'AFRICAN WOMEN WRITERS ARE WORLD CLASS' - Lupna Avery

AFRICAN WOMEN WRITERS ARE WORLD CLASS' - Avery

Lupna Avery, ardent reader and reviewer, unashamedly admits that she is "crazy over African female Writing" . She also vouchsafes that nothing pleases her more than "learning something new about African literature generally on a daily basis". She has no doubt that lady writers in the continent can hold their heads high anywhere.

Q: You were saying earlier that it worries you that your knowledge of African female writers seems to be concentrated "in just a few countries"...?

LUPNA: It appears so, unfortunately. I mean in Nigeria here, there've been so many fine women writers over the years. Pioneers like Flora Nwapa, and Zulu Sofola. But there are many others from Nigeria, like Adaora Lily Udasi, Buchi Emecheta, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Mabel Segun... from Ghana, names like Efua Sutherland, and Ama Ata Aidoo are illustrious.  South Africa has many: Miriam Tlali, Sindiwe Magona, Bessie Head, Laureta Ngcobo. And from Zimbabwe, Tsitsi Dangarembga and Yvonne Vera easily come to mind. Afterwards, it might not be easy to mention outstanding female writers from other over 40 to 50 African countries!!

Q:  Do you think female writing is undermined in our continent?

LUPNA: I do think so, it is often done insidiously and in ignorance, mainly by men. You hear very well-read men saying something like, "Yeah I know she's a creative writer. I have not really read her books, but i don't like her!"  How can you put down something you have not even read? Then there is the belief that a woman writer should limit herself to topics like being a mother - a good mother of course, from the perspective of men, the children, taking care of them, cleaning the house etc. I was surprised that even in the western world not so long ago, women writers were viewed with suspicion; hence the Bronte sisters' writings which were quite tame, alarmed many. The world for long apparently could not understand that women were human too, with their own feelings and beliefs.

Q: But it's the modern world now, and women are free to write what they like. Will you say current African women writers are inhibited, even if they were in the past?  Which books written by them have impressed you most in recent times?

LUPNA: (smiling) When you read anything written by Adichie, you realise she is easily one of the best in the world; I read her Americana at least twice and it is spellbinding and comprehensive, including the sex there (laughter). Her talent and awareness as a writer is total. Tsitsi's Nervous Conditions has always been a classic, which one can always see by reading the book. Unigwe’s recent On Black Sisters Street is fantastic too, you can see the immense research that went into writing this book on prostitutes overseas. I have been lucky to read a superb novel written by a black S.A. woman recently - Deepest Springs, by NMM DUMAN. It has it all, the plight of women, even in southern Africa, rustic settings, vistas and layers of impressive narration and situations. ..So our women writers in Africa continue to be outstanding - like the young Nigerian lady who published the novel, Stay With Me (Ayobami Adebayo). Our women are world class! (Laughter).