LAUREL FOR HECTOR KUNENE

Hector Kunene, poet and author, says:

'I would love to officially announce that I won the Maun International Arts Festivals Poetry Slam competition that took place here in Botswana few hours ago. To the organisers Poetavango Spoken Word Poetry, I am out of words and very grateful for the opportunity given to many of us around the continent, thank you so much. I'm looking forward to my performance this coming Friday here still on the main Poetry night. It's been really amazing, thank you God, thank you South Africa, Thank you family. I am!'
Photographer : Lattimore and team

THE ADVENTURES OF SOUZA. By Kola Onadipe

'How do we determine what is a 'classic' in any literature? In the western world works written by Mark Twain (eg Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn), Stevenson (Treasure Island, Kidnapped), Alice in Wonderland etc are stated to be classics as far as children's literature is concerned. Alas in Africa we often sell ourselves short, or even undermine ourselves in inane fashion, mainly due to a chip on the shoulder mentality, or inferiority complex. Happily enough, many African readers having read countless works published by both Eurocentric and African writers –  do not have such complexes. Nor the group of young readers at the time (of youth) who enjoyed such African works written by our African writers. Among such works for children The adventures of Souza will take pride of place - a magnificent, relevant book for young African readers. Pure entertainment and didactic to boot; a work which we read again and again during childhood,  even as we enjoyed our 'Enid Blyton's' too. Souza's adventures in this book are compelling, rooted in reality, in the cunning and confusion of blossoming African youths. The depiction of adventure, excitement, plot, planning, the bush, forest, the heat - and yes the horror and pain sometimes - made one break out in cold sweat intermittently... And it also propelled one to read the book again, and relish others of its ilk written by other African writers. An extraordinary work for African youth' - Malome

ONITSHA MARKET LITERATURE. By Emmanuel Obiechina

'It is reassuring that academics and scholars like the author of this work can intermittently focus on such literary phenomena which might otherwise not have been recorded; to wit, Onitsha Market Literature. The high-brow cynics might sneer, but what is literature if not the interesting dissemination of creative, imaginative pertinent writing enjoyed by a (large) number of people? When Onitsha Market literature was at its peak decades ago, a large number of books with local colour was published regularly; many teeming readers availed themselves of the opportunity to buy these works and enjoy them; literacy was boosted in the process; and many writers emerged... Alas, this is no longer the case in most African communities. Reading books for leisure has become a rarity, for both young and old - very privileged – and when it exists at all, an expensive process. Hence the importance of Onitsha Market Literature at its apogee. The process, and phenomenon is well recorded in this work. The Introduction by the author is most enlightening, and in no way patronizing; the author acknowledges the importance of this Literature, pointing out the features, major works, and the fact that there is plenty of literary merit - and freshness - in the works published. And perhaps most important, the author reproduces a varied selection of such works in the second part of this book. By the way, Cyprian Ekwensi, one of the all-time greats of African literature, early in his career was proudly published by "Onitsha Market" publishers...' - Malome

GANYESA BUBBLES AS TIISETSO THIBA PUBLISHES DEBUT BOOK

The author, Tiisetso Thiba (left) and publisher Hector Kunene - proudly launching the book,  LET'S TAKE A WALK, MAMA at Ganyesa (South Africa)