Gods and Soldiers (53 page)
Authors: Rob Spillman
Â
The South African novelist and short story writer
Ivan Vladislavic'
's most recent book is
Portrait with Keys: The City of Johannesburg Unlocked,
a series of 138 nonfiction portraits of his hometown, a widely praised portrait that won the
Sunday Times
Alan Paton Award for Nonfiction. Vladislavic' works as an editor and writer in Johannesburg.
Ivan Vladislavic'
's most recent book is
Portrait with Keys: The City of Johannesburg Unlocked,
a series of 138 nonfiction portraits of his hometown, a widely praised portrait that won the
Sunday Times
Alan Paton Award for Nonfiction. Vladislavic' works as an editor and writer in Johannesburg.
Â
Abdourahman A. Waberi
has written nine works of fiction, two of whichâ
The Land Without Shadows
and
The United States of Africa
âhave been translated into English. From Djibouti, which gained its independence from France in 1977, Waberi came to France when he was twenty-one, and now teaches English in the French city of Caen.
has written nine works of fiction, two of whichâ
The Land Without Shadows
and
The United States of Africa
âhave been translated into English. From Djibouti, which gained its independence from France in 1977, Waberi came to France when he was twenty-one, and now teaches English in the French city of Caen.
Â
Binyavanga Wainaina
is the firebrand editor of
Kwani,
a young Nairobi-based literary magazine at the heart of the burgeoning Kenyan literary scene. He won the Caine Prize for African Writing in 2002, and his memoir,
Discovering Home,
is due out from Graywolf Press in late 2009. Wainaina's stingingly smart satire “How to Write About Africa,” originally published in
Granta,
has become a touchstone for young African writers.
is the firebrand editor of
Kwani,
a young Nairobi-based literary magazine at the heart of the burgeoning Kenyan literary scene. He won the Caine Prize for African Writing in 2002, and his memoir,
Discovering Home,
is due out from Graywolf Press in late 2009. Wainaina's stingingly smart satire “How to Write About Africa,” originally published in
Granta,
has become a touchstone for young African writers.
1
It is important to note that the word “Bamileké” does not exist in any of the languages of the groups who are designated by it, and thus it is not a designation intrinsic to the groups thus identified.
2
L. S. Senghor, “Comme les lamantins vont boire à la source,” in
Poèmes
(Paris: Ãditions du Seuil, 1974), pp. 165-66.
Poèmes
(Paris: Ãditions du Seuil, 1974), pp. 165-66.
3
R. Ellison,
The Collected Essays
(New York: John Callahan, 1995), p. 185.
The Collected Essays
(New York: John Callahan, 1995), p. 185.
4
M. Beti, “Conseils à un jeune écrivain francophone ou les quarter premiers paradoxes de la francophonie ordinaire,” dans
Africains, si vous parliez
. Homnispheres, 2005, 0.112.
Africains, si vous parliez
. Homnispheres, 2005, 0.112.
5
Trans. A rank of professor in the French university system.
6
W. Soyinka,
Myth, Literature and the African World
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1976), p. 135.
Myth, Literature and the African World
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1976), p. 135.
7
Ibid.
8
On the relationship between “negritudé” and “ivoirité” see U. Amoa, “Libre opinionâLettre ouverte aux ivoiriens: Vive le changement . . . attention aux changements!” in
L'Inter,
Abidjan, January 3, 2000.
L'Inter,
Abidjan, January 3, 2000.
9
L. Borne, cited in V. Zmegac,
Geschichte der deutschen Literatur vom 18. Jahrhundert bis zur Gegenwart
(Koenigstein: Athenaeum Vg., 1984), p. 283.
Geschichte der deutschen Literatur vom 18. Jahrhundert bis zur Gegenwart
(Koenigstein: Athenaeum Vg., 1984), p. 283.
10
A. Ricard,
La Formule Bardey. Voyages africains
(Bordeaux: Confluences, 2005), p. 196.
La Formule Bardey. Voyages africains
(Bordeaux: Confluences, 2005), p. 196.
11
M. Beti, “Conseils à un jeune écrivain francophone,” op cit., p. 112.
12
L. S. Senghor, “L'Absente,” in
Poèmes,
op cit., p. 108.
Poèmes,
op cit., p. 108.
13
Ngūgī wa Thiong'o,
Decolonizing the Mind
(London: J. Currey; Nairobi: Heinemann Kenya, 1986), p. vii.
Decolonizing the Mind
(London: J. Currey; Nairobi: Heinemann Kenya, 1986), p. vii.
14
“La France accusée de genocide,” in
Mutations,
Yaoundé, June 6, 2006 [
www.quotidienmutations.net/mutations/32.php?subaction=showfull&id=1149568971&archive=&start_from=&ucat
+32&].
Mutations,
Yaoundé, June 6, 2006 [
www.quotidienmutations.net/mutations/32.php?subaction=showfull&id=1149568971&archive=&start_from=&ucat
+32&].
15
A. Mbembe, “La France et l'Afrique: décoloniser sans s'auto-décoloniser,” in
Le Messager,
September 27, 2005 [
www.lemessager.net/details_articles.php?code=109&code_art=8290
].
Le Messager,
September 27, 2005 [
www.lemessager.net/details_articles.php?code=109&code_art=8290
].
16
“Cameroun: Lutte d'indépendance: les vétérans camerounais exigent des réparations,” in
Le Messager,
Douala, June 2, 2006 [http://fr.allafrica.com/stories/200606020628.html].
Le Messager,
Douala, June 2, 2006 [http://fr.allafrica.com/stories/200606020628.html].
17
Trans. “Resistance movement,” here specifically that of '56-70.
18
A. Mbembe,
La Naissance du maquis dans le Sud-Cameroun, 1920-1960
(Paris: Karthala, 1996), p. 438.
La Naissance du maquis dans le Sud-Cameroun, 1920-1960
(Paris: Karthala, 1996), p. 438.
19
Trans. “Nobody's colony.” Slogan of the UPC before 1960. Note that many Cameroonians continue to write the name of the country with “K,” as in the German “Kamerun,” to mark this moment of rupture.
20
In English in the originalâTranslator's note.
21
In English in the originalâTranslator's note.
22
A Season in Paradise,
trans. Rike Vaughan (New York: Persea Books, 1980), p. 156.
trans. Rike Vaughan (New York: Persea Books, 1980), p. 156.
23
The True Confessions of an Albino Terrorist
(New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1985), p. 280.
(New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1985), p. 280.
24
Return to Paradise
(New York: Harcourt Brace, 1993), pp. 31, 201, 214, 215. The book appeared in Dutch before it appeared in English. The Dutch text is considerably longer. Passages cut include reminiscences of bohemian life in the Cape Town of the 1950s and of Breytenbach's travels in Africa.
(New York: Harcourt Brace, 1993), pp. 31, 201, 214, 215. The book appeared in Dutch before it appeared in English. The Dutch text is considerably longer. Passages cut include reminiscences of bohemian life in the Cape Town of the 1950s and of Breytenbach's travels in Africa.
25
Ibid., pp. 158, 160, 196.
26
Ibid., p. 123.
27
Ibid., p. 75.
28
Ibid., pp. 4, 27.
29
Ibid., p. 74.
30
Dog Heart: A Memoir
(New York: Harcourt Brace, 1999), p. 180.
(New York: Harcourt Brace, 1999), p. 180.
31
Ibid., p. 136.
32
Ibid., p. 145.
33
Ibid., p.60.
34
Ibid., p. 175.
35
Ibid., p. 1.
36
Ibid., p. 84.
37
The Memory of Birds in Times of Revolution
(London: Faber, 1996), p. 105.
(London: Faber, 1996), p. 105.
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