A ZAMBIAN GENRE

On literary arts in Zambia-focus on fiction writing

 

M

ost countries in Africa have effectively shared their fundamental nature through works of art. Countries like Zimbabwe, Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, just to mention but a few, have developed specific genres of fiction over the years, rendering this group of countries leaders in African literature. Nigeria and South Africa for instance has gone from the script to the big screen, leaving Zambia trailing far behind.

Zambia does not have a specific genre of fiction that she can be identified with. Any form of literature especially prose, drama and poetry should be a conduit for the transmission of people’s culture, language, religion, traditional values and any other aspect that defines their lifestyle and evolution. In the absence of sound literary identification, a country is likely to experience gaps in the development of the things that describe its core existence. Nations have preserved their history, morals, beliefs and customs through writing. The absence of Zambian fiction writing has contributed to a large extent the lack of proper documentation of its cultural development and the transmission of such cultural beliefs through the passing of time. ‘If the current Zambian authors are anything to go by, Zambia is still miles away from literary autonomy. There is a notable dearth of authentic Zambian authors’. ^[1]. It can be said that the present generations are easily swayed by so called western cultures because of the absence of a strong literature that should have otherwise transmitted the beliefs that should act as a backbone of cultural identity in every generation.   

Where are we coming from? Despite the few collections of fiction, the country can still trace its literary history back to the colonial days, when selected Zambian die-hards, put together some work and had them published.  However, the lack of documentation makes it very difficult for some of these works to be traced. By the 1960s, the likes of Steven A. Mpashi had published a few books that people still refer to as being the most entertaining stories that were narrated with such great skill. ^[2] There were also other colonial writers like Fwanyanga Mulikita. By the 1970s, there were only about twelve known published works of fiction.

One would ask, what has been the challenge for Zambia? Is it the lack of authors? Could it be that there is nothing to write about? Every country has something to say about itself.  Recently, there has been a rise in Zambian writers both within the country and in the diaspora. Although growing at a slow rate, there is literary potential in the country. The problem has not really been who or what to write but the issues lie deeply in the lack of support systems for those who aspire to take up this noble undertaking. Zambia for instance has a young publishing industry. The existence of private publishing companies can only be traced to the 1990s, when Zambia’s economy was liberalised. Before then only one publishing house had the monopoly, Kenneth Kaunda Publishing House and priority then was the provision of educational materials to schools in the post independent era. With the coming of private publishing companies like Macmillan and Longman, the situation has not improved because the publishing costs are still very high. In recent times, more publishing companies have been established and they mostly want to survive on a guaranteed education market. Besides, without regulatory bodies, the quality of material goes unchecked more often.

Some individual writers have opted to self-publish. With the internet providing so many opportunities, several works have found themselves on the open market and sadly some are substandard. Well, even if someone succeed at publishing an excellent piece, there are still more hurdles to jump; the poor reading culture and low literacy rates. If we are to head ‘Toward a Zambian Genre’, the writing industry must be made a reality for those who are ready to take it up. Both government and the private sector must invest in making the journey from the script to the book shelf a reality.