Author of ‘and the earth drank deep’ and winner of the 2022 Commonwealth Short Story Prize, Ntsika Kota, had never seriously considered publishing his writing. In his experimental, prize-winning short story, he ‘wanted to explore the consequences of essentially switching off an anatomically modern human’s empathy in a pre-historic environment—right at the dawn of the human species.’
First Draft is our interview column, featuring authors and other prominent figures on books, reading, and writing.
Our questions are italicized.
What books or kinds of books did you read growing up?
When I was young, I really enjoyed science fiction. Off the top of my head, I can name Isaac Asimov’s Foundation books and Arthur C. Clarke’s Rama books as two book series that made a huge impression on me. I loved nothing more than being transported to fantastic worlds—still do.
Without doubt, there are dozens of other stories that influenced me whose titles and authors I’ve forgotten. I’m sure if I had kept a reading journal at the time, I would be able to list dozens of books that showed me fundamentally new ways to look at the world, which is what I’ve always loved about science fiction.
If your life so far was a series of texts, which text (fiction or non-fiction) represents you at this moment?
At this point, I’d say my life would be represented by some sort of free form narrative. Nothing with a well-defined plot or theme. The kind of story that is more a series of vignettes than a cohesive hero’s journey or anything like that. The sort of story that brings joy through...
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