Friday, February 6, 2009

Binyavanga Wainaina: “I am going to significantly impact world affairs”



38 years old a Kenyan author of various books Binyavanga Wainaina started to write at the time he was attending High School in Lenana Secondary School, in Nairobi.

His efforts made him to be well known all over the world after he received The Caine Prize for African Writing in July 2002 due to his short story known as ‘Discovering Home’.

The Caine Prize Award an Award for African Writers founded in England in 2000 is awarded annually to any an African short story writer, the story should be published. The name Caine came from the memory of the late Sir Michael Harris Caine former Chairperson of Booker plc for almost 25 years. (Source: www.caineprize.com)

Being an African Writer, Wainaina has an opportunity of being invited in so many Colleges and Universities in Africa and outside Africa for the purpose of facilitating trainees on the ABC of writing secret especially on African writing.

Wainaina in a way of showing that what he does and says about African Writing is serious, he has a book title “How to Write About Africa”. In one of the chapters of that book he insisted that when you writing about Africa always use the word ‘Africa’ or ‘Darkness’ or ‘Safari’ in your title.

He also said that I quote “Make sure you show how Africans have music and rhythm deep in their soul, eat things no other humans eat. Do not mention rice and beef and wheat...”, and he added that, he is going to significantly impact world affairs.

Writing about Africa needs a writer to make sure that he has all the loves with Africa, this can easily put on the reader. I t will be like a music or poem to a reader. You need to make on such a way that a reader has to have feelings of love to a mentioned continent or country.

The 2002 Caine Prize Winner, Wainaina further said that when you write about Africa you should build your characters according to African culture, for example, you can build your character as a man who can struggle day and night, this is according to www.granta.com.

Beautiful and all the attractive areas and things within Africa should be mentioned, this including animals like elephants. Descriptions of these airmails are very vital. For example you can explain about elephants as a nice animal who can provide manual composite and provide foreign currency as one of the tourists attractions. The animal also can be trained and make funny to viewers as well www.binyavangawainaina.com.

I brief I would like to say that, it is good to praise our African writers for the good job.

No comments:

Post a Comment