Comments on One Ghana, One Voice: OGOV Roundtable Discussion #2 - Africans Abroad

The following is a comment from Prince Mensah, acc...

2009-12-07T20:39:25.465Z

The following is a comment from Prince Mensah, accidentally deleted while removing spam comments:

Emmanuel's suggestion to do editorial work is invaluable. First of all, I must thank him for publishing my poetry in his equally outstanding journal, the Munyori Journal. I know this might sound over-ambitious but can we work out contracts with book publishers in our home countries so that an annual prize(s) for local poets will result in publication. This will not only help the book publishers with cross-marketing. It will open a new market internationally for them.
Also, we must work hard at gaining recognition from world literary bodies. We have to have an identity that will build credibility and marketability enough to pose as an international advocate for African writers.
We have the ideas, guys. We have to act on them.

I would contribute is by making myself available f...

2008-03-03T03:42:00.000Z

I would contribute is by making myself available for editorial assistance: we all need other people to look at our writings. Writers can send their works to a team of qualified volunteers (at first) who offer some advice on improving the writing.

Hey all,

Great discussion, as usual! I have...

2008-03-01T05:47:00.000Z

Hey all,

Great discussion, as usual! I have a challenge for everyone:

You have brainstormed many, many great ideas - so many that implementing them all right away would be impossible.

What then, are the 1 or 2 things that we can practically and effectively take on in the short/medium term in order to have a real impact?

What's a realistic plan of action? And who is willing to take a leadership role on this?

Rob

Why not generate a Pan African Poetry Organization...

2008-02-26T02:12:00.000Z

Why not generate a Pan African Poetry Organization with chapters in all African countries? An annual conference and prize-giving ceremony will rejuvenate interest in African poetry. We can get corporate sponsors to initiate a prestigious literary prize that is reflective of core African writing.

I believe that as writers we must find a way to put these words into action, because the pen is mightier than the sword. We have to find out ways that other countries built their literary communities. There are artist colonies spread out in the USA. They give you a place to stay for three to six months and you get the peace of mind to write a manuscript. This helps a lot of American writers who have to cope with the difficulties of juggling writing and work.

Like sponges, we have to absorb knowledge so that we can aid the refining of our own mother cultures. Winston Churchill once said, courage is to stand and speak up and courage is to sit down and listen. We have to take all we can get from our experiences in diaspora.

Prince Mensah

Publishing is a very sensitive issue with writers....

2008-02-25T22:36:00.000Z

Publishing is a very sensitive issue with writers. How do you get publishing houses to take an interest in your work and publish them? How can you get published without the huge capital outlay that one doesn't have? I attended the Ghanaian Women Writers forum in 2002 in Accra and publishers were invited to interact with us budding young writers. More experienced writers - those already in print also held workshops with us. Something like this should be a quarterly or twice yearly affair where all parties are invited to talk about options available. Publishing houses who will publish and promote unknown writers, and even promote them after they are published should be allowed to advertise themselves at such forums.

In Accra the Pan African Writers Association do give advice and guidelines and information that all writers need to know. But Elena is right, more has to be done in this respect and it is not only a problem in our part of the world but internationally too. That is why many turn to the self publishing companies to have their work published. Maybe each writer should send in details of publishers in their countries who are approachable or ones that they have used before so that a directory of these could be built up.

Elena makes a good point. Let's strategize the com...

2008-02-25T07:14:00.000Z

Elena makes a good point. Let's strategize the compilation of information on publication for distribution in community centers, schools, libraries, and colleges back home. Some contributors to OGOV are at universities and public institutions in Ghana, they might be a starting point in giving awareness of the exisistence of such fora as OGOV, Munyori Poetry Journal, African Writing Online, etc.

I know in Zimbabwe I can contact the Budding Writers Association of Zimbabwe (BWAZ), which is instrumental in outreach programs that take writing to the rural areas. Once these networks begin, those in with access to resources can continue to gather and contribute information through OGOV, etc...

Of course, I don't want to pretend that this is an easy task, but as our roundtable discussion shows, we are committed to see African writing continue to develop.

Hey there,

Great discussion! I think all of...

2008-02-23T17:16:00.000Z

Hey there,

Great discussion! I think all of you raised some very good ideas, which we should try to put into practice at once.
There is an important subject matter I want to address, which most of you mentioned during this discussion: getting published. As you pointed out, it is very important to encourage Ghanaian writers to get published - but there is a great lack of information on how to do so. Poets and writers will need help to find the correct publishers, to know how to present their work, to understand all the issues involved in publishing contracts and how to ensure their rights aren't violated.
Prince suggested a newsletter with a list of places to get help from. I think this idea should be taken into account - and the information should not only be made available on the internet, but could be distributed in the form of leaflets (for example) at universities, clubs and similar meeting places. This would need some of us to gather information, sit down together and write guidelines that address the most important challenges a writer faces when he/she wants to get published. The resulting documents (I imagine some foldable DIN-A4 page, with a well-structured, succinct text and maybe even one or two drawings/caricatures) could then be made available on OGOV and be printed out and distributed at local clubs.
What do you think?