Writers and Wars...

Okay here we go again, just stumbling on interesting issues on our website trips. We came across Mantle Thought and that's thanks to Tolu Ogunlesi's Facebook status. The objective of The Mantle is "to provide a forum for the next generation of leaders to be heard—to provide a space for opinions that are different from those found in traditional, established outlets." You may also be interested in contributing to Mantle Thought. 

The latest 'roundtable' discussion is about writers and wars. Really what's the role of a writer in conflict? Maybe as a writer you've never thought about it--things look so great and a war just isn't on your mind; or you are one of the good optimists that wave off conflict. The thing is whether we accept it or not, there are conflicts in the society, no matter how small they are. Read the thought-provoking contributions here--Tolu Ogunlesi's Art is A Debt We Owe;Vicente Garcia Groyon's We Must Bear Witness and Sehba Sarwar's For Choice. 

Remember that a huge part of Nigerian literature is dedicated to the Biafran Civil War. But that's not all the conflict we've had to deal with. And yes, war, like bad news sells! But how do you stay true to the issues at hand--who is the hero? Who is the villain? How do you portray humans during wars--as there's more to it than the guns? What's writing without 'conflict' anyway? Writers are supposed to be witnesses, aint they? Should a writer sit on the fence? Jump into the war like Christopher Okigbo or fight with words till they are jailed like Wole Soyinka? What say you--what's the role of a writer in conflict? 

Books that Made A Difference...

"Be as careful of the books you read, as of the company you keep; for your habits and character will be as much influenced by the former as by the latter."--Paxton Hood

"A book is a version of the world. If you do not like it, ignore it; or offer your own version in return."--Salman Rushdie, O Magazine, April 2003

I read O Magazine last week cover to cover (and don't ask me why I talk as if I read it only once a year!). It's thanks to the fact that it costs a price heavy enough to dig a hole in my pocket when I see it at the Galleria or other such places where you find foreign mags. I'd rather buy two books for the price of one mag (Hmm, books versus mags--a discussion for another day!).

Okay away from my rant. I was drawn by a magnetic pull to the 'Books that Made a Difference section'. The concept of books making a difference actually got me thinking--how much difference can a book make? Can it be drastic enough to make someone start a holy war or just a gentle nudge that makes one smile?

Having loved books for a great part of my life it's quite hard to tell. It usually seems that I love different books for different reasons. Hmm, difference? I've read books that have made a difference in my life, as it were but it's not as if I read them after reading the blurb and felt 'Whao this book has gotta make a difference!' Some were borrowed; others bought; some were gifts; some I can't even find again or remember where I read them. Sometimes, it's very much later, days, months or years even that an action, a situation, an attitude or a reaction gets me thinking about a certain character or some words written in a book. But I know of course that books make a difference.

Now you tell us--what books made a difference in your life? How and why? What appealled to you most about the books that makes you consider them your difference-making-books?

Read Jay z's Books that Made a Difference here.

Of what use is language anyway?

I came across Le Clezio's Nobel Lecture again recently and found it very profound. And I think every aspiring writer should read that because it brings to fore the main questions we do not consciously ask ourselves. Particularly, the significance of language to any society caught my attention, and it emphasises that a writer preserves language even as (s)he uses it:

The writer, the poet, the novelist, are all creators. This does not mean that they invent language, it means that they use language to create beauty, ideas, images. This is why we cannot do without them. Language is the most extraordinary invention in the history of humanity, the one which came before everything, and which makes it possible to share everything. Without language there would be no science, no technology, no law, no art, no love. But without another person with whom to interact, the invention becomes virtual. It may atrophy, diminish, disappear. Writers, to a certain degree, are the guardians of language. When they write their novels, their poetry, their plays, they keep language alive. They are not merely using words—on the contrary, they are at the service of language. They celebrate it, hone it, transform it, because language lives through them and because of them, and it accompanies all the social and economic transformations of their era.

That's what Le Clezio thinks, now you tell us, what does language mean to you? What connection do you see between a changing society and its language? Is there any connection between literature and language? Do writers have any commitment to the preservation of the language of their people? Does it make any difference to you whatever language a text is written in? Let us know...

WHY DO YOU WRITE?

We happened on (sounding Shakespearean) a Guardian UK piece about Kate Atkinson's ideal writing situation: "to have enough money … [to] write and not be published". Her latest crime novel, When Will There Be Good News, won the best book of the year gong at the British book awards; she is also a Whitbread prize-winner Kate Atkinson.

Very odd, aint it? Why would anyone write and not want to get published?

Some writers write because that's the best thing they can do; others see writing as a means to survival; while yet another see it as a way to be heard, a means of emotional and psychological release.

On Bookaholic Blog, we write because we love arts and would love to spread some writerly love to all ye art lovers So to the question and away from my ranting: why do you write?

9 Writers, 4 Cities: The Book Tour