Novelist and author of Like a Mule Bringing Ice Cream to the Sun, Sarah Ladipo Manyika, wants young authors in Africa and the African Diaspora to take inspiration from a wide array of art forms: ‘Use all the tools available to improve your craft. Be innovative, be new! And when a door opens for you, hold it open for others. We all stand on the shoulders of giants and we’re stronger together than on our own.’
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?
Thanks to my mum, I read many Puffin classics. I loved the miniature Beatrix Potter books, Richard Adam’s Watership Down, and tales of Brer Rabbit. As a child, I was a voracious reader, of books and of people, and still am an inveterate eavesdropper and people-watcher. Snippets of overheard conversations and the faces of people not usually noticed often inspire the stories I write. Wondering about other people’s life stories is what I do.
If your life so far was a series of texts, which text (fiction or non-fiction) represents you at this moment?
In these tumultuous times, I keep returning to James Baldwin’s essays and in particular to his Notes of a Native Son. He reminds me of the importance of holding on to two seemingly contradictory ideas at the same time: staying committed to the struggles against injustices while keeping one’s heart free of hatred and despair.
What’s the last thing you read and disagreed with?
I tend to disagree with most end-of-year ‘best of’ arts lists, not so much for what’s on the lists but for what gets overlooked. In the realm of recent films for example, I would have loved more attention to Steve McQueen’s Small Axe series, especially his sonic and visual gem, Lovers Rock and the same for Jeymes Samuel’s directorial debut, The Harder They Fall, a casting tour-de-force. On the writing front, Yewande Omotoso’s novel, An Unusual Grief—a book about friendship, sex, grieving, domesticity, and depression is one that deserves more attention.
You’re also interested in film. What book would make a great film or drama series?
Oh, there are so many! When I think of feature films, I imagine the intense drama of Nawal El Saadawi’s Woman at Point Zero; the quiet grief, as well as the eroticism of Yewande Omotoso’s An Unusual Grief; the forbidden wartime love story of Chinelo Okparanta’s Under the Udala Trees. Short stories such as Segun Afolabi’s ‘Monday Morning’ would also make for powerful and timely feature length films. In the realm of a TV series, I think of Wole Soyinka’s political satire Chronicles From The Land of the Happiest People On Earth and NoViolet Bulawayo’s Glory, which might also lend itself to an animated film. There are so many exciting prospects within the genre of documentary films too. Take Hugh Masekela’s Still Grazing—how visually and sonically fabulous such a film could be.
I’d also love to see my novels adapted for the screen. In Dependence as a feature film, and Like a Mule Bringing Ice Cream to the Sun, as a TV series. Film broadens and expands our access to stories and opens many new possibilities for creative work.
I tend to disagree with most end-of-year ‘best of’ arts lists, not so much for what’s on the lists but for what gets overlooked.
What’s the last thing you read that changed your mind about something?
Henry Louis Gates Jr’s op-ed piece in the New York times, Who’s Afraid of Black History? didn’t change my mind on the topic but it brought much needed perspective and insight to the current curriculum debates in the US.
What is your writing process: edit as you write or draft first, then edit?
Much to my detriment, I tend to edit while I write. I’m trying to change that for the novel I’m currently working on so that I draft first and then edit.
What was your process for writing your debut novel In Dependence?
The 1960s struck me as such an exciting decade in which to start the novel—it was the time of independence movements across Africa, the Civil Rights movement in the US, and various countercultural movements across Europe. Artists ranging from Bob Dylan to Fela Kuti and the Beatles were amongst many to herald this change. But because I hadn’t lived through this decade myself, I had to do a lot of research for In Dependence for it to feel as historically authentic as possible. I loved the research which included reading back issues of local magazines and newspapers and interviewing people who’d lived through the period.
How similar or different was it from the writing process of your second novel, Like a Mule Bringing Ice Cream to the Sun?
For my second novel, I did almost no historical research. With Like a Mule Bringing Ice Cream to the Sun I played much more with form and with voice than I’d done in the past. As such, it was particularly gratifying to have the novel shortlisted for the Goldsmiths Prize, a prize that rewards innovative approaches to fiction.
Like a Mule Bringing Ice Cream to the Sun is the story of individuals struggling to find their place within uncertain political times. What inspired this story?
Whenever I can’t find stories that I want to read, I try writing them for myself. In this case, I’d met many older women who’d lived colorful lives and yet when it came to fiction, I didn’t find stories that mirrored these lives, especially so when it came to the lives of Black women.
The 1960s struck me as such an exciting decade in which to start the novel—it was the time of independence movements across Africa, the Civil Rights movement in the US, and various countercultural movements across Europe.
Your latest book, Between Starshine and Clay, documents conversations with some of the most distinguished Black thinkers of our times, including Toni Morrison and Wole Soyinka, on race, decolonisation, systemic inequalities, and the climate crisis. What inspired this work?
This book came out of a personal search for greater perspective, inspiration and hope in the context of the current turbulence of our world. I’ve had the great privilege of getting to know the twelve people featured in this book, which allowed me to go beyond their public profiles to the more intimate conversations. They’ve all been an inspiration to me and as such I wanted to share their stories more widely.
And what’s one thing about the reactions to the book that surprised you?
I’ve been surprised by how many young people as well as people who are not from the African Diaspora have found this book an inspiration and a comfort.
What is the most meaningful piece of writing advice you’ve ever received?
Paraphrasing Toni Morrison, if there’s a book you want to read and cannot find, write it!
And what advice can you give to young authors in Africa and the African Diaspora?
Resist the temptation to write stories you’re expected to write and take inspiration from a wide array of art forms. Use all the tools available to improve your craft. Be innovative, be new! And when a door opens for you, hold it open for others. We all stand on the shoulders of giants and we’re stronger together than on our own.
I’d also like to play more with the new tools of artificial intelligence (AI) and have more conversations with writers about the future of writing in this age of AI, not just about what we might lose but what we might gain too.
What’s the best book you read in 2023?
I don’t have a single best book, but I enjoyed and learned a lot from the following: actor David Harewood’s memoir: Maybe I Don’t Belong Her: A Memoir of Race, Identity, Breakdown and Recovery; poet Hanif Abdurraqib’s Go Ahead in the Rain: Notes to a Tribe Called Quest; and travel writer, Noo Sara-Wiwa’s Black Ghosts: A Journey into the Lives of Africans in China. I also enjoyed re-reading Hugh Masekela and Michael Cheer’s fabulous Still Grazing: The Musical Journey of Hugh Masekela. I also read a number of great manuscripts including two brilliant chapters from my brother’s work in progress: Common Property: An Intimate History of the 20th Century.
What book or text are you looking forward to reading in 2024?
I love the innovative nature of Olumide Popoola’s writings across literary genres and so I’m very much looking forward to her forthcoming novel, Like Water Like Sea. I am also looking forward to Hala Alyan’s new poetry collection: The Moon That Turns You Back.
And what’s a writing goal you have for the new year? Are there specific genres or styles you want to explore in your writing in 2024?
My main goal is to make progress on my current novel. I’d also like to play more with the new tools of artificial intelligence (AI) and have more conversations with writers about the future of writing in this age of AI, not just about what we might lose but what we might gain too.
Which author are you excited to read for the first time in 2024?
I like to be surprised and am therefore thankful to publications such as this one (The Republic) for highlighting new authors for us all.
What’s a book on your bookshelf that might catch people by surprise?
I have a number of books in other languages—aspirational books for when my language skills improve enough to be able to read them. I’m particularly keen to read more books by African authors that are not yet translated into English. The two that currently sit on my desk are translations from other European languages: La sombra de la Mulemba—Cuentos Africanos Lusófonos and Matemáticas Congolesas by Koli Jean Bofane. I would love to add to my bookshelves, many more books published in African languages.
What is your favourite topic to write or read about these days?
I’m thinking a lot about the fraught state of our world including the wars in Ukraine and in Gaza. I’ve just started reading The Ukraine by writer Artem Chapeye, who is currently fighting for his country, as well as The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine by Rashid Khalidi. I’m also re-reading David Grossman’s To the End of the Land.
What are you currently working on
I am currently working on a novel set in London about a musician finding his mojo in later age.
Question from Leila Aboulela: Which book have you read more than twice?
Toni Morrison’s novel Home for the immense power of her story and the exquisite beauty of her language. I’ve read, re-read and listened to the book being read by the author.
Bonus: Please suggest a question for a future author’s First Draft
When was the last time you failed or faced rejection as a writer and how did you cope with it and what did you learn from the experience?
Who do you think we should interview next?
Oh, there are so many! But to name just a few: Yewande Omotoso, Olumide Popoola, Nadia Davids, Brian Chikwava, Marie N’Diaye, and Patrice Nganang⎈
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