The Protagonist and Her Prize: Namwali’s Bonhomie Homecoming

the Main Lick By. The Lord Kempson Ari weYulu

@ZambiazHarshTag ● @KempsonAri

kalembaweyulu.wordpress.com 

I was in Gray Matter (East Park Mall) and as is custom, I asked the man at the counter what he was reading. “Africa 39 (@Africa_39), an African anthology”, came the reply. Had he mentioned that it contained The Sack by a Zambian writer, I would have been compelled to probe further. Earlier that same morning in Mama Kapwepwe’s office, she had mentioned the winner of the Caine Prize (@CainePrize) for African Writing would be at Foxdale court (@FoxdaleCourt), an engagement I duly entered in my calendar and invited a friend to. I knew nothing of the author but with the famine of literary activity on the Zambian literary scene, my belly prompted me to ensure I sought the meal on offer with due diligence. Although the feast begun late due to the multitude that turned out prompting a sudden change of setting, I received the nourishment I sought and indulged in the wealth of knowledge that was provided (with all the trimmings) at with a gathering of great minds. With immense cheer under the moonlight we celebrated the home coming of a conqueror, a woman with an accolade she had received for her substance.               

The Lusaka Book Club (@LusakaBookClub) is testament that the myth of Zambians not being readers is a fallacy, and the audience held at Foxdale Court on the evening of 16^th of September was further validation of how far the Zambian craft and heritage has come and excelled. In her introduction of Ba (affirmation for the stripes she’s earned) Namwali Serpell (@snamwali), Mulenga Kapwepwe stressed in her capacity as the National Arts Council (NAC) Chairperson that it was exciting  times for Zambian literature and Namwali is a demonstration of the excellent quality that is on offer, and implored that the government (na munfwa Ba Boma) must take note.    

I’ve always avowed that the hallmark of a prolific writer is the ability to make people chortle

and suppurate with their implication of words. Through the actors in the story, the depths and core of the reader/listeners human condition must be pierced and with their proceedings reach the inner most being of the audience.  As it was no mere event, Namwali proved her mettle and rose to the occasion with an unexpected reading of something new and conveyed to the public for the very first time. Her courage must be applauded and was indeed rewarded when from the first syllable to the last full stop when you could hear but the song of a seasoned hummingbird in the cool of night serenade the lot. Her delivery of the excerpt from the yet to be published Harper Collins Reader, I Married Him (By Tracy Chevalier), was poignant with a complex well structured mêlée between man and beast with its harrowing and well layered spoken dialogue, setting the grey matter and ears that were present ablaze. Her art of storytelling is vivid and the coup de gras was the meticulous indigenous detail that made the story authentic and gave life to the elements and the environment. Her use of imagery was picturesque and with bold strokes delivered wit, with every charged measured breath as she delivered her offering. It was a great privilege as an avid benefactor to behold such a monumental occasion of which I shall speak to my offspring and kin in the future.               

It was a gathering of literary intellect which evoked bonhomie in the various minds 

congregated. Writer of Lusaka Punk Efemia Chela (@efemiachela)

(who is also part of the Caine Prize anthology) was also part of the collective their gathered. Other prominent heavy weights of written and print works and other artistic mediums included PEN Zambia President and renowned poet Nicholas Kawinga, (@Proflight) Nkwazi In-Flight

Magazine deputy publishing editor Samba Yonga (@Kuwaha), fashion designer and entrepreneur Towani Clarke (@TowaniClarke), and bloggers Imanga Kay

(@ikay2605), Chishimba (@PRgirlZed), Mwanabibi Sikamo (@mwanabibi), Silumesii Maboshe (@Silumesii), e18hteam film producer Ngosa Whoopi Chungu (@whoops_c) and journo Lwanga (@Lwangamwilu). It was a befitting and apt assembly indeed to honour a daughter and ambassador of the soil and motherland Zambia.

            

“All good writing is good writing, and all bad writing is bad writing”, she expressed. Writing is indeed a gift, the ability to give life to words, a calling which posses those it chooses to be vessels. The text or scroll is a forum used to articulate the human condition and society with it triumphs and ills, chronicles that outlive authors, a living tribute. It is privilege to be immortalized in word and an honor to be recognized by being bestowed with a literary accolade. Writing as other aesthetics, transcends the authors legacy beyond the grave. It is the rawness, sincerity, intensity and firmness in her voice when she read and the breaths of fluidity and synthesis with which words flowed from within her that I will most cherish about the audience with Namwali Serpell the Halfrican smartypants. Thank you for providing the cure to my ailment with the palliative of your writing. Ovation for the 2015 Caine Prize for African Writers winner and the inspiration she is to this generation.

For those interested in the activities of the Lusaka Book club, they meet every four weeks and the next meeting will be on the 26^th of September at The Deli. The book being discussed is, The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson.  

Namwali talks Jane Eyre, academics and answers questions of identity and method in An Intellectual Discourse: The Reflection Of Namwali at kalembaweyulu.wordpress.com