South African
writer, Niq Mhlongo has been dubbed “the new voice of post-apartheid South
Africa” though it’s a description he’s not that comfortable with. His four
books: Dog Eat Dog, After Tears, Way Back Home and his short story
collection that recently came out, Affluenza, are set in Soweto, where
he was born and raised. The books deal with issues facing the people there,
issues such as unemployment, xenophobia, HIV/AIDS, corruption, and racism. His
books have been well received and widely reviewed, with his first book Dog Eat Dog being
translated into Spanish and going on to win the Mar Des Lettras literary prize
in that country. He’s a highly entertaining participant at literary festivals
around South Africa, the continent, and overseas.
Mhlongo received a
BA in African Literature from the University of Witwatersrand and went on to
study law at the University of Cape Town. He never finished his course to
become a lawyer and instead took time out to write his first book Dog
Eat Dog, which was published by Kwela (as all of his books are) and the
rest, as the say, is history.
I interviewed him
recently about his writing, his country and his current book tour.
Your books illustrate many of the
problems in South Africa, the “rainbow nation”. Do you think your books can
help heal your country?
…South Africa is also known as a ‘rainbow
nation’. But looking into this concept at face-value, it romanticizes our
nation by suggesting that all is well in this beautiful land. But the realities
are shocking, as we face serious problems of racial tensions, unemployment,
corruption, land redistribution problems, economic inequalities, failing
education systems, homophobia, xenophobia, and so on. My books tackle these
problems head-on, and my hope is that they contribute in this ongoing debate. I
can only wish that after reading my books, people will interrogate themselves
and be inspired to live positively.
You have quite an extensive book
tour for Affluenza, is that common
with Kwela? It seems to be only cities though, do you think SA publishers could
do more for the rest of the country? What role should publishers have to develop
the market they sell to?
Some of the events are organized by Kwela, and some I get invited to
participate by literary festivals, book clubs, and private organizations. But I
must say that Kwela has come to the party with Affluenza, including assigning me an excellent publicist. Indeed
this is not common with Kwela, but I think it’s a positive thing going forward
and taking literature to new heights. I’m also concerned that these events are
only in Joburg, Cape Town and Durban so far, and focus only in the urban
communities and not rural. I think it’s also about the question of buying
power, and economic inequalities that still need to be addressed in order to
level the playing fields. As much as I think SA publishers could do more for
the rest of the country, I think it would be unfair to expect publishers alone
to change the status quo.
How do you feel South African
publishers relate to readers north of your borders?
Well, in my opinion I don’t think there’s any
relationship going on at the moment. Or if there is such relationship, I don’t
think it’s an active one. South African publishers are more concerned with
European and American markets, which is a serious concern. …I guess one of the
reasons is that the South African publishing industry is still largely
white-owned. Their knowledge and relationship with other African countries is
poor.
Do you think an integration of
the various book markets in Africa is important? If so how do you think it
could be done? Was the old Heinemann series on the right track?
One of the greatest achievements of the
Heinemann series was forging strong relationship between Lusophone,
Francophone, and Anglophone African communities. I first came into contact with
Lusophone and Francophone communities through the work of the likes of Camara
Laye, Ferdinand Oyono, Pepetela, Honwana, etc... I’m imagining the time when
South Africa publishers would, for example, make sure that my work is
accessible to both Lusophone and Francophone African communities. This can only
happen when publishers work together around the continent. Not everyone can
make inroads into the European market.
What advice would you give an
up-and-coming African writer, advice you wish you might have got when you
started out?
Be careful not to give away all your rights
when you sign a contract with a publisher. Get good advice from other authors
because some publishers are hell-bent. Keep reading work by African
authors.
(This column was first published in the 17 June 2016 issue of Mmegi, in my column It's All Write)
