African women and the burden of creative writing

By Christine Mautjana

It is rather exciting that many young South African Black women interested in arts and culture now regard me as something of a role model after I published my first book – which is actually a series of interviews with writers. Many are putting me on a pedestal, which I do not deserve.

The truth is I am just like everybody else – largely ignorant, but willing to learn. I must confess that I used to be very intimidated too as regards literature in particular until I mixed with academics, even professors, and discovered that even they were very ignorant in certain spheres. How much more myself?

As a woman the scope and breadth of literature, in Africa specifically is breathtaking. I am happy to have contributed my small quota in this wise but it is just a humble beginning. The first obstacle is that I am quite young and I have to do my research about the literary past but even this can only be tentative. Also, should one focus on South Africa alone (narrow-minded, really) or Africa? I prefer our continent when it comes to our writers.

But let us start with female writers. Perhaps black female writers. As a South African woman I know now that our icons include illustrious names like Miriam Tlali, Lauretta Ngcobo, Sindiwe Magona. I have tried to at least read samples of their work.

Mama Ngcobo is very polished and suave; Magona strikes me as a woman who has performed miracles – somehow overcoming great poverty during apartheid (including three young kids) to travel overseas and become one of our great writers. Read her early works and how she struggled to feed her kids and you burst into tears; not to talk of the lot of “domestics” over the years…

Then there are other great black African female writers, including those living overseas. From neighbouring Zimabawe the late Yvonne Vera, and Tsitsi Dangarembga have gone down in history. What about Buchi Emecheta and (the young) Helen Oyeyemi – both based in London – who are already part of English literary canon?

As women there is also this impediment of feminism. Women these days are expected to be beating the drum of women’s rights and all that goes with it; but unfortunately this can be counter-productive. Feminism is a complex series of ideas that can be confusing. Let us not confuse this with a fringe male minority doing terrible things to women (eg rape) What do women want? True lasting love; or just exploiting men?

This brings Nadine Gordimer to my mind, the first African (and South African woman) to win the Nobel Award for Literature. She has over the years been criticized for allegedly not supporting women’s rights or feminism which is absurd. Her literary achievements speak for themselves. It seems to me that the great lady is being attacked for nothing. What do women really want? Are we losing or gaining from this so-called feminism?

I mean I am proud to be a black woman. In South Africa women continue to perform wonders, including very young and young women. We see how we work so hard to develop ourselves, take care of our loved ones. Yes there are some obstacles but should we exaggerate them? Can we in all honesty say that our sex counts against us? Are there not so many outstanding women doing great things in their field, including literature? Like Angela Makholwa a relatively new outstanding black female writer.

In my book, there are many black Free State writers featured. They include Nthabiseng jah Rose Jafta who is now making waves (with two female poets) after putting together the book, Free State of mind. Three bright black young ladies. Can we accuse them of not grabbing opportunities open to them? No.

(Christine Mautjana is the editor of the book, Interviews with Effervescent Writers. Mbali Press. 2012)

Pule Lechesa refuses to be carried away by the hype over Free State of mind

In his ground breaking masterpiece, The anatomy of female power, the great African intellectual, Chinweizu explains the awesome covert and overt methods women utilise to get their way.

These methods often result in males being somewhat brainwashed and definitely brow-beaten to toe the line. Alas, the responses to the book, Free State of mind show that not even literature is immune from this influence!

It is almost pitiable when a literary protagonist like Mathene Mahanke admits in his appraisal of the book thus:
“As a literary critic, when one is confronted with a fresh publication of the calibre of ‘Free State of Mind’ from the pens of three women of a reputable pedigree - Nthabiseng JahRose Jafta,Rita Chihawa and Lebo Leisa - with the introduction written by a fascinating poetess, and the foreword by a literary giant, one gets intimidated.... One gets intimidated when Napo Masheane says “There is something powerful when women voices come together like a spider web. Because once the spider’s web has begun to weave its base... God, the universe and our ancestors send a thread. There is something magical, almost unbelievable when hands of women find words between their fingers...” Programme Director, ladies and gentlemen, one gets intimidated when Omoseye Bolaji says, “These are powerful female voices and bards who have a lot to say, encapsulating and ventilating their experience in a manner we must all learn from. Hearken them!” .... It’s intimidating...”

Intimidation! What a confession. It is a sad day indeed when critics are inadvertently swayed from following the path of integrity. The most sickening review quote on this book was by poet Hector Kunene who wrote
inter alia –

“This work is a scintillating piece of art, a buffet of healing herbs, a gigantic step to make a declaration of militant statement, a pillar of strength indeed for women...”

But thereafter there is nothing in his review to justify such high praise, no salient examples from the text, the poems, to whet the appetite. Such gushing, childish praise drags our literature into the gutter.

Sabata-Mpho Mokae also finds himself joining the chorus of praise-singers. He rehashes what others have said about the book, eg Napo Masheane who claims, "There is something powerful when women's voices come together...there is something magical, almost unbelievable..."

Yet the fact is that there is nothing magical about this work. The poems here are essentially simple and average. The only magic here is managing to intimidate and hoodwink so many reviewers!

We are also reminded that Bolaji describes this work as a "literary repast" - I indicated years ago in one of my books that Bolaji has always been prone to over-praise female writers, a tendency the late, great Katherine Mansfield disliked in many male writers. But is it not part of the general intimidation?

If we look beyond the hype, the truth is that three young ladies have come together to publish their fair poems. There is nothing earth-shaking about their poetry, nothing that warrants going into raptures, or over- praising their book.

I do not believe much of this work is real poetry. For example, lines like –

“ She took her time to open her brown bag, that she


heavily carried on her back, long distances to walk....

“With this black pen, I will write my love for him,
I see him in my dreams...”

Need we pretend that that this is quintessential poetry?...

Rather, let us just encourage the ladies to keep on progressing. They are far from being the finished
article, no matter how much we might be intimidated!

References

1. The anatomy of female power. By Chinweizu. Published by Pero Press. 1990

2. The evolution of Free State Black writing. By Pule Lechesa. Phoenix Press. 2006.

3. The collected letters of Katherine Mansfield. Oxford, Clarendon, 1984.

1987

- Pule Lechesa