It's been a long wait. Since Wole Soyinka won the Nobel Award in Literature in 1986, it seemed the prestigious diadem would continue to elude Africa and its Black writers. But now it's back!
Now, Abdulrazak Gurnah of Tanzania has been announced as the winner of the gong for this year. He might not be as well known in his native continent like Achebe, Ngugi, Armah, Adichie etc, but his body of writings stand as a monument...
An academic and (mainly) a novelist who migrated to the UK many decades ago, Gurnah s works are regarded as top notch especially in Eurocentric circles, having published formidable novels like Paradise, and Afterlife
Raphael Mokoena, literary aficionado says: "One is naturally happy with this development - another Black wins the Nobel Award for Literature ... but to be honest, the whole picture and scenario looks pretty grim. Whether based in Africa, Europe or America, only 3 authentic blacks have won the Nobel Award for writing over the decades! Till date, so many wonder why Achebe never won it... and why hasn't Ngugi of Kenya been announced as a much deserved winner? But kudos to Gurnah."
The Nobel Committee in its terse manner lauded Gurnah: "for his uncompromising and compassionate penetration of the effects of colonialism and the fates of the refugee in the gulf between cultures and continents''
Major Books by Abdulrazak Gurnah
Memory of Departure (1987)
Pilgrims Way (1988)
Dottie (1990)
Paradise (1994)
Admiring Silence (1996)
By the Sea (2001)
Desertion (2005)
The Last Gift (2011)
Gravel Heart (2017)
Afterlives (2020)
