On Rereading Classics — Changes by Ama Ata Aidoo.
I do not believe there is an 'African way' of writing, however, I can argue the fact that there is some distinctness that exists—overtly or not—between Western prose and prose from African writers.
As a Creative Writing student, I have often engaged in discussions about form, style, and what it means to write from “home”—writing in a style that is distinct to my culture/influenced by my subject matter. I do not believe there is an African way of writing, however, I can argue the fact that there is some distinctness that exists—overtly or not—between Western prose and prose from African writers. And I say this, careful not to join the ongoing debate about the fact. But it is the truth.
I frequently reflect on the notion that possessing a distinct style—however one defines it—may not suffice in the competitive landscape of commercial book publishing. That my readers might not be in the Western market, especially for my ongoing novel. I sometimes get a sense of this from my workshops.
While my workshop environment itself does not impose, because the program understands the importance of diverse styles and backgrounds and therefore, encourages accommodation for these, I fear have been impressionable in my thinking. Or maybe not.
“Maybe if I try to write like them, they will get it”. I mostly conclude.
It has been a battle—a minor one, I must add.
Ergo, I find the need to reread classics lately a useful exercise.
Reading Changes by Ama Ata Aidoo has reminded me of what it looks like to be authentic in your style, be unique in your voice, stay close to your roots (not being too impressionable to please the Western market) and still amass a global readership.
Safe to say this conversation extends beyond the quality of writing or any perceived shortfalls in her prose—if there are any. I know for sure mine does lol—but the fact that when you pick Ama Ata Aidoo’s works, you immediately know there is something unconventional about it. Something unapologetic about its existence, in whatever form or style. And that is the beauty of my encounter with her and other great writers from Africa, lately.
In Changes, Ama Ata Aidoo inaugurates a new realist style in African literature. Aidoo’s portrayal of contemporary life in Accra offers an authentic depiction of the societal and personal challenges her characters navigate.
Aidoo develops a narrative voice that combines empathy with critical observation. This nuanced tone enables readers to engage deeply with the characters' struggles while also encouraging reflection on broader societal issues. For example, Esi’s choice to leave her first marriage and enter a polygamous relationship is presented with both understanding and critique. Aidoo does not merely present these decisions as right or wrong but instead explores their complexities.
Changes has this distinctive narrative style, which forfeits conventional prose style to embrace a form that is not “prose-like”. It reads like someone has sat you down to tell you a story with no care for flowery language, yet not devoid of literariness, a style reminiscent of oral storytelling traditions.
Getting re-introduced to her “style” of writing—or at least, of writing Changes—has reminded me of what is important. And it is not style—and whether or not readers can relate to it.
What have you read recently that has got you thinking—about anything?
Thank you! 💪🏿🖤
I have not read anything by the author you discuss, but the distinction that you find between prose written by African authors and prose written by Western authors is elusive. Just as Irish storytellers composed their stories in Gaelic until the rural population of Ireland learned English in the 20th century, Ghanan storytellers in the 20th century switched from African languages to English. It may appear that qualities of the earlier cultures in both British colonies (Ghana & Ireland) were lost when storytellers switched to English, but there are always carry-overs from the earlier cultures. The syntax of English as written or spoken by writers from Ireland is noticeably distinct from the syntax and diction of writers born in England whose contact with Celtic culture is little more than familiarity with the Arthurian legends. There is no uniformity of prose across all Western dialects of English: London English, Scottish English, Welsh English, Irish English, American English, Canadian English, Australian English, South African English. The prose of Ghanan writers of English is one more written variety of English to add to the list of Western varieties. You may have had to answer an exam question asking you to identify the English dialect of various prose passages, maybe a paragraph from Dylan Thomas, a paragraph from Mark Twain, a paragraph from Charles Dickens, a paragraph from Alan Paton, a paragraph from Sir Walter Scott, a paragraph from James Joyce, a paragraph from Chinua Achebe, a paragraph from V.S.Naipal; for extra points you would have to name the prose feature of the paragraph that gave away the writer's dialect of English. It is almost regrettable that the higher education of African writers of English prose at British universities has brought about a levelling of their dialects with those of their fellow students born in the British Isles in the same way that Oscar Wilde worked to lose his Irish accent while he was at Oxford and teased about it. His mother in Dublin was among the leaders of a movement among Irish Protestants and Catholics to revive Gaelic just as it was losing ground to English. Wilde expunged all traces of Gaelic prose syntax and diction from his English prose style as from his speech, but his fairy tales may have been inspired by stories in English that he heard at his mother's knee or his nanny's. The distinctness that you sense exists between African prose writing and Western prose writing is overt at the level of dialect, by which I mean the idiosyncratic diction and syntax of the prose dialects of written English. That is the overt distinction of the African prose dialect. The more subtle distinctions between African prose and Western prose are a topic for a dissertation. An accountant in Accra shares much in common with accountants in London, Dublin, New York, Sydney, and Edinburgh, but his society and background have much less in common with theirs beyond speaking & writing English. The historical background of Accra's society does not show up in the words of a sentence written by a Ghanan author, but it is always there BETWEEN THE LINES & BETWEEN THE WORDS.