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Mauritian novelist, Priya Hein, hopes readers discover unknown aspects of Mauritius through her debut novel, Riambel: ‘I hope that my readers will appreciate seeing another side of Mauritius other than the glossy brochures used to lure tourists to our island. There is so much more to Mauritius if one is willing to look deeper and scrape off the layers.’
Most of the books I read as a child were borrowed from the library and I loved inhaling their familiar musty scent.
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About the Author
has published several children’s books and short stories, and has contributed to a number of anthologies. Her debut manuscript, Riambel, won the 2021 Jean-Fanchette Prize, chaired by J.M.G Le Clézio, winner of the Nobel Prize for literature.
Nigerian novelist, poet and author of Graceland, Chris Abani, does not believe ‘Nigerian literature’ exists as a category: ‘It is a common misconception that there is a fixed category that can be read as essentially “Nigerian literature”. Nigeria has 500 nations, 500 languages and about 2,000 dialects. While culture and language can overlap, the level of diversity is such that Nigerian literature cannot be easily narrowed down.’
For the co-founder and publishing director, of Cassava Republic Press, which marks its 20th anniversary this year, Bibi Bakare-Yusuf, it is telling that African literature is often pronounced dead in recent years, when more women and queer voices are becoming more prominent: ‘The loudest obituary writers about African literature tend to be men. These elegies seem to come from a tacit sense of personal or generational displacement rather than from the actual state of the field.’
Nigerian poet, novelist and author of Madame Sosostris and the Festival for the Broken-Hearted, Ben Okri, argues that Nigerian literature doesn’t always have to be about Nigeria: ‘Nigerian literature limits itself to Nigeria and then limits even the ways in which the country can be written about. What we want is a vast literature, a great literature…that speaks to all humanity.’
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