An interview with Nana Ayebia Clarke MBE. By Darko Antwi
Nana Ayebia Clarke MBE is a Ghanaian-born award-winning Publisher specializing in African and Caribbean writing. She was Submissions Editor of the highly regarded Heinemann African & Caribbean Writers Series at Oxford where she worked for 12 years as part of a team of dedicated professionals promoting prominent and award-winning writers before Heinemann announced the end of active publishing in the Series in 2002. She founded Ayebia Clarke Publishing Limited with her husband David in 2003 as a way of looking to new directions in writing African publishing internationally. Ayebia is based in Banbury, Oxfordshire and has established itself as a leading publisher of quality African and Caribbean literature from both established and new authors. Ayebia’s mission is to bring talented fresh voices from Africa and the African Diaspora with culturally specific texts that will reach wider international audiences especially in higher education with a view to getting Ayebia’s books onto reading lists. Ayebia books are used in African History, Culture, Literary, Gender and Postcolonial Studies worldwide.
Nana Ayebia Clarke was awarded an Honorary MBE by Her Majesty
Queen Elizabeth II for services to the British publishing industry in 2011.
DARKO: With a twelve-year
portfolio as Submissions Editor from one famous publishing firm, Heinemann, you
ended up starting your own company. Now, we are very familiar with the quality
of Ayebia Clarke Publishing. What objectives of Ayebia reflect on your
Heinemann experience?
NANA: My vision for Ayebia is
creating continuity between Heinemann and Ayebia as an internationally
recognized publisher of distinction championing and highlighting African voices
and causes. Ayebia’s mission is to open new spaces and bring fresh insights
into African writing and publishing internationally.
DARKO: Amongst others, your work involves the telling of African stories. On that premise, you have gone through many a manuscript, from Ama Ataa Aidoo to Chinua Achebe. In the course of duty, which part of the continental story have you felt ashamed of... and upon which narration (title) has your pride or love been mostly challenged?
NANA: One genre of publishing of which I remain committed and immensely proud is publishing African prison memoirs at Heinemann (Gathering Seaweed: African Prison Writing; Heinemann, 2002) and again at Ayebia. This area of publishing helps to create an environment where writers are given freedom and voice by providing an international platform for artists often harassed into exile and/or imprisoned by undemocratic regimes in Africa for their views. These prison memoirs chronicle the harassment of writers such as Jack Mapanje from Malawi who was imprisoned on 25 September 1987, by the dictator Hastings Banda without charge for three years, seven months, sixteen days and more than twelve hours for his dissenting views and radical poetry in Crocodiles are Hungry at Night (Ayebia, 2011).
DARKO: Amongst others, your work involves the telling of African stories. On that premise, you have gone through many a manuscript, from Ama Ataa Aidoo to Chinua Achebe. In the course of duty, which part of the continental story have you felt ashamed of... and upon which narration (title) has your pride or love been mostly challenged?
NANA: One genre of publishing of which I remain committed and immensely proud is publishing African prison memoirs at Heinemann (Gathering Seaweed: African Prison Writing; Heinemann, 2002) and again at Ayebia. This area of publishing helps to create an environment where writers are given freedom and voice by providing an international platform for artists often harassed into exile and/or imprisoned by undemocratic regimes in Africa for their views. These prison memoirs chronicle the harassment of writers such as Jack Mapanje from Malawi who was imprisoned on 25 September 1987, by the dictator Hastings Banda without charge for three years, seven months, sixteen days and more than twelve hours for his dissenting views and radical poetry in Crocodiles are Hungry at Night (Ayebia, 2011).
Ken Saro-Wiwa’s A Month and A Day & Letters (Ayebia,
2005) includes an edited version of ‘A Detention Diary’, his own record of
arrest, detention and botched trial in 1993. His criticisms and questioning of
a corrupt regime and the implication of the multinational oil company Shell,
for their activities that devastated and continues to devastate his Ogoni
homeland and its people – this led to his eventual hanging with eight others on
10 November 1995 by the Nigerian military dictator Sanni Abacha.
These memoirs are a forceful depiction
of corrupt governments in Africa and provide an indelible record of their
capacity to wreck lives and whole societies. They also offer a moving
contribution to the growing world literature of incarceration in a universal
context.
On a more positive note, I am
immensely proud of publishing the Ayebia African
Love Stories Anthology edited by Ama Ata Aidoo, the distinguished Ghanaian
writer in 2006. The book has gone on to win two major prizes but for me, it is
the realization of a long-held dream of publishing a text that redresses the
imbalance in the way Africa tends to be portrayed. I wanted to show Africa in a
different light by presenting to the world another Africa, the Africa that I
grew up in: that is not just characterized by negative images of famine, war and
poverty – but also a place of positivity, love and affection.
The other title that I remain
proud of is Mashingaidze Gomo’s A Fine
Madness for its powerful depiction of the insider’s perspective on the
nature of war and the effect on African identities. Above all, it traces the
sources of Africa’s conflicts and celebrates the indomitable African spirit.
DARKO: Several awards aside, Member of the British Empire is a
honourable award you received in 2011 from Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth II - for
outstanding contribution to publishing. The African community takes
pride in that recognition. Even, you gracefully mentioned 'Ghana' in your
dedication. Isolating the communal, what does the Queen's award mean to you,
personally?
NANA: Her Majesty’s award of
my MBE came as a total surprise and was humbly received with delight and
gratitude as recognition of Ayebia’s work. I also felt it was an
acknowledgement of the huge contributions that Ghanaians and Africans in the
Diaspora are making in Britain and Africa in the face of huge challenges. I
dedicated it to ‘Ghana’ first because I believe the foundation Ghana laid for
me in my formative years has stood me in good stead. So yes, “Ghana Made Me”
and the United Kingdom has added the finishing touches. But above all, I
dedicate it to my family – their unwavering support and nourishment enabled me
to be where I am today. We still have a lot of work to do but with their
support I know we can achieve our goals.
DARKO: I have learned that your vision goes beyond getting a book printed with finesse. It goes beyond having them shelved at Silverbird or East London's Centreprise Bookshop, or elsewhere around the world. Indeed, you have a broad vision. One of which you launched on a satellite television in the United Kingdom. It is all about a book discussion production on television. It is sad to know that you have not realised that goal as proposed about 6 years ago. What were or are the obstacles?
DARKO: I have learned that your vision goes beyond getting a book printed with finesse. It goes beyond having them shelved at Silverbird or East London's Centreprise Bookshop, or elsewhere around the world. Indeed, you have a broad vision. One of which you launched on a satellite television in the United Kingdom. It is all about a book discussion production on television. It is sad to know that you have not realised that goal as proposed about 6 years ago. What were or are the obstacles?
NANA: I prefer to see setback
in terms of challenges rather than obstacles because that brings a more
positive outlook and focus to bear on project. I am still in discussion with
like-minded professionals in the media about the need to champion and celebrate
our literature, culture and Africa’s contributions to world knowledge. With such
projects, the educational and economic benefits have to balance and that is
where we are now. Publishing, producing and the dissemination of books is a
business that must make profit in order to survive. It must be properly
organized and focused in order for it to generate economic rewards that will
sustain the project. Once the production logistics are in place, we will be up
and running. My vision is to create the first African Channel purposely and
solely dedicated to the championing of African literature in a global context.
We, Africans must cultivate the habit of thinking big!
DARKO: African Writers Children's Series is one wonderful idea within your plans. How close is it to execution?
DARKO: African Writers Children's Series is one wonderful idea within your plans. How close is it to execution?
NANA: Again, this is an area
that is very close to my heart because I believe if you catch children young
and instill in them love and values of their history and culture by providing
them with positive images of literary role models in their early formative
years in education and at home, they tend to grow up to become healthy and well-rounded
world citizens. I have two published children’s books written under my maiden
name Ayebia Ribeiro-Ayeh (Kweku and the
Goat, Heinemann 1996 and The Ashanti
Golden Stool, Heinemann: 1996) in the Junior African Writers Series (JAWS)
still in print with Heinemann Educational Publishers (now part of Pearson
Education). These books are a fun way of learning about African cultural norms
and practices in an educationally positive and fun way. Again, this is a
project that is in the pipeline and I know when it is fully fledged, Ayebia will
partner other publishers on the continent and internationally to ensure that
African Diaspora children born and growing up away from the continent are able
to access books with positive images who look like them.
The genre of children’s
publishing is a very important and growing area in influencing children’s
formative years. It is a critical area of publishing and African Publishers
like Ayebia must have a presence in this important formative area of publishing
to redress the imbalance in the way African and
black people are portrayed in Western narratives.
DARKO: Your mission statement makes a generous call for new writers. However inviting that sounds, the number of new writers that go into your quota per annum could be very discouraging. It seems you do not take genuine interest in new writers until someone recommends their work. Not disputing their individual brilliance, Mashingaidze Gomo and Martin Egblewogbe are identified examples of new writers of whom you published under recommendation by casual agents. It appears to me that the independent application of a new writer does not stand a meritorious chance of Ayebia's acceptance. Does it?
DARKO: Your mission statement makes a generous call for new writers. However inviting that sounds, the number of new writers that go into your quota per annum could be very discouraging. It seems you do not take genuine interest in new writers until someone recommends their work. Not disputing their individual brilliance, Mashingaidze Gomo and Martin Egblewogbe are identified examples of new writers of whom you published under recommendation by casual agents. It appears to me that the independent application of a new writer does not stand a meritorious chance of Ayebia's acceptance. Does it?
NANA: We continue to champion
new writing and have published new writers like Monica Arac de Nyeko’s “Jambula
Tree” which won the Caine Prize for African Writing in 2007. We have also
recently published Benjamin Kwakye, Mashingaidze Gomo and Martin Egblewogbe; the
last two came by recommendation and from distinguished writers such as Ama Ata
Aidoo.
In October 2013, I conducted a
3-Day Workshop in Accra, Ghana for The British Council titled: Professional Development and Presentation in
Publishing and Demystifying the
Publishing Process which was aimed at nurturing the next generation of
writers from Ghana. I met with and badgered the Director of the British Council,
Accra for a year about the need to establish structures that will help aspiring
writing in Ghana. I put forward the argument that there are an increasing
number of these workshops offered annually in neighbouring Nigeria and I felt
the need to help to redress the imbalance in Ghana, my home country. An Anthology of Contemporary Ghanaian
Writing will be published in 2014 with the support of the British Council
Accra to celebrate new writing from Ghana – most of the writers who will be
featured in the forthcoming Ayebia/British Council Anthology (about 85 per
cent) are first time writers who have never been published before.
I have been invited by the
Kwara State University in Malete, Nigeria to conduct similar writing workshops
and publishing seminars in March 2014. So as you can see, even though the level
of new writing Ayebia is publishing is dictated by the prevailing economic
climate (Ayebia lost her Arts Council England funding in 2011, incidentally the
same year that I was awarded an MBE for my services to the publishing industry),
yet, we continue to champion the nurturing and development of writing in a
sustainable way.
Ayebia is also one four Ghanaian
Publishers engaged by The University of Ghana to publish a Series of Legon
Readers for every faculty at Legon. The first books in the UG Readers Series
were launched in the Great Hall at Legon by the Vice Chancellor on 11th
December 2013 – Ayebia published the first two in the Humanities Series – Philosophy & Classics and English Language and Literature Readers.
Others in the pipeline include History, Linguistics, Modern Languages and
African Studies. Ayebia is very proud to be associated with the Legon Readers
Series project because it affords me the opportunity to make a contribution
towards development of the younger generation of future Ghanaian and African
writers and scholars.
And lastly, I would like to
refer you and your readers to Ayebia’s African
Love Stories Anthology (2006) edited by Ama Ata Aidoo which feature a
combination of 21 young up-and-coming and established writers from across the
spectrum of the continent. This book has won two prizes – The Caine Prize for
African Writing in the UK in 2007 and the Aidoo-Snyder First Prize for Best
Creative Work in 2008 in African Studies, US – the Aidoo-Snyder prize seeks to
acknowledge the excellence of contemporary scholarship being produced by women
about African women.
My point here is that unveiling
of new talent is not only about the sum total of the number of new writers that
a publisher publishes but equally important is the role a publisher plays in
contributing to the nurturing of the next generation of writers. Other writers who
Ayebia has helped to developed and hone their craft may get published by other
publishers and that is fine. I feel Ayebia is actively engaged in a variety of
ways in helping to shape the creative literary scene by providing an enabling
environment for nurturing new and budding talent from Africa and its Diasporas.
DARKO: Whiles working as the Submissions Editor with Heinemann, there were instances in which you 'often read manuscripts from Africa which smelled of wood smoke or kerosene'. In an interview with African Writing, you stated that such instance indicates: ''the person was probably writing without the luxury of electricity... I was always encouraged to see such dedication and commitment''. That is remarkable. And it makes me wonder if this generation has any commitment at all. Have you yet had any indication of the commitment of present writers? How do you compare, if necessary?
DARKO: Whiles working as the Submissions Editor with Heinemann, there were instances in which you 'often read manuscripts from Africa which smelled of wood smoke or kerosene'. In an interview with African Writing, you stated that such instance indicates: ''the person was probably writing without the luxury of electricity... I was always encouraged to see such dedication and commitment''. That is remarkable. And it makes me wonder if this generation has any commitment at all. Have you yet had any indication of the commitment of present writers? How do you compare, if necessary?
NANA: Every generation must
evolve their own way of interpreting and telling their stories. Today’s younger
generation of writers use different tools to their forebears. What I find
particularly inspiring about the younger generation is that their work is not
constrained by geography or history. They tend to explore their dual heritage experiences
both at home on the continent and abroad in the Diaspora. This must be
applauded but it must also be tempered by a nuanced acknowledgement and
reference to a certain tradition of writing which is steeped in an African
sensibility. A cursory glance at the work of a writer like Chimamanda Ngozi
Adichie reveals this dual heritage process of acknowledgement and growth with
grace in action.
DARKO: Some Ghanaian publishers are struggling to meet the standard of quality delivery. Inadequate training and funding are their major setbacks. If Ghana has an equivalent of Arts Council England, how helpful would it have been to the improvement of the publishing service?
DARKO: Some Ghanaian publishers are struggling to meet the standard of quality delivery. Inadequate training and funding are their major setbacks. If Ghana has an equivalent of Arts Council England, how helpful would it have been to the improvement of the publishing service?
NANA: Ayebia would not be
where it is today without the initial financial support of Arts Council England
and also the training I gained from my work at Heinemann Educational Books at
Oxford. But aside these two great British institutions I can add a third
prestigious institution – Oxford University where I did my Masters degree. I
have been very privileged to have been trained and nurtured by such august
institutions. But at the end of the day, individuals must take responsibility
for their actions and take pride in what they put out there.
A Ghanaian equivalent of Arts
Council Ghana would be a valuable institutional asset for training competent
editors and publishers in the publishing processes that help to shape an
individual into a complete professional. Ayebia would offer her services to
setting up and running such an institution and assist with the moulding of the
next generation of editors and publishers that would make Ghana proud.
DARKO: Thank you very much,
Nana. The Street feels honoured. We are grateful and proud of you.
NANA: Thank you for the
opportunity to share ideas and knowledge from an African publisher’s
perspective.
Pictures of Nana Ayebia Clarke MBE
