A Conversation with Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi

University of Nairobi, 2019

In contrast to the dominant conceptualization that writing is happenstance or largely an inspiration, the author explores the art of inscription by arguing that modern writing and publishing take a lot of determination and effort. Writing is not primarily a linear process but rather one that is intricately social, as the writer seeks meanings and application in this unsought transition; it is not only personal and familial but also broader and extended into various spheres (social, cultural, political, economic, and career). In this view, writing is situated as an interpretive and communicative activity. Subsequently, the author, using his personal experience in writing, explicates the social constructionist model of writing in which the narrative processes occur between the author and the reader. The multilevel phenomenon in a world with immense information draws on individual self-narratives that must be organized into life experiences. There are several considerations in different cultural contexts, but there is coherence within the prevailing orderliness. Still, writing is an interpretive and communicative activity. Even then, the structure of writing must display high levels of consistency with popular literature. The model provides the content and context by which meanings are found, appropriated, and assembled and thus assists potential authors in negotiating in the intimate interpersonal domain of their field.

EJOTMAS: Ekpoma Journal of Theatre and Media Arts, 2020

A writer anywhere must have roots and familial relationships. In a general sense, it is the energy derived from friends, family or society that drives the human spirit. A major role the family has in the life of a writer is giving him or her space. What this means is that a literaryfriendly family will not come between the writer and his/her writing. When he/she is engaged with writing, the writer’s family excuses him/ her from domestic and other duties. It is also beneficial when the writer is surrounded by a wife/husband and children who are wonderful readers. It is the relevance of the family that inspired this research. The paper investigates how culture, society and the family are significant in the life of every man or woman. It focuses on the experiences of writers in their home countries and overseas. The author discovered that writers in 17th century Europe worked closely together. The practice has hardly caught on among Nigerian writers. The writer could hardly find instan...

This thesis explores the contribution of creative writing to the interdisciplinary academic field of Development Studies. The theoretical framework of the thesis is guided by contemporary development perspectives, notably the concept of empowerment within Gender and Development literature, which emphasise the importance of seeking women's voices and listening to their views on issues of concern for themselves and their , communities. Reading women's creative writing is one way of hearing women's voices. Three novels by African women are examined for their insightful treatment of education, a key development issue. These novels are The Joys of Motherhood by Nigerian writer Buchi Emecheta, Zimbabwean writer Tsitsi Dangarembga's Nervous Conditions, and Our Sister Killjoy by Ama Ata Aidoo from Ghana. Educational themes that feature in the discussion and analysis of the novels are the constraints that African women face in making decisions about their daughters' futures; the sexism and alienation that girls encounter in their pursuit of Western schooling; and a critique, in the context of neocolonialism, of the educated African elite who emigrate to developed countries, constituting a "brain-drain".

2014

Studies Frances Stallworth acknowledges "the contemporary mode of the letter format" which Maraire uses. Stallworth also associates Maraire with "other post-modernist writers such as Amy Tan in [The] Joy Luck Club, Alice Walker in [The] Color Purple, and Paula Marshal in her trilogy…" (228). There is some attention to language. Pamela J. Olubu Smith in World Literature Today notes the book's "humor and pathos" with "language [that] is poignant [and] simple." She also acknowledges "the tone is conversational, one of ease, providing a sense of immediacy and connectedness" (212). Appreciation of literary techniques is also discernable in reviews of Imagine This. Jamieson Villeneuve, critiquing Imagine This in The San Diego Chronicle, focuses on character portrayal. His review dealt with how three-dimensional Lola, the narrator, was. "I am haunted by her; by the sound of her voice in my head, her words on the page, it's hard to believe that Lola does not really exist. It's hard to believe that I can't reach out and touch her. This is the power of Adeniran's amazing first novel." Tola Ositelu of Pambazuka News: Pan-African Voices for Freedom and Justice also comments on the astute portrayal of the narrator's developing psyche in Imagine This, as "a little girl of great social awareness who can articulate her feelings of discontent in a way that intimidates those around her." She notes that, as the narrator matures, "the novel shows a more philosophical Lola." She critiques the Yoruba chapter markers as "a bit too laboured." Despite some critics' discernible notations of literary techniques, an observable amount of fixation with autobiographical connections or with geographical categorization exists, detracting from realization of these works' artistic merits. Certainly Maraire and Adeniran do want to inform readers about their countries. They present specific topics relating to their countries, such as Zimbabwe's history of liberation and child abuse in Nigeria. While the setting

A look at the 2010 Caine Prize Winner for Short Stories written by an African writer in the English language