Chimamanda Adichie's Comment On The Caine Prize Cause Controversy

The 2013 winner of the Caine Prize for African writing, Tope Folarin has said that Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is entitled to her opinion about the prize. Tope Folarin made the comment in an interview over the weekend.  “I admire Chimamanda greatly as a writer,” Folarin says, “She’s someone else who I think, her stature as a writer was aided by the Caine prize process. So it’s somewhat interesting that she’s now claiming that the Caine prize perhaps isn’t as important or isn’t the central arbiter of the best African writing.”

Earlier this month, Adichie made a series of remarks on the internet that caused an uproar on social media. In an interview for the Boston Review, she was asked about the Caine prize and the fact that there were so many Nigerians on it. Part of her response was, “for me, it’s not the arbiter of the best fiction in Africa...I don’t go to the Caine prize to look for the best in African fiction.”

For Folarin, this award was not sought out. He had believed he was ineligible to enter the competition, and only submitted his story at the suggestion of one of his readers. “I just wanted to write a story that was innovative, compelling, and ultimately a story that would hopefully in some ways, touch the people who read it,” . He described the winning experience as, “extremely edifying.”

When asked for his opinion on a prize for African literature being judged internationally, he explains the importance of the Caine prize presenting, “a pipeline of new African talent.” In his opinion, “even those who kind of criticize the Caine prize, have at some point or another benefited from being on the shortlist.” It speaks to his personal experience that his name is now out in the open due to the Caine prize. “Nobody knew who I was before the Caine prize,” he says, “and now people are interested in what I have to say in my writing, and that’s all because of the Caine prize and so I’m enormously grateful.”

Folarin said that the greatest challenge he faces is to keep up the good work and to put out increasingly compelling pieces. “That’s something that I’m invigorated by,” he says. He is currently working on editing a collection of stories he started a couple of years ago. To aspiring writers he gives the following advice, “Read as much as possible. If you’re reading literature only from Nigeria and Africa, it’s time to start reading literature from Europe and America. After that, it’s important to start writing. It’s a long arduous process that also involves engaging with art in general, doing your best to be a holistic artist.”

Tope Folarin was one of four Nigerians who were shortlisted for the 2013 prize. His short story, Miracle, about religion and belief in a Nigerian community in Texas, is described by one of the Caine prize judges as a, “delightfully and beautifully paced narrative.”

 “My only responsibility as a writer is to be the best writer I can be,” he says, “and that’s my focus.”

Sahara TV