Hi All,
Literary academics who work with me have been expressing growing interest in ethnic writers who write original stories in modern-day, British English (as opposed to their local simplified/broken versions). I have the starting draft of my potential paper The Mis-representation of Ethnic Cultures in Modern Literature. Please share ideas and good reads in this discussion, and express your interest in co-authoring with me. Some of my colleagues say the authors we shall be quoting will also have the opportunity for their books to be made into film. On the other hand, there is a lawyer in my group who would be using the the paper to sue authors that misrepresent ethnic tribes, to pump any dollars charged back into the tribe. Please say something.
This is a good project and I am interested in it. I will like to see your "starting potential paper" and a blue print on how I can come into the project.
Divyajyoti Singh and Solomon Awuzie Okay, I will keep you both posted. Meanwhile, if you have some book titles with a bit of YOUR culture (in English) that we can read, analyse and quote in the paper. This will be something big. Please take this action now so I might have some time to prepare, as I am also busy with my day job.
Wish you all the best luck. And be in touch for your progress in the work
Dear members: Ghadah Marie Solomon Awuzie Divyajyoti Singh I will be sending a draft for us to co-author a paper titled "Representation of Indigenous Cultures in Contemporary Fiction". You will choose or suggest which section you would like to work on. For instance, a particular member's section might be literature review, or my and one more member's section may be "Multicultural Scenarios". Please send three sub-topics for the paper and we can decide which I should include in the draft. I am also in touch with some NGO's and a law firm which will be able to fund this if we produce a good paper, and that would later engage some of you co-authors in various ways. As for the word files, we can share them here every two months for me to manually paste and join and then send out a new version. It might take about five iterations, but a year flies so fast.
Dear members/potential co-authors,
@Francis Uche has sent three references/sub-areas:
1. Oracular Proclamations or Human Frailties: Misrepresentation of god's Message in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart and Arrow of God
2. The Demonic Perceptions of Ancient Landmarks in Nigeria Home videos known as Nollywood
3. Women as Voiceless Objects in African Literature
Please send yours, so that we can choose at least one from each person. Please encourage one another. We have this opportunity to use our academic minds to better marginalised cultures. Making the world a better place is in our own hands. I have added @Francis Uche as a co-author in the draft, and listed his topics. He will be working on Only one of his topics. However, each member will have to read all subtopics on the final manuscript so we don't have any conflicts of interest. Thanks.
A Nice project indeed, I would love to be the part of this project.
In Chinua Achebe's 'Things Fall Apart', Okonkwo beats his wife in one occasion - for destroying a banana tree. How would this influence your trust to give the hand of your European (or westernised) daughter to a man from Umofia (or Ambanta). Are human beings becoming too sensitive nowadays, even to the depiction of cultures in fiction? If you were Achebe and alive nowadays, and you've just been watching a youtube wedding which failed or was almost called off due to a scene in your novel, what would you do? 1. Make a video to explain that it was only fiction (though Achebe himself once wrote severally that his aim was to make the story as realistic and convincing as possible); 2. Use the proceeds of the book to sponsor a cultural group in Umofia (or Ambanta) which portrayed their men as kind and respectful to women? 3. Both. If you were the father of a groom whose marriage was affected, would you sue Achebe (if he were still alive)?
Dear all,
This discussion seems fascinating.
I wish to join the endeavour.
I also have a powerful paper I am writing, and it is almost done. It is on the subject of whether African authors would benefit more by aiming for British English and gain international readership, or they should remain in their comfort zones and write in African English. Chinua Achebe was of international standard, and spoke almost like the British, wrote almost like them. He is well referenced in my paper.
I am being delayed because there is a powerful writer whose book I ordered to red and I would like to reference it, but it seems it has been suspended because his writing would change the way Africans look at writing fiction.
Anyone in this group want to read the abstract of my paper?
If you have a lot to offer, then you may show your interest. Will se how it goes, but can't promise too much.
Okafor.
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