New York Times was merely giving a heads-up to the expanding avenues for African literary publishing. But we can't run away from the standards-setting remit of foreign gatekeepers on African affairs. You don't want to profile how many African players at the coming FIFA World Cup who are not plying their stuff on the continent. Nuff said.
Wow, what a wonderfully sharp and scorching evaluation! There's lots here for all writers, anywhere in the world, to ponder deeply.
Thank you for publishing this. I think we need more critiques, analyses, and opinions like this in the literary realm.
This was such an intelligent article! As a U.S. writer and reader whose close relative has lived, studied, and worked in East and West Africa for 8 years, I found it a breath of fresh air, in the way that physical fresh air comes to renew us from all directions and perspectives. The omnipresence of cell phones, the dominance of WhatsApp and Telegram, the lack of WiFi access to many throughout the continent, the importance of social media platforms, rang entirely true. But I also responded to what Simango says about the NYT and big-name journals as gatekeepers. One of the reasons I love the Lit Mag News is that it encourages writers to find other venues in which to establish their reputations. Kudos to Audrey and to Becky for this piece.
Gratitude for this enlightening piece.
Great piece with some valid points.
The temptation is huge to do a riposte as an "African writer" on this platform but I'd rather not rain on the writer's parade. I'd just like to say that it's counterintuitive to say that consumers who access online resources via WhatsApp and Facebook are not using the Internet because it's on their cellphones.
Again the piece sets out on the worn path of criticising the phrase "African writing" when used in the generic sense only for it to fall for the same error as it talks about " Old school radio ... is a more important part of the future of African writing than are the equally old-school literary journals." Who says the Zimbabwean experience in literary evangelism via short wave radio signals is shared by Ghana and Nigeria, for example?
Literary journals and online access are not mutually-exclusive as the piece tends to presume. They cannot be compared with cell phone ephemera and textual limitations of Twitter and WhatsApp.
It's gratifying to know that the word is well and thriving in Zimbabwe using arcane technology and limited platforms. That's the beauty of diversity and necessity being invention's mother. But that certainly shouldn't be something more prosperous economies should go back to.
I think the New York Times was merely giving a heads-up to the expanding avenues for African literary publishing. But we can't run away from the standards-setting remit of foreign gatekeepers on African affairs. You don't want to profile how many African players at the coming FIFA World Cup who are not plying their stuff on the continent. Nuff said.
Hello, thanks for the great article.
I live in Belgium and would like to know more about Nozizwe Dube. The link is not working
https://www.areweeurope.com/stories/nozizwe-dube
Could you please provide the one you used as reference?