Omoseye Bolaji remains a fascinating writer, a man who has been blazing
literary footprints for decades now. His corpus of 40 or so books published
is very impressive for an African writer, a man who seemingly cannot stop
writing.
Budding writers - and even many established ones - often wonder what his
"secret" is. Probably the reviewer for Leiden University Library in Europe (whilst
examining Bolaji's work, Sorry you've been troubled) comes close when she
writes:
"Omoseye Bolaji’s enthusiasm for African literature is infectious.
Here is a passionate plea for the written word - for books, for
African books in particular, and for reading and writing in Africa
generally...'
Certainly Bolaji has proved a very versatile writer. Apart from over a
dozen works of fiction, he has published many other books on poetry,
literary criticism, general works and sports, and drama. He of course
started the Tebogo Mystery series of books, about ten published volumes thus far.
Talk to literary lovers/readers/aficionados about Bolaji, and you will
see which particular genre of his they are particularly enamoured with. I for one,
prefer his contributions to literary criticism, where one might be
surprised that he has actually published at least five solid books which are held in high esteem. This also confirms his love for literature.
As Pule Lechesa, the powerful South African author and critic points out: "Bolaji loves African literature a lot and loves to celebrate and appreciate dozens of African writers and poets on a regular basis. And the man himself has been a mentor, a teacher in his own understated, shy manner. How many African writers have confessed the debt they owe him?"
In Bolaji's countless essays on literature (collected in books of his like,
Thoughts on Free State Writing, Miscellaneous Writings, Cognoscenti, Sorry
you've been troubled, and Calamity Angst) Bolaji often mixes the formal
with the informal, with personal anecdotes, his sense of humour very much
in evidence. He has also combined with other African writers to produce works
on Literature, a recent example being the book, Further Glimpses into African
Literature, which he co-edited with I.M Soqaga of South Africa.
The quality of Bolaji 's prose is often elevated and sparkling in his literary essays. Here, for example, is his Introduction to his essay on the wonderful early African writer, Peter Abrahams:
"Not far from becoming a centenarian now, the South African writer, Peter Abrahams in his pomp brilliantly inspired a generation of disparate African writers ".
(from Glimpses into African Literature, 2015)
As for his assorted fiction, Bolaji strives to find a simple, accessible style which
is not completely pedestrian. He no doubt finds this easier to do when the books in question are written in the first person, like most of the Tebogo adventure
books. It is noticeable that his style veers towards the more formal and pedantic when he is addressing serious issues. This can be seen in the third of the Tebogo books (Tebogo fails) in an often quoted passage:
" We got to a sort of field, like a meadow, copse, quite
attractive. It was a romantic setting. Shame about those who abused
the place, stalking, slinking in the dark, ready to pounce on
individual females who chanced to use this route alone. But the
ambience itself was magnificent. Made for lovers... Youngsters no
matter how intelligent, often have a devil-may-care trait in them, a
predilection to brave the world and its perils sometimes. Undoubtedly,
many females here must have traversed this quote short cut route in
the dark, intermittently. Rape is different from murder. No child
believes he/she would be killed. Decent people do not harm the young
of the world...’
(from Tebogo Fails, 2003)
Selected Books written by Omoseye Bolaji (not a complete list):
The Termagant
Fillets of plaice
Impossible Love
Tebogo Investigates
The ghostly adversary
Tebogo’s spot of bother
The Quack of QwaQwa
The Guillotine
People of the Townships
Tebogo and the Haka
Tebogo and the Epithalamion
Tebogo and the pantophagist
Far up far out far more
Miscellaneous Writings
Cognoscenti
Tebogo and the bacchae
Sorry you've been troubled
Tebogo and Uriah Heep
Further Glimpses into African Literature (with I. M Soqaga)
Calamity Angst