Today is all about Central Africa! We begin with a lovely thought from Sola Njoku. Sola, a Nigerian writer, is one of the contributors to our forthcoming release, Captive: New Short Fiction from Africa.
They say Africa’s internal borders are the straightest you will find on a continental map. Apportioned in a beeline manner in a land grab by those whose interest in the dark continent did not extend to its people. A Western European feast in Berlin that bisected families, clans and villages and rendered them strangers to one other. The aim to distort, estrange and control. Why? Even now, freed, we let these structures stand in our geography and in our imagination – a testament to how we have been turned against the ties that bind our hearts together to lean on the crutches that restrain our bodies and minds, for we must ideate one way or the other.
But when, awoken, I write and you read, and you write and I read, we gain enlightenment of our commonality and realise that we are all descendants of one undulating civilisation. Thus our shackles of oppression may fall away one mind at a time. So, my compatriot, write Africa, and read it even more. Let our imagination and hearts wander free to places that are truly ours, unrestricted by artificial structures, for have not our gatekeepers kept us apart for long enough? —Sola Njoku
We’re proud to publish Congolese illustrator Barly Baruti’s work here at Catalyst. His graphic novel, Madame Livingstone, written by Christophe Cassiau-Haurie and translated by Ivanka Hahnenberger, was praised by readers and critics. And earlier this year, Barly was appointed as the facilitator of partnerships and cultural relations in Europe by the Congolese Ministry of Culture. As part of this role, he’ll be working as a liaison between Europe and Congo to identify opportunities to work together on cultural events and for funding, and making “contact with public and private institutions in Europe with a view to identifying DRC cultural assets currently housed in public and private museums for repatriation.” It’s an important role, and one that is perfectly suited for him.
In the announcement of his role, Barly said: “It’s not about making history again, our historians take care of it so well […] I rather think of taking away the adjective “folkloric” that sticks to our skin every time it is our past. For culture encompasses arts and heritage, but also identity, millennia-old traditions and rich ancestral knowledge.”
For further reading:
The Luso-Brazilian Review, a publication by the University of Wisconsin, which “publishes interdisciplinary scholarship on Portuguese, Brazilian, and Lusophone African cultures, with special emphasis on scholarly works in literature, history, and the social sciences.
Zebra Comics, a Cameroonian publisher “founded in 2016 by a group of eight passionate creatives and lovers of art and stories, who sought to tell African stories in general, and Cameroonian stories in particular.”
And for our French speakers, Anthologie de la littérature et des arts tchadiens, an anthology featuring literature from Chad.
Book Riot, “12 Books in Translation From Central Africa”
