We need to see the value in our stories – to want to tell them, to want to publish them, to want to share them. No one will do that for us but ourselves.
Neema Komba
1. Many would argue that writing is a dying medium. Why is it important to you?
To me, writing has always afforded me a great deal of freedom – to see, to be, to say, to dream. It has been a vehicle that has given me an eye to see the world, sometimes differently, sometimes just more in depth. It has also been a way for me to make others see what I see, feel what I feel – a powerful tool to connect with others, especially those who are different from me, and learn to see them and understand them even more.
I truly believe that writing can change the world, because many times over, I have been changed by great writing. I have been moved to see outside myself, to be more empathetic, and just all the more human. I have never thought of it as a dying medium, I think as long as we are alive, people will write, and people will read or consume writing though another medium – like film.
I am reminded of what James Baldwin said about the power of writing, that, ‘You write in order to change the world… if you alter, even by a millimeter, the way people look at reality, then you can change it.‘
2. If you were to write professionally, what would be your terms?
To have the freedom to write what I want to write, how I want to write it, and get to share it with the world. I would also like to work with really good editors that can expand and deepen my writing by adding their experience and their abilities with language, the kind of editors that allow you to grow into more of yourself, those that see the potential of your draft and harness it.
3. Considering that more people are using the same channels, where would you say writing stands in the media production journey?
Great writing is timeless. It stands out. There are words that we say now because someone wrote them. When you think of someone like Toni Morrison, Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Shaban Robert, Adam Shafi, Chinua Achebe, Chimamanda Adichie, and a lot of other amazing writers who in a sea of words and noise still command our attention, how can you not see the importance. But even when you look at great songs, great movies, even great ads – we connect with the writing. I would say writing is the soul of media.
I would say writing is the soul of media.
Neema Komba
4. How can writing in East Africa improve?
This is a tough question for me – because somehow it implies that East African writing is lacking in some ways, something I don’t agree with. We have a lot of great writing, great works coming from East Africa in both English and Kiswahili, and in some cases French, Arabic and our tribal languages. I think it is more about access to the works – can East Africans, write, publish, read and be read in the languages of their choosing, the languages they know?
I think to me, it would be more about expanding our writing – to do what Ngugi did, and write in our many beautiful tongues, to record our oral traditions in text, to tell our own stories in our own ways, to ourselves and to the rest of the world, to write our own history. Then to read, cherish, and preserve. We need to see the value in our stories – to want to tell them, to want to publish them, to want to share them. No one will do that for us but ourselves.
5. What can young East Africans do to hone their skills for a career in writing? What would their careers look like?
Writing, like any other career, is something you build over time, with hard work, patience, and, of course, investing yourself in learning the craft. Writing is also about showing up in front of a blank page and putting in the time to write, then rewrite and rewrite until its good enough to be read.
I have worked with young writers a few times, training, coaching and mentoring, and I am always excited by their passion and enthusiasm. The challenge is to keep those fires burning long enough to write and get published and build a career that way. I always tell them what works for me, and it is very simply – to keep writing, keep reading, keep learning. I don’t know how their careers would look like, but we can be inspired by the likes of Ngugi, Shafi, Jennifer Makumbi, Zukiswa Wanner, Nahida Esmail, Elias Mutani, Richard Mabala, and many writers from East Africa and beyond.
Thanks Neema for your time!
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