Saraba Issue 13 Africa does
not downplay the Africa theme by over-romanticizing Africa’s rusticity over her
glossed rots. Africa is what she is. Simple. People live in Africa and she is a
continent. And just like any other, her people are suffering, celebrating,
dying, living, falling in love and shagging.
Admittedly however, Africans are still different; our collective
negative stereotype makes us dissimilar from the rest. This issue does so much
to stamp out such fixed picture of Africa. You really should read to know how
this Saraba issue pulls that off.
For me, this isn’t the best of what Saraba has
offered, it really isn’t. I am only enamored to it for its totality of genre
classification. This issue touches all genres and that is some worthy effort
for a tasteful reading. In this issue, there is a drama entry, a genre that has
been absent in past publications. Moreover, one will readily understand its
past absence and ascribe it to the fact that the genre is the less appreciated
and written of the literary genres. Having a drama feature in this issue beautifies
it and – I should also add – tells this Africa issue apart from previous
issues. This is called Africa. And nothing could be like it, with or without
the drama genre. Even Africa is a drama in many offerings: in photographs,
poetry, fictions, essays and You.
My fear is fast becoming real and I do hope the
long break between Saraba’s last publication and this one is not a vesper ring
gradually calling Saraba in. Before this issue came out, numerous publication
schedules have been broken and remade. I initially wondered if Saraba was also
going the way of numerous others that are presently dying and unworthily
subsisting. In recent moments, online mags as this have swiftly been losing it,
going under in quality and means. With Sentinel Nigeria’s introduction
of paltry inducement to accepted entries came its sharp fall. Go through that
mag now, compare it with his past self and you would mourn it. Klorofyl was also so promising in her debut, second
and third issue. That mag may also have suffered mishap. For months now, Klorofyl is yet to produce another issue. These
literary magazines need help. It’s time they started calling out for voluntary funds.
They need it. Their efforts are beyond what vast readership can only
compensate. I stand to be corrected, vast readership that does not attract
worthwhile advert placements.
Contrary to what the numbers of pages might
have you believe, there is a dearth of submissions in this issue. This is the
only sense I can make of the republished guest posts and the book excerpts that
uninspiringly took up space. I cannot but wonder why essays by Adesanmi and
Harrow, the two longest essays in the mag, are only reposts from some blog.
While these essays work well with the Africa theme and an engaging read, it
would have been better if they were genuinely written for the mag. I wouldn’t take
it honestly if I am told essays by seemingly unknown writers were not rejected
for placement of those ‘favoured’ ones. That’s bad. Saraba hawks around the
motto ‘Creating Unending Voices’. With that single action, it would now seem
they are for ‘Creating Established Voices’. We have read Adesanmi’s “Face
Me, I Book You” and Harrow’s “Do We
Still Have Postcolonialism?” elsewhere and we appreciated them
there. Having them here again only clutters pages. They serve no purpose here,
at least to me and many other committed readers who have read them at some
other place before now.
If the idea around the few book excerpts in
this Africa issue were a creative
means of advertisement, then, the creativity in such would be adored. After
reading the “Guilt Trip”, an excerpt from Nze Sylva’s recent book, “The Funeral Did Not End” and “A Safe Indiscretion”, an excerpt from
Seffi Atta’s novel, A Bit of Difference, I
came off with the strong thirst to get those books. But publishing their
excerpts in the mag is just so insufficient in itself. Moreover, Richard’s
book, “City of Memories” is also excerpted, making three excerpts in
all. Again, these writers should have been asked to produce original stories
for the mag and alternatively have the Amazon links to their new books in their
profiles. If the stories interest readers, they would in turn hanker after
their books and buy them anyway. Publishing such excerpts gives off the
rationale behind them as fake and misleading. Leaving a reader hanging after
brief sweetened excerpts, only informing him afterwards to go for the fuller
books arouses mixed feelings. And mixed feelings are riotous emotions. Riotous
emotions spoil growing readership.
In this Saraba 13, the foregoing leaves me with
little pieces to comment on. I will only talk on some and hope the reader finds
the issue enjoyable.
Africa in these Shades
“All in the Night Together” by Brendan Bannon and Mike Pflanz
The various photographs in this issue are my
main attraction. They visibly tell African in her honest light. Photo
collection such as “All in the Night
Together” by Brendan Bannon and Mike Pflanz comes to mind. Those photos
show the transience of human daily struggle through our individual resoluteness
to survive odds. These are not fiction, they are real and that makes them sound
so well home. You will see yourself in the faces of the determined people shown
in the picture collection by Bannon and Pflanz. If you don’t, at least, you
will see those minor scavengers trolling your street in Johnny Be Good and Ocha
Ocha, the father driver trying to make ends meet in Walter Ngau and your car
washer boy in John Mbogo. These are men telling what some part of Africa really
is, without the lazy stereotype.
“Nyamiri” by Okwuje Israel
Chukwuemeka
This story
is so much tribally steeped. However, the theme is truthful. The tribal hate is
left unbidden and that only makes you doubt the writer’s writing objectivity.
This writer does not pretend to be objective and that is the main strength of
the piece. In the unbridled emotion of the piece, the truth is not coloured:
frankly, there is always a Northern monster-Danladi amongst us, venting out
decades long tribal hate on an innocent “Nyamiri” of the East.
“Thirteen” by
Tosin Akingbulu
This
story languidly picks up but with time, it grows on the reader and everything
soon comes into an instant flourish. I admire writers who can transform the
stereotypical into an engaging read. Tosin does so with this story. “Thirteen”
is the everyday story of child abuse and female-child neglect, but the very
telling is not usual. I like this story.
“A Beautiful Mind” by
Lara Daniels
Lara
Daniel’s piece is brief. There is wisdom in the shortness of the piece; it is
straight forward and effective to its message. A girl character goes through a
funny but painful psychological battle. But while in it, she believes she is
sane or she really is sane. Her parents take her to be otherwise; that she is
mad. Consequently, when she meets the Yellow Man, she is assured her mind is
only different and beautiful.
“The Real Tragedy in Being African” by Miriam Jerotich
Perhaps,
this excerpt from Miriam’s essay wholly captures what this Saraba issue drives at:
“…the tragedy
isn‘t in the burdened identity that makes many think of us only as African or
Kenyan or Nigerian or (insert ethnic group). Neither does it lie in the failed
attempts we make when we challenge the status quo, nor when we question why we
are monolithic figurines of the Western world. The real tragedy lies in failing
to find a way to live with the label, in failing to reconcile our passions and
our anger. More importantly, it lies in failing to know that we can be more
than our assigned labels…” (pg. 93)
First of all, Miriam bemoans her preconfigured
African identity, whimsically clutch to her pre-immigrant memories, then goes
on to accept the power her differentness wields; for she is African.
In Conversation: Dami
Ajayi & Seffi Atta
Arguably,
this is the best interview I have seen Seffi Atta granted. Dami Ajayi does a
good job as the interviewer. In the interview, discourses smoothly move around
Seffi’s new book, her writing, her views and the media controversy that has
been plaguing her for long. Amongst other things, Seffi extensively talks on
the Lagos middle class of the pre- and post-colonial era. This interview stands
out. Dami really engages Seffi.
***
It is the
13th issue and Saraba has indeed come a long way from their first outing.
Saraba might have slightly failed me in this present one, but their sense of
literary quality and determination to keep at promoting the arts marvel me. Go download the mag now.
It may be the best free mag you have ever come across. Tell me when you’ve
downloaded and read it.
Wow, this is a very articulate review man. But then it is Joseph wielding the pen. Downloading...
ReplyDeleteHahaha...Sam. You no go make my head swell come burst am join. Thanks for reading, man. I hope you enjoy the download.
DeleteLovely review Joe. I just hope Saraba will raise the standard in the next issue. I don't want to see Sentinel, Saraba and Klorofyl go into extinction just like that. I do fear that and other things I will be saying in my review of the issue. Soon!
ReplyDeleteCheck this out: http://ayoyebanji.blogspot.com/2013/03/to-my-church-bell.html
Thanks Ayo. I will not like those mentioned mags to die too.
DeleteAnd I will be expecting your review of this issue on your blog. It'll be so nice reading your opinion of it.
I appreciate this blog post.
ReplyDeleteThe LitMag at www.nigerianstalk.org has regularly been putting out new work.
Thank you for appreciating the post. Yeah, I like LitMag for the job they're doing too. I hope they increase in strength.
DeleteYou always impress...
ReplyDeleteThank you for always coming to read and comment.
DeleteQuite a comprehensive review. I'm not familiar with Sabara. Will look it up.
ReplyDelete