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Zambian-American writer and author of The Lions’ Den, Iris Mwanza, is surprised by the rise of authoritarianism in the West: ‘The rise of authoritarianism in the West and how the institutional checks and balances designed to protect against it have failed us so quickly and easily have been very perp
Zambian-American writer and author of The Lions' Den, Iris Mwanza, is surprised by the rise of authoritarianism in the West: ‘The rise of authoritarianism in the West and how the institutional checks and balances designed to protect against it have failed us so quickly and easily have been very perplexing. This is particularly evident in the United States, and I am having a hard time unpacking exactly how, in a democracy, we can vote away our rights.’
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 loved to read while growing up and devoured anything I could get my hands on. While books were (and are) a luxury in Zambia, I was fortunate because both my parents worked for the university and books were always around us. Even so, I did not have a lot of children’s books, so I started reading adult novels and nonfiction very early because that was what was available at home and in the university library.
If your life so far was a series of texts, which text (fiction or non-fiction) represents you at this moment?
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About the Author
is an author and gender equality advocate. Born and raised in Zambia, Mwanza is the author of the legal thriller, The Lions’ Den, longlisted for the Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize and a TIMES 100 Must Read-Books of 2024. Mwanza has a PhD in international relations from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies and law degrees from Cornell University and the University of Zambia.
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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