A Book About Me.

Books do not speak on their own, they do not fight or use forcefulness. Rather they are constant in their truth, always saying what they intended to say from the start. The most powerful of weapons are words the kind that have the power to enact, to bring something personal and real into the homes of others. In consideration, the curriculum was never for our education nor our betterment. It was designed for indoctrination and simulation only. Everything was learned with difficulty and only kept in the mind for brief moments, merely crammed and rehearsed. The headlines should have been; there is no choice but to assimilate. But we are no longer hidden on the roads sculpted out by history. There is a fire, the start of something larger, of something boiling over without violence, bubbling from within and a little from the top. There is a growing and glowing in the hearts of African creatives. With inspiration rising, words are prepared and pictures left clear without false saturation.

Our past was written down by all the greats, from The River between to the African child, Things fall apart to No longer at ease. Everything in between had the right idea, it was a call for nationalism, for change, and the need to notice it. There is however still more to notice; voices that have not been heard before, women that have not been represented. The struggles have changed and will continue to do so. Thousands of poems stay unread flowing from the Nile and blowing in with the winds of the West into Nigeria and from the South, from the bottom to the top of the rest of Africa. Within books, the people of Africa should see themselves in a way only they can, African stories in African light.

Words are a representation, the eyes looking in and letting you know. In the pages of a woman, I realized that I had to speak up about the wrongs that had been done to me. In the words of a man, I began to understand my father and all his shortcomings. In the words of Africa, I realized this land was gifted, its waters were mostly fresh and the trees ancient. In the words of the people, I heard a voice of hope, a reminder that there was more to protect and threats to overcome. This is the power of literature, to inspire and bring back wonder. To power the brain back up through imagination, reminding the people again that a world exists, one where things may be a different way. Literature provides more than just one way to be. Hidden within its lines lies room for everyone in need of some space. I can know it is okay if I see that it is. Therein providing a sense of visibility.

The power to fashion and teach begins with the words we are willing to brand with our names. These words become the legacies we leave behind for our children. So, caution must be taken not to instigate hate or shame. Instead to represent and bring life, to renew hope and provide help. To find ways in which to teach our history and educate about the present. To tell the generations to come that the future begins the moment they are born and that they will have to protect the world they live in.

The duty to give a voice cannot fall to on-lookers. We do not sit in the forests and say this is the most amazing place in the world. I see challenges but the people are empathetic and the struggle clear. We do not stop there. Instead, we stir the pot, in small lumps and groups of people. Something in the youth rises. Representation starts with a volunteer. With someone who rises and pays tribute. With a single author that decides what is, isn’t enough!

You have been tasked with the truth. You have been called, given responsibility and the right time, blessed with knowledge beyond what you will ever understand. You do not know where all these things come from but you do not need to know. All that you have experienced has not been a test but marination, the right kind of preparation as you await transfiguration. That is all there is to do. It is not a larger truth about the secrets of life or the key to happiness, it is not that or this. It is what your heart tells you is true. It is the intuition that drives your hands to manifestation. It is the things you say and write down, they have power. It is the message you want to bring across, it is how you want the world to begin to see, all can be left for interpretation the baseline shall however remain. A reliance on truth will not lead you astray. Speak from your view and do not apologise for it, not even if it is different. This is the role of the writers, to write everything they can, to write honestly, and never stop. To tell the stories they might be ashamed of and wear our human mistake like a crown. To unify with words and to be empathetic with the lessons they teach.