We spoke to Dr. Lizzy Attree, a faculty member at RAUL who teaches on our first-year liberal arts module, Narratives of Change, about her research and the importance of African literature.
‘Narratives of Change’ asks students to question their understanding of the world, featuring texts from all over the globe, inciting discussion around race, technology, the environment, gender, and other crucial topics. RAUL has a majority international student base, which makes class discussions an enlightening and unique experience.
Dr. Attree’s longstanding interest in promoting African literature is because, “It’s a gap in most people’s knowledge.” Her mission in her wider research is to elevate it as a crucial part of world literature; with 55 countries across the continent, there are so many unique voices to be heard.
African literature award
Dr. Attree founded the Safal-Cornell Kiswahili Prize for African Literature in 2014 with Dr. Mukoma Wa Ngugi, an annual award where the winners receive a combined $15,000 and entries are considered for post-event publication.
Ten years on and the 2024 awards ceremony was held recently in Nairobi, Kenya.
The Prize was created to celebrate and award African Literature, and particularly to “encourage translation from, between, and into African languages.” There are several award categories: Fiction, Poetry, Short story collections and memoirs. Entrants submit the content themselves, as Dr. Attree says, to stop “gatekeeping” in literature awards and move away from convoluted bureaucracy.
Hoping it would have as much reach as possible, Dr Attree and Dr. Mukoma chose to take submission of entries in Kiswahili because it is one of the most spoken languages across Africa. The UN states: “Language is not merely a tool for communication, but the bearer of a whole nexus of cultural expressions and conveys identity, values and visions of the world.” The popularity of Kiswahili across the world speaks for itself; UNESCO designated 7th July as Kiswahili Language Day in 2021, “the first African language” to be recognised “in such a manner” by the UN, and is spoken by more than 200 million speakers across the globe.
Q: Do you feel the submissions for the awards have changed in 10 years?
“Young people, particularly, have started to submit more “experimental” poetry, embracing offbeat creative expression. There’s also been a steady interest from submissions in crime and detective fiction, with an increase in interest of women’s issues in all categories, which is a positive sign.”
Q: Any advice for aspiring university students, writers, and literary scholars?
“Learn to value the act of reading, engage with it, and naturally, read as much as you can. Learning to read and write well is critical skill that expands well beyond aspiring literature researchers.
I want to learn more about African Literature. Where do I start?
Dr. Attree’s Starter Pack:
- Paradise (1994) by Nobel Prize winner Abdulrazak Gurnah which has just been translated into Kiswahili as Peponi
- Half of a Yellow Sun (2006) & Americanah (2013) by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- The Rosewater Trilogy (2018-2019) by Tade Thompson – for Sci-Fi fans!
- River Spirit (2023) & The Kindness of Enemies (2015) by Leila Aboulela
- The City of Kings Trilogy (2018-2022) (bundle released 2023) by Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu
Dr. Attree is the director of Short Story Day Africa. A new short story collection, “Captive”, is being published in March/April this year.
