by Rosamond S. King, Ph.D.
Adapted from a Presentation at a University of The Gambia Seminar Co-Sponsored by The US Embassy in The Gambia, 23 May 2007, Kanifing
Usually when I tell someone I am researching Gambian literature, their response is – is there any? Unfortunately, even other Gambians are not aware of our novels, poems, and plays. There is indeed Gambian literature, and it includes more than 75 texts published over 200 years! This brief essay, adapted from a talk I gave in May at the University of The Gambia, will share with you some of my research – an overview of the literature’s history and its current trends. In the original talk I also showed clips from some of the more than a dozen interviews I conducted, dvd copies of which are now part of the National Library’s Gambiana collection.
The title of this talk is taken from interviews I conducted with Nana Grey-Johnson and Swaebou Conateh. When I asked Grey-Johnson to describe the state of Gambian literature, he said “We are creating our own foundations.” And Conateh compared writing to constructing buildings – putting words together is, he said, like building blocks. I think the phrase “creating our own foundations” also works as a metaphor for our literature – The Gambia is seen as having very little that does not come from abroad or is not overwhelmingly influenced by foreigners. But Gambian literature was and is, by definition, created by Gambians. Gambians themselves have built the foundations for present and future writers. I hope my research in some way also contributes to these foundations.
My research focuses on published Gambian literature written in English for a number of reasons. Most importantly, the majority of written (as opposed to oral) Gambian literature is in English, and English is the country’s chosen official language and medium of educational instruction. I strongly encourage criticism of the small but growing numbers of written texts in other Gambian languages. Gambian orature[i], the rich oral traditions which include poetry, stories, praisesongs, and riddles, can be linked to literature, but it is a genre unto itself and deserves separate analysis. I also want to say a word about the term literature – Gambians tend to think of literature as any kind of writing published in book form. My work, though, focuses on creative writing, that is poetry, fiction, and plays.
HISTORY
The very first published Gambian author was Phillis Wheatley, a young girl captured in the Senegambian region and taken to what is now the USA as a slave, who later became both educated and a celebrated poet. Scholars have written a lot about her poetry and life, and she is also claimed by Senegalese and African Americans in the USA, but Gambians claim her largely because of her reference to the Gambia River in her poem “Phillis’ Reply to the answer”.[ii],[iii]
More than 100 years later, and after The Gambia came into existence as an independent nation-state, the first contemporary creative works by Gambians were published.[iv] In 1960 the Heinemann African Writers Series (AWS) published William Conton’s The African; in 1965 and 67 the same publisher released Gambian Lenrie Peters’ novel The Second Round and his poetry collection Satellites. Also in 1967 The Philosophical Library published Augusta Mahoney’s play The Rebellion. (A number of people do not count Conton’s books as Gambian because he was born here but raised in Sierra Leone, where the book is set. Some do not consider Peters’ novel The Second Round to be Gambian either because it is also set in Sierra Leone.) These three early Gambian texts share notable similarities. All concern Africans who travel abroad to be educated, and who return home. Also, all were published abroad within a few years of The Gambia’s 1965 independence. As with many Anglophone former colonies, this initial burst of publication (which was also accompanied by an increase in popular theatre) can be linked both to a drive to create a national culture for the “new” nation, and to the creation of the Heinemann AWS.[v] The location of their publishers meant that these writers immediately were exposed to a readership beyond The Gambia. But it also meant that in their native land the books were difficult to obtain and expensive when they were available. Interestingly, although it was not published by the specialist and prestigious AWS, Mahoney’s play had the greatest African and Gambian audience of those early texts – because it was performed within the country and in Senegal at the famous Black Arts conference.
Reflecting their times, all three texts also engage the themes of national and personal independence, as well as how the two are related or conflict. Not surprisingly, Mahoney’s Rebellion also addresses women’s independence. Though only a few books by Gambians were published in the 1960s, those produced provide an important and engaging testament to their time.
Propelled by the excitement and momentum of an independent Gambia and its first contemporary literary works, in the 1970s a group of authors formed the Gambian Writers Club, whose main purpose was to publish Ndaanan. The effort was named after a Wolof word for “accomplished griot.”[vi] While only seven issues in five volumes appeared over six years, Ndaanan continues to be very important because it was The Gambia’s only professional literary journal.[vii]
The themes addressed were numerous. In the 183 pieces published in Ndaanan, topics ranged from the universal love, moon, and motherhood, to Black nationalism, to more specifically Gambian (or West African) subjects such as jali, Fula traditions, weaver birds, and popular local folktales.
Recent Gambian Writing
You could say that Gambian literature ended the 20th century with a big bang because of the relatively large number of texts being published, and because of the type of literature being produced. In these twenty years more than a dozen books were released by Gambians, in The Gambia and elsewhere in Africa, Europe, Asia, and the USA.
This generation of writers are more likely to write poetry and plays, more likely to be women, and are almost exclusively self-published. They include Baaba Sillah, Baba Galleh Jallow, Ramatoulie Othman, Ebou Gaye, and Fodeh Baldeh. This most recent generation is also more likely to openly criticize the government than earlier writers and to address controversial political issues (e.g. sex tourism and female circumcision in books such as Costly Prices, The Sun Will Soon Shine, and Dying for My Daughter).
If the first decades of Gambian writing are a source of controversy regarding the “Gambianness” of the content or the writers’ biography, these concerns are no longer relevant. The texts printed or published in the 1980s and 90s were largely by writers born, raised, and living (with the exception of Sillah and Sallah) in The Gambia, and whose works typically include Gambian details in their language, setting, and plot.
This detail is all the more interesting because several recent Gambian books became very popular outside of The Gambia. Mahoney, Peters, and Conton were published in England and the USA in the 1960s, and enjoyed some readership abroad. But in the 80s and 90s, Ebou Dibba, as well as Sheriff Samsideen Sarr and Sally Singateh, were published and widely read in Africa. In particular, Dibba’s Alhaji, Sarr’s Meet Me in Conakry, and Singateh’s Christie’s Crisis all remain in print and sell large numbers of copies in Western and Eastern Africa.
A number of factors account for this shift in readership. Both African and non-African publishers have increasingly recognized the large reading markets of countries such as Nigeria and Kenya (who alone contain millions of literate people). The short, fast-paced young adult novels Alhaji, Meet Me, Christie’s) are perennially popular with teenagers, even though they are not Dibba or Singateh’s best books. (I should note that you can get these books, and most of the others I am mentioning, here at the National Library.)
We are only seven years into the 21st century, but it seems the trends of the last 20 years are continuing. The majority of Gambian literature is now self-published, including first books by promising authors Mariama Kahn, Baaba Sillah, and Baba Galleh Jallow. There are two major exceptions. The first is the reissuing of Nana Grey-Johnson’s The Magic Calabash by MacMillan Publishers in 2004, which means that his novel will have a new and broader life in African classrooms. The second exception is Reading the Ceiling, Gambian Dayo Forster’s first novel, published in 2007 by Simon and Schuster in London. Over the last 200 years, Gambians have published serious literary poetry and fiction, young adult novels, light or “popular” literature,[viii] and a small amount of critical work (mostly by Hassoum Ceesay, Chierno Barry and Pierre Gomez, both professors at UTG). So we cannot deny that by the beginning of the 21st century, a Gambian literature does exist and is continuing to develop – even if most Gambians and others remain unaware of its existence.
That is a very brief description of the history of Gambian literature. I want to begin discussing some of the important issues relevant to Gambian literature by letting the authors themselves speak via the interviews I conducted.
One issue raised by several authors is that of language – and some of you may know this is an issue many African countries argue about. All of the writers agree that, in general, the English used by Gambians and in Gambian literature could be better. Fodeh Baldeh argues that Gambians should not be expected to write English well because most of us do not live in English, but only use it at school and work. He says that Gambian schools should teach Jola, Mandinka, Wolof, etc., and that these are the languages Gambian literature should be written in. Nana Grey-Johnson agrees that most Gambians do not live in English. But he argues that The Gambia has chosen English as its national language, and that it is a “universal tool” that can help the individual and the nation. He says we need to “fall in love” with English – and his argument implies that English should be taught better in schools, and that Gambians’ general attitude towards the language should be improved. What do you think?
Another major issue raised is the role of the writer and of literature in society. All of the writers I have interviewed believe that the writer has a responsibility to Gambian society to produce literature that is educational and positive. Where they differ is in whether the writer’s responsibility to society is greater or lesser than the responsibility to themselves, to their own vision. Some believe that literature has such a potentially large impact that the greater responsibility is to the society. One author specifically argued against “first amendment” writers who would put freedom of individual speech ahead of responsibility to community. But another argued that if the writer’s first responsibility is not to her or himself, then what is produced is not really literature from the author’s mind, but is instead the copying of other people’s beliefs. Again, I am interested in what you think.
Those are a few of the issues being discussed in terms of Gambian literature’s “present,” or Gambian literature now. But what about the literature’s future?
When I asked Gambian writers what Gambian literature needs, several ideas were repeated. A publishing house or cooperative to get manuscripts into book form, and to edit and proofread the writing. More Gambian literature in the schools. A national theatre to produce Gambian plays – and more Gambian content on local radio and television, including GRTS. More contests and prizes to encourage young Gambian writers – and perhaps another journal.
And I am going to add to this list more criticism of Gambian literature – to which I hope more Gambians will contribute. Criticism is important because it provides context for literature – in relationship to history, society, and politics, and in relationship to other literatures in Africa or around the world, Criticism can also help build the readership of Gambian literature at home (through reviews in newspapers, for instance) and abroad (through conferences and articles).
But what Gambian literature needs most to continue growing is for more Gambians to write! I want to end with some of our esteemed writers offering advice for people who want to write, or are secretly writing. Several writers eloquently discussed the importance of Gambians telling our own stories. o I end with that encouragement from the present generation of Gambian writers and critics to the next generation. For us to together continue building on the foundations of Gambian literature.
[i] “Orature” is a term to describe the oral literary traditions of Africa. Its origin is variously attributed to Ugandan Pius Zirimu and/or Kenyan Mĩcere Mũgo, but it was widely popularized by Kenyan Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o in various essays.
[ii] This poem appears in the Complete Writings… and is addressed in detail in Isani Maktar Ali’s essay “Gambia on My Soul: Africa and the African in the Writings of Phillis Wheatley.” Melus Vol 6 Spring 1979.
[iii] In another piece I examine in detail the question of who is the “first” Gambian author.
[iv] Certainly Gambians were writing before this, but these are the first publications scholars have located.
[v] The AWS began in 1962 with a mission to provide an “international voice” to writers from across the continent see Heinemann’s website at http://www.heinemann.co.uk/secondary/series/strand.aspx?d=s&skey=2013&authorid=Stella&strandkey=240.
For the positive and negative impact of the Heinemann African Writers Series on African literature, see, for instance, Becky Clarke’s “The African Writers Series – Celebrating Forty Years of Publishing Distinction.” Research in African Literatures 34.2 (2003): 163-174.
[vi] See Lenrie Peters’ foreword to the first issue. In later issues others provided additional meanings and derivations (see Vol 2 No 1 and Vol 2 No 2).
[vii] Some high schools had or have journals for their students.
[viii] In another essay I address the notion of Gambian light or “popular” literature in detail.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY (source Long Island University)
Academic History
Rosamond S. King, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the Department of English, [...] enjoys teaching African and Caribbean literature and culture to LIU-Brooklyn's diverse student body. She began teaching here in 2004, and has also taught at New York University, Rutgers University-Newark, and Hunter College.
She earned her doctorate in Comparative Literature from NYU with the dissertation "Born Under the Sign of the Suitcase: Caribbean Immigrant Literature 1959-1999." She also earned an MA in Comparative Literature from NYU, and a BA in Literature & Linguistics from Cornell University. In addition to studying these subjects, she completed credentials for a "teaching field" in Performance Studies.
Her scholarly work has been presented at conferences around the world, and has been published in several journals. In addition, Prof. King's creative work has appeared in over a dozen journals and anthologies, and has been performed throughout the Americas.
Courses Taught at LIU
ENG 16 English Composition
ENG 64 Non-Western Literature
ENG 150 Introduction to Caribbean Literature
Honors Elective Professional Memberships
American Comparative Literature Association
Modern Language Association
African Literature Association
Caribbean Studies Association
African Studies Association
Association of Caribbean Women Writers and Scholars
No. 1 Gold Artists' Collective
Awards & Prizes
Junior Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Chicago Center for the Study of Race, Politics, & Culture, 2005-2006
Geraldine R. Dodge Postdoctoral Fellow, Institute on Ethnicity, Culture, and the Modern Experience, Rutgers University Newark, 2002-2004. As part of this fellowship I conceived of and directed "Newark Reads Du Bois" and "Newark Reads Poetry," Newark's first-ever city-wide reading programs.
Honoree, "The First Mellon 100+ PhDs," The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation & The Social Science Research Council, NYC, March 2004
National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Summer Seminar, "Caribbean Theater and Cultural Performance," University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras, 30 June-2 August 2003
Poet Participant, "Symmetries, Shadow, Series and Sequence," a Cave Canem Workshop led by Erica Hunt, October-December 2003
Emerging Writers Seminar, The Center for Book Arts, 2003
Residency Grant, Virginia Center for Creative Arts, 2002
Finalist, Naomi Long Madgett Poetry Award, 2002
Residency Grant, Norcroft: A Writing Retreat, 2002
Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship, 1997-2001
New York University MacCracken Fellowship, 1996-2001
New York University Opportunity Fellowship, 1996-2001
NYU Graduate School of Arts & Sciences Dean's Travel Grant, Spring 1999 & Fall 1998
Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship in Humanistic Studies, 1996
Leadership Award, Committee on Special Educational Programs, Cornell University, 1996
College Scholar, Cornell University College of Arts & Sciences, 1993-1996
Telluride Scholar, 1992-1995
Mellon Minority Undergraduate Fellow, 1993-1996
Academic Specialties & Research Interests
Professor King's research interests include sexuality studies in African diaspora literature; Gambian Literature; carnival studies, and avant-garde African diaspora literature. Her teaching interests include African, Caribbean, and Asian-American literature, world poetry, and performance studies. She is fluent in French, is passably proficient in Spanish, and speaks rudimentary Wolof.
During the 2005-2006 academic year, Prof. King will be completing her manuscript Island Bodies: Caribbean Literary Sexualities while she is the Junior Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Chicago Center for the Study of Race, Politics, and Culture.
Publications
Book
Chief Editor & Author of introductions, Voices of the City, an urban poetry anthology, Hanging Loose Press (April 2004)
Articles
"Dressing Down: Male Transvestism in Two Caribbean Carnivals" commissioned by Sargasso (Forthcoming)
"Sheep and Goats Together--Interracial Relationships from Black Men's Perspectives," The Journal of African American Studies (Fall 2004)
"The Flesh and Blood Triangle in Paule Marshall's The Fisher King" in Callalloo (Spring 2003)
"'Word Plays Well with Others'--Harryette Mullen's Sleeping with the Dictionary" in Callalloo (Spring 2003)
"Sex and Sexuality in English Caribbean Novels--A Survey from 1950" in The Journal of West Indian Literature (November 2002)
"Jamette Women's Double Cross: Creating an Archive" in Women and Performance: A Journal of Feminist Theory, "Bodywork" special issue (1999), pgs. 203-210
Conference Papers
"Transgender Issues in Caribbean Contexts," Invited Colloquium, The Center for Lesbian & Gay Studies (CLAGS) at the City University of New York, 13 April 2005
"Sexual Healing? Black Men Write Interracial Relationships," Black Masculinities Conference, The City University of New York Graduate Center, 4 February 2005
"Feeling around in the Dark: Black Queer Experimental Poetry," Modern Language Association Convention, Philadelphia, December 2004
"Transforming Caribbean Studies" Roundtable, Caribbean Studies Association Annual Conference, St. Kitts, April 2004
"Caribbean Gender Poetics--A Final Frontier?" The Association of Caribbean Women Writers & Scholars Conference, Dominican Republic, June 2004
"An Overview of Asians in the Caribbean," Guest speaker as part of the first Asian-American Studies course at Rutgers-Newark, 30 March 2004
Facilitator & Co-Organizer, "Histories of Queer People of Color Activism," Symposium co-sponsored by the Center for Lesbian & Gay Studies (CLAGS) at the City University of New York and the Audre Lorde Project, NYC, February-March 2004
Guest Speaker, Freedom Academy High School Career Day, Brooklyn, 4 February 2004
"Making/Reading/Performing Black Poetry" Workshop & Installation, Marjorie Cook Poetry Festival & Conference: Diversity in African American Poetry, Miami University, Ohio,
20 September 2003
"Ugly Women, Useless Women," in NEH Seminar "Caribbean Theatre & Cultural Performance," University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras, 16 July 2003
Respondent, "Inventing the Postcolonial," part of "The Academic Self: Under Construction" Mellon Conference, University of Pennsylvania, June 2003
Chair, "Interdisciplinary Session on Pedagogy," Mellon Postdoctoral Conference, June 2003
"Marlene Nourbese Philip's Embodied Texts," Caribbean Studies Association 28th Annual Conference, "The Greater Caribbean: Roots & Routes," Belize City, Belize, 28 May 2003
"Form, Content, Context & a Black Avant-Garde Tradition," Works-in-Progress Faculty Colloquium, Rutgers University-Newark, NJ, 17 April 2003
"Newark Reads Du Bois," The 23rd Annual Marion Thompson Wright Lecture Series, Rutgers University-Newark, NJ, 15 February 2003
"Black History and You," Delta Academy, Montclair, NJ, 8 February 2003
Moderator, "Between Pleasure and Paradox: Readings and Reflections by Caribbean Women Writers," Festival of Caribbean Literature, Hartford, CT, 21 September 2002
"Sex and Sexuality in Caribbean Literature: Towards a Textual Genealogy," "(Re)Thinking Caribbean Culture," University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, Barbados, 5-9 June 2001
"My Trinidad," San Fernando Government Girls School, Trinidad, 4 May 2000
Moderator, "Chino Latino: Asian Cultural Communities in Latin America" Panel, New York University, 4 November 1999
"Theorizing Caribbean Orature through the Carnival Arts and Literature," the Third Annual World Conference on Carnival, "Carnival: A Multiplicity of Reality," Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, 20-23 October 1999
"Re-Thinking Transnationalism Through Intra-Caribbean Migration" in self-proposed panel "Comparatively Caribbean: Positioning the Caribbean in the American Academies" at the annual conference of the American Comparative Literature Association, "Comparative Literature and Cultural Transnationalisms: Past and Future," Montreal, Quebec, 9-11 April 1999
"An Introduction to Scholarly Perspectives on Trinidadian Carnival," as Invited Lecturer, Saint Frances College, Brooklyn, New York 19 November 1998
Moderator, "Concrete Cultures: Asian American Urban Practices," "PDA (Public Displays of Asianness): The First Conference on Asian American Popular Culture," NYU, November 1998
"Jamette! Parody and Power in Creole Women's Cross-Dressing During 19th Century Trinidadian Carnival," at the World Conference on Caribbean Literature, Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut, September 1998
"Cultural Nationalism, Goddess of the Mental health of Madness: An Analysis of Two Stories by Dionne Brand" in self-proposed panel "The Caribbean Spirit at Home and Abroad" at the First International Conference on Caribbean Literature, College of the Bahamas, Nassau, Bahamas, November 1998
