Decolonising literary spaces new form of activism
THE battle for decolonised literary spaces is in full swing.
A new breed of activists is ensuring African literature occupies its rightful place through independent bookshops and independent publishing.
Fortescue Helepi, a chemical engineer, with the help of his wife Nokuthula founded African Flavour Books in 2015.
“It has been our passion. We struggled to get the books that we wanted, especially African literature.
“We are on the African continent, it doesn’t make sense that our literature is European. It is time to affirm Africa. It was more about passion, it couldn’t be the case that no one was interested,” says Helepi.
The publishers they work with provide them with old books that are gathering dust in warehouses.
“If it’s an African author it shouldn’t be sitting there, it needs to be on the shelf. We focus on the books that struggled and try to bring them back and make sure we keep them alive.
“We are finding a way for them not to go out of print. When you have an industry that is less black-representative, it becomes a challenge. When you come in with something like this, you provide a service that wasn’t there to cultivate reading.”
But the literary journey hasn’t been without challenges. African Flavour Books recently closed its Braamfontein store but still runs in Vanderbijlpark and will soon be in Soweto.
“We cannot teach our kids that the only thing to be excited about is clothing stores. Books are part of our stories. I don’t mind if African Flavour Books fails, but if we leave it to the next generation, we will have done a great deal of work.”
Meanwhile, writer Dudu Busanidube, author of the popular Hlomu series, went the self-publishing route, which includes Hlomu the Wife, Zandile
the Resolute and Naledi His Love.
Her books have sold tens of thousands of copies, and the standalone
Zulu Wedding, released last year, has been selling out as soon as it hits the shelves.
Busani-dube began writing Hlomu
the Wife in 2015, and shared excerpts with friends, asking them for help in editing the book. Instead of helping, the friends were instantly hooked and begged her to continue the story.
She didn’t know anything about publishing and decided to go to print when she completed the book.
She made a few mistakes with the first prints and distribution became a challenge as there weren’t any stores taking self-published work.
Selling copies from the boot of her car, she made means, had pop-ups, with friends and family buying into her work. It took her a year before the first store called.
“They knew there were these books which were doing well. I don’t know why it took them so long.
“My writing is very different. It’s very black-based. If I had gone to a publisher, I don’t know if they would’ve published my work the way I would’ve wanted, with the direction I wanted it to take. The people who are said to be non-big readers are actually the ones who’ve bought my books. It’s all about accessibility,” she says.
The writer is working on the last book of the series, set to be released sometime this year. She said a TV production may also be in the pipeline regarding the series.