'Taboo' story takes African prize
Jambula Tree was described as "witty and mischievous"
The Ugandan writer who won the Caine Prize for African Writing with a story
about lesbianism, often a taboo topic in Africa, says she is "very excited".
Monica Arac de Nyeko beat four other finalists to get the $20,000 (£10,000)
prize for her story Jambula Tree.
It is about a relationship between young girls in a country where homosexuality
is illegal.
"I'm not a lesbian but I do think it's a difficult subject, like... writing
about Uganda's history," she said.
She's taking on a theme that Africans have been in denial about
Publisher Becky Ayebia Clarke
The Caine Prize, announced in Oxford on Monday night, is considered a major
award in African creative writing.
Jambula Tree was described as "witty and mischievous" by the judges.
Her publisher Becky Ayebia Clarke said when she first read the story she
thought "how brave" Ms Arac de Nyeko was to take on the subject.
"In Africa these are not the kind of stories we're allowed to tell. She's
taking on a theme that Africans have been in denial about - a theme about
same-sex love."
'Walls'
"The Jambula Tree is about the relationship between two young girls in a very
complex social setting in a community which does not look kindly at that
relationship," Ms Arac de Nyeko told the BBC's Network Africa programme.
There are a lot of difficult things that I think we need to talk about and not
build walls of huge emotion
Monica Arac de Nyeko
"It's a combination of struggle and the power to dream and love," she said.
"There are a lot of difficult things that I think we need to talk about and not
build walls of huge emotion so that they're almost impassable."
She said the jambula tree signified various things in the story.
"First of all the jambula tree is where you have the neighbour who has been
stealthily watching the two girls - their relationship unfold - over a
significant amount of time."
While, the small fruit from the tree represents breasts.
"Jambula in this story is also an image for breasts... they're teenagers so
they could well be mosquito bites, in this case jambulas."
Praying
The Caine Prize can be given to an African writer who has been published on the
continent or elsewhere.
The prize also includes a month as "writer in residence" at a US university.
During her acceptance speech, Ms Arac de Nyeko said the prize was a "very
exciting time for Ugandan fiction" and that she would immediately call her
sister.
"I'll get on the phone and get my sister to stop praying - because she's been
on her knees probably for a very long time," she said.
Monica Arac de Nyeko was born in 1979 in northern Uganda - the scene of one of
the world's longest civil wars.
The other writers on the shortlist were:
Uwem Akpan (Nigeria) - My Parents' Bedroom
EC Osondu (Nigeria) - Jimmy Carter's Eyes
Henrietta Rose-Innes (South Africa) - Bad Places
Ada Udechukwu (Nigeria) - Night Bus
Last year, South Africa's Mary Watson was the seventh winner of the Caine Prize.
_______________________________________________
Ugandanet mailing list
[email protected]
http://kym.net/mailman/listinfo/ugandanet
% UGANDANET is generously hosted by INFOCOM http://www.infocom.co.ug/
The above comments and data are owned by whoever posted them (including
attachments if any). The List's Host is not responsible for them in any way.
---------------------------------------
