The role of creative writing in preserving and promoting traditional values

Creative writing plays an important role in preserving histories and various forms of culture. Creative writing is defined as writing that goes outside the bounds of professional or technical forms of literature. The emphasis is on the narrative craft, character development, and the use of literary tropes or with various traditions of poetry and poetics, (English Oxford Living Dictionaries , 2019). It is this ‘freedom’ of expression within the creative writing forms that give impetus to include or adapt elements from the environment and society to include in the writing. A creative writer is at liberty to develop characters or underlying themes that not just entertain but also serve as learning points. Some examples include personal essays, descriptive essays, and persuasive essays. Storytelling: One of the most popular types of creative writing is storytelling. Storytelling lends itself to both fiction and nonfiction. Popular forms include flash fiction, short stories, novellas, and full-length novels, (Gunner, 2007).

During the pre-colonial era, African literature was preserved through oral forms. Through storytelling, dance, song, poetry and traditional ceremonies, cultural values were passed on from generation to generation. In some societies, the trend has continued, where only few privileged members are custodians of histories and cultural values of ethnic groups. Creative writing can bridge gaps and carry these almost extinct values forward to the next generations.

 In ‘Things Fall Apart’ and ‘Arrow of God’, Chinua Achebe depicted the environment in which the Ibo culture thrived. In showing the conflict between western and Ibo cultures, both Achebe explicitly proves the importance of traditions that had existed for centuries, (Achebe, 1952). ‘Arrow of God’ represents the struggle for power and authority between the African and the missionaries and within the Igbo clan. The identity issues are continued by Achebe as the sequel to the issues reflected in Things Fall Apart during the colonial era. He points out the continuity of African cultural disruption with the same insight and involvement in the 1920s after the arrival of the missionaries in Nigeria, (Chinua, 1964). These much acclaimed novels, together with Ngugi Wa Thiogo in ‘River Between’, (Ngugi, 1965), have significantly contributed to the preservation of culture and history.

Modern African writers have a responsibility to carry forward what the early writers started. By embedding traditional African values in modern writing, creative writing will play a pivotal role in ensuring the documentation of what is slowly being lost to the modernity and westernisation.

Works Cited

Achebe. (1952). Things Fall Apart; 50th Anniversary edition. Heinneman.

Chinua. (1964). Arrow of God. Heinemann.

Dashu, M. (2013). Suppressed Histories . Retrieved from http://www.suppressedhistories.net/purchase/prints2.html

English Oxford Living Dictionaries . (2019, January 31). Retrieved from https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/writing-help/top-tips-for-creative-writing

Gunner, H. S. (2007). Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/art/African-literature#ref280660

Ngugi. (1965). River Between. Heinemann.

Thiogo, W. (n.d.). River Between . Heinneman.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR CREATIVE ARTS AND LITERACY

A lot of writing has been done by Zambians on a number of topics, but much of it has been non-fiction, targeting mostly the academics. For this sector, the distribution of books has been easy, largely supported by the education system. Due to this, the larger population, those who are excluded from the academic path, remain illiterate and without access to literature that can lead to their personal development and the growth of the communities. There are key factors that must be put in place for the development of the creative arts and promotion of literacy. Currently, the creative arts are without structural support and writers are all over the place, either trying to make a career or earn living. It is equally impossible to make strides in literacy if the people who are writing cannot reach their readers. Not all reading material should be found in a classroom.

There is need to take literacy development beyond the classroom walls, to reach the communities, to reach those who are outside the classroom. The country once boasted of community libraries but now there are more bars and groceries shops. The lack of infrastructure significantly impedes literacy development. With most public schools having limited reading materials, such support structures like a community library would play a key role in cementing the efforts of the education system and at the same time broadening the spectrum to include those who are outside the school system. A community or public library can lead to development. Apart from providing opportunities for reading, such a structure can be used to disseminate information about other issues affecting societies and promoting development. It is through such places that community participation can be promoted, to make all members of the public stakeholders in the literacy and literary agendas. It is from such centers that writing careers have successfully been launched and promoted for the benefit of the community. The creative arts can also be promoted by being housed under tertiary institutions where English and Literature are taught.  This works well when an institution opens its doors to the writing industry and creates opportunities for writers and at the same time linking them to community literary programmes. For example, the Centre for Creative Arts falls under the Department of Humanities at the University of KwaZulu Natal. Over the years, a number of brands have been developed to include, ‘Time of the Writer’, a sponsored programme that now reaches out to international writers, ‘Durban International Film Festival’ and so on. It is because of such efforts by a higher institution of learning that Durban is now named the UNESCO City of Literature. We cannot leave the government out in this process. As a key stakeholder they should work toward taking the development of literacy and creative arts outside the school walls. We look forward to a time when the local authorities for instance will reintroduce community literacy programmes.

If we are to head ‘Toward a Zambian genre’, these elements should begin to work together.