2024-07-27 00:34:30
In a statement to MAP, on the sidelines of the second edition of the Marrakech African Book Festival (FLAM), Mr. Mabanckou gave several pieces of advice to young people wishing to become writers or novelists, highlighting the role of reading as an essential first phase that allows one to open up to other books before moving on to the imitation phase and then to creative autonomy.
The Congolese writer also indicated that it is essential to always look for the most exciting moments in childhood, adding that “childhood is a very important phase in the journey of any writer.”
“When you write a novel the most important characters are not the main characters but the secondary characters and what is around them, since it is the secondary characters who carry it, that is why it is important to take the time to choose these characters,” he observed.
This professor at the University of Los Angeles also recommended that young African writers open up to several literatures and not limit themselves to African readings, noting that “literature is not a confinement but an open house, we must understand that the world is vast to be not only an African writer but a world writer.”
Alain Mabanckou’s book, entitled “Letters to a Young Senegalese Novelist”, aims to draw up a catalogue that would be a sort of road map for anyone aspiring to become a writer and to establish a fraternal dialogue with young, budding novelists.
Led by the association “We Art africains”, FLAM aims to celebrate African literature and culture, offering the opportunity for the public to take part in the event and to access all the host sites for free, with a view to bringing culture and art closer to the public, and allowing authors and the public to meet in different forms and daily meetings, in addition to concerts, readings and poetry.
For this second edition of the festival, the program proposes themes reflecting the scientific and editorial news of Africa and devotes a special place to the reactivation and consolidation of memories and links that unite all Africans wherever they are.
2024-07-27 00:34:30