While writing her novel, His Only Wife, Peace Adzo Medie, discovered Toni Morrison’s quote, ‘If there’s a book you really want to read but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.’: ‘it resonated with me,’ Medie said. ‘One of the reasons I wrote this novel was because I was hungry for stories about my hometown and of the ordinary in people’s lives in Ghana.’
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?
I read a lot of North American and European children’s books; they were more widely available. When I was about ten, one of my uncles gave me a set of beautiful clothbound children’s classics, including titles like Heidi, King Arthur, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain, and Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift. I read them until they began to fall apart and traded them with friends for other books. But I also read a lot of the adult books that were widely available in Ghana: John Grisham, Danielle Steele, Judith Krantz, etc. I also went through a stage in my early teens where I was really into books about the mafia, after reading Mario Puzo’s The Godfather.
You’re a novelist but also a lecturer in gender and international politics. What’s a novel everyone should read before taking your class?
Tsitsi Dangarembga’s Nervous Conditions is a good one. The exploration of gender norms and relations offers lessons that are relevant to most societies.
And what three books/texts are your students currently reading?
Next week we are studying Feminist Methodologies and International Relations. Three texts on the syllabus for the week are: Yacob-Haliso, Jumoke, ‘Intersectionalities and access in fieldwork in postconflict Liberia: Motherland, motherhood, and minefields,’ African Affairs, 118, 470 (2019): 168 – 181; Ackerly, Brooke and Jacqui True, Doing feminist research in political and social science. London: Red Globe Press, 2010; Motlafi, Nompumelelo, ‘The coloniality of the gaze on sexual violence: a stalled attempt at a South Africa–Rwanda dialogue?’ International Feminist Journal of Politics, 20, 1 (2018): 9–23.
If you could rewrite a classic book/text, which would it be and why?
There’s not one I would like to rewrite. Rather, it would be most of the historical academic texts on Africa that among other flaws, silenced Africans, especially women. While writing my doctoral dissertation on the response to violence against women in Liberia, I was struck by the paucity of books and other texts written by Liberian women in those early years. I also thought about how illuminating many of the books would have been if they centred Liberian women and their perspectives about their society and country.
While writing my doctoral dissertation on the response to violence against women in Liberia, I was struck by the paucity of books and other texts written by Liberian women in those early years.
What’s one way the pandemic has changed your reading tastes/habits?
It’s been difficult to find time to read during the pandemic. The time spent on teaching and administrative work ballooned during this period, leaving little time to do much else.
Which three books should we all be reading at this moment?
Claudia Rankine’s Citizen: An American Lyric is a powerful exploration of race relations in America. It came out in 2014 but remains highly relevant. Adom Getachew’s Worldmaking after Empire: The Rise and Fall of Self-Determination offers a new and essential reading of decolonization and anti-colonial thought. Wayétu Moore’s memoir, The Dragons, The Giant, The Women, is a lyrical and poignant account of her experience of war, displacement, and migration from Liberia to the US as a child. I lived in Liberia during parts of the war so some of it felt familiar. The book holds important lessons for how we understand war, displacement, and migration, especially as they affect children.
What’s a recent book/text you disagreed with, and why?
A text I strongly disagree with is the ‘Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill 2021’. Among other things, this draft legislation seeks to criminalize LGBTQ+ relationships and advocacy around the rights of sexual minorities in Ghana. It is dehumanizing and discriminatory, and if passed and enforced, will result in a violation of people’s rights. This proposed legislation should not be passed into law.
What’s the last book you read that changed your mind about something?
I’m reading Kwasi Konadu’s, Our Own Way in This Part of the World: Biography of an African Community, Culture, and Nation. He describes his approach to studying communities as ‘communography’ and shows a way in which we can write about people who do not appear in archives. Due to one of my research projects, I’ve become very interested in creative ways of writing about historical figures and I’m finding books like this helpful.
What is a common misconception about Ghanaian literature?
I don’t know of a common misconception. But I would like to say that there is a lot of exciting fiction being written by Ghanaian authors, including Ayesha Harruna Atta, Maame Blue, Martin Egblewogbe, Nana Oforiatta Ayim, and Nii Ayikwei Parkes.
Which three books on/from Ghana should everyone have on their bookshelves?
There are a lot of good books being published on/in Ghana and it’s hard to limit it to three. But some books that I want to recommend: Ayii Kwei Armah’s The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born and Ama Ata Aidoo’s Our Sister Killjoy are classics. I’m looking forward to the publication in 2022 of Yepoka Yeebos, Anansi’s Gold: The Man Who Looted the West, Outfoxed Washington, and Swindled the World.
And what’s the most noticeable change you’ve recently observed in Ghanaian/African writing?
There’s more variety in the stories being written, which is just greatly needed. The literary space is expanding to include a diversity of voices and perspectives. We are slowly seeing people and places that were not as visible in our books.
Due to one of my research projects, I’ve become very interested in creative ways of writing about historical figures.
What’s your writing process: edit as you write or draft first, then edit?
I edit as I write. I try not to do this because it really slows me down but usually when I open a document, I will go back to read and edit the previous chapter, or at least the last few paragraphs, before I start with a new paragraph. This means that I spend more time editing than writing in most of my writing sessions. I read somewhere that it’s a good practice to mark where you stop at the end of the day and continue from there when you open the document again. I’ve tried doing this but the urge to re-read and edit is strong.
What was your process for writing His Only Wife?
I do a lot of my planning while walking. This includes coming up with the story and mapping out specific scenes. I need to be on my feet while doing this so a lot of this happens while I’m pacing at home or out walking. I’m very productive when there’s grass and trees.
I began thinking about His Only Wife while writing my doctoral dissertation in 2011 but wouldn’t begin seriously putting words on paper until late 2012. I had to combine this with academic research and writing, as well as teaching and administrative work. This meant that I mostly wrote the novel between four and six in the morning and at weekends. It took about five years to complete a full draft.
What’s something you wish more people knew about writing a novel?
That writing a novel is fun. I think we hear a lot about the hard parts but not enough about how enjoyable it is. I stumbled into writing fiction and stuck with it because of how much I enjoyed the writing process. I read so much as a child that the library and my parents couldn’t keep up with me, so I started writing my own books. I would later read them, pretending they were written by some else (because who wants to read their own writing!) I started doing this when I was about ten and continued to write even when I had more books than I could read, because I discovered that writing fiction could be just as exhilarating as reading. And I’ve done it ever since.
And what’s something interesting you learned while writing His Only Wife?
It confirmed that I can’t trust myself to write what I plan. His Only Wife began as a story of a young woman living in the US, but my characters take over and do as they please with the stories.
I do a lot of my planning while walking. This includes coming up with the story and mapping out specific scenes. I need to be on my feet while doing this so a lot of this happens while I’m pacing at home or out walking. I’m very productive when there’s grass and trees.
What’s the most meaningful piece of writing advice you’ve ever received?
I’ve read many words of wisdom from Toni Morrison. One of her quotes that I especially appreciate is ‘If there’s a book you really want to read but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.’ I came across it after I began writing His Only Wife, but it resonated with me. One of the reasons I wrote this novel was because I was hungry for stories about my hometown and of the ordinary in people’s lives in Ghana.
What’s more important to you: the story or how it is written?
Both are important. A story with the potential to be gripping can be poorly written and therefore, put off the reader. At the same time, I tend to abandon books that are beautifully written but can’t get me to care about the story or the characters. I think I’m cheating here but I care about both.
I’ve read many words of wisdom from Toni Morrison. One of her quotes that I especially appreciate is ‘If there’s a book you really want to read but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.’
Who is an author you wish you had discovered earlier?
Octavia Butler! I recently read Parable of the Sower and it was a wild ride. I wish I could read it again for the first time. I recently had a dream in which the cover of Kindred made an appearance! I can’t wait to start it.
What is your favourite topic to write or read about these days?
I’m reading a lot about women traditional leaders in Africa because I’m part of a research team that’s studying women traditional leaders in Botswana, Liberia, Ghana, and South Africa. Despite the central role they play in many societies, women traditional leaders have not received much attention in academic literature, so there aren’t many books devoted to them. I’m writing a book on the topic and have benefited from several articles, including: Manuh, Takyiwaa. ‘The Asantehemaa’s court and its jurisdiction over women: A study in legal pluralism,’ Research Review 4, 2 (1988): 50–66; Matemba, Yonah H. ‘A chief called “woman”: Historical perspectives on the changing face of bogosi (chieftainship) in Botswana, 1834-2004,’ Journal of Culture and African Women Studies 7 (2005): 18-29; Odotei, Irene K. ‘Women in male corridors of power.’ In Chieftaincy in Ghana, edited by Irene K. Odotei and Albert K. Awedoba, 81–103. Accra: Sub-Saharan Publishers, 2006.
Despite the central role they play in many societies, women traditional leaders have not received much attention in the academic literature, so there aren’t many books devoted to them.
What can we expect you to write about next?
My book on women traditional leaders in Africa will be my next monograph. And I’m working on my second novel. It’s about friendship, which I think is very important, and should receive more attention in literature.
As we end the year, which text(s) would you say shaped your 2021?
I’m still reading and will have an answer when 2021 ends.
And this time next year, what’s something you hope to have changed, or hope has changed in your life or work?
I would like more time for my work. More time to conduct research, to sit with my ideas, to write. I dream of having time.
Question from Saratu Abiola: When you’re experiencing a block, what leads you back to the space where you can create?
I haven’t yet experienced writers’ block. I always have lots to write. The challenge is finding the time to write.
Bonus: Please suggest a question for a future author’s First Draft.
Which book most made you want to be a writer?⎈
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