A Dearth of Readers

Tendai Huchu writing in Afro Futures:

Image courtesy of the BBC

It is not the writers but the readers who ultimately interpret and decide how valuable any brand of literature is. The truth is that western readers are crucial for any African writer who is looking for success today, and it is inevitable that the west will continue to determine the value and worth of literature from the African continent. As such this literature will continue to be judged and valued by western perceptions. The most prominent African writers today are those with a large readership outside of the continent, Teju Cole, Chimamanda Adichie, Irene Sabatini, Ben Okri and even the firebrand Binyavanga Wainaina all have a large following outside the continent and benefit from publicity in the Western media. As embarrassing as it is to admit, the simple fact is that whether or not the continent can produce millions of writers, it will not amount to anything until we actually have African Readers, African Readers who will ultimately determine the value of our continent’s literary output, if it is to continue as something beyond some exotic curiosity.

What good would Shakespeare be if he had no English readers, imagine Tolstoy outside of the Russian Cannon, Zola wouldn’t be French and Joyce would be some amorphous amphibian somewhere in the Atlantic. The truth is that literature from the African Continent will not amount to anything substantial if the continent does not begin to produce readers.

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via African Literature News and Review