2023-07-28 01:55:58
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The Beninese writer Robert EDJAMIAN launches this Saturday, July 29, 2023 at Chant d’Oiseau in Cotonou a collection of short stories, entitled, “The lover of the ghost”. In an interview he gave to the newspaper L’Evènement Précis, he indicated that this fourth work he has signed, “reports on the lightness of morals and a certain degree of libertinage which, after all, remain and remain the direct consequences of the hybridization of Western civilization with ours…” Several writers and book lovers are expected at this launch ceremony placed under the high patronage of the former minister and current deputy to the National Assembly, Lazare Sehoueto.
Precise Event : You are launching this Saturday, July 29, a collection entitled “The lover of the ghost”. What does your new literary work have in store for the general public?
Robert EDJAMIAN : It holds many surprises and thrills. In effect,” The Ghost Lover » is a collection of thrilling short stories unlike any other.
The title seems evocative and enigmatic at the same time. How were you inspired by it?
I am not able to tell you exactly how I was inspired. You know, almost everyone has been told, at least once in their life, a ghost story, of someone who is already dead but came back to be confused with humans, for various reasons. So I began to imagine what this beyond could look like, this parallel world inaccessible to humans who are truly limited in their ability to perceive and visualize.
What relationship can you make between this work and the socio-cultural realities of Benin?
I would even say that this work is the perfect reflection of certain socio-cultural realities of our country in particular and of Africa in general. It will be enough to read it to realize it.
Is this collection accessible to all levels of study?
If you want to talk about literary style and the different writing processes, I would say that this collection is accessible to all levels of study. I have a nephew of just 12 who read it straight through. It’s written in a fluid style, like all my books for that matter.
What lessons of life can we draw from this collection when we finish reading it?
This work reports on the lightness of morals and a certain degree of libertinage which, after all, remain and remain the direct consequences of the hybridization of Western civilization with ours. This hybridization unfortunately favors the distancing of African youth from their own socio-cultural values by clearly indicating that an awareness is necessary in order to revalorize our cultural identity.
Mr Robert Edjamian is the author of several other literary works already revealed to the public. What if we made a point today?
«The Ghost Lover” is my fourth book and my goal is to continue publishing as long as I have the means, because one thing is to write and another is to be able to publish what one writes. This is where all the difficulties lie.
A teacher by training, you opted for the production of literary works a few years ago. What are the motivations?
Since school, my main dream was to become a good writer, one whose reading of his works does not require having a dictionary next to him. Later, to see my young fellow citizens dizzyingly distance themselves from their own cultures by copying blindly those of others and especially of Western countries, motivated me more.
How do you assess the world of Beninese writers and the quality of the literary works of which they are signatories?
Even if it seems obvious that Beninese literature is booming, it is clear that its actors lack adequate structures; which negatively impacts the quality of certain works. Few publishers surround themselves with reliable infrastructures or substantial technical equipment. Fortunately, there are some who make remarkable efforts. This does not mean that the authors have nothing to reproach themselves for. Many do not even take into account certain subtleties of the language in which they write. And it is still up to the publisher to have a rigorous editorial line to be able to reject a work when he considers it mediocre.
In the era of new technologies and social networks where everything is known from a single click, what future do you see for literary works of the genre and their authors?
New technologies and social networks are, of course, essential these days. It’s a package, and in a package, everything is not necessarily good. It is up to everyone to draw from it the assets necessary for their development. I don’t think that the new information and communication technologies can be an obstacle to the development of literary works. On the contrary.
What message do you have to send to the public as a prelude to the launch of your collection of short stories this Saturday, July 29 at Chant d’Oiseau in Cotonou?
I simply urge the public to come in large numbers to the Chant d’oiseau de Cotonou tomorrow Saturday, July 29 at 3 p.m. sharp. It’s not just a launch. It is rather a cultural mass under the high patronage of the former minister Lazare SEHOUETO and which will be animated by the essential Eustache Florent HESSOU.
Interview by Christian TCHANOU
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