Kintu is an incredible piece of literature and one that fortifies Makumbi’s voice within the expanding story of African literature. As the delegates discussed whose voices must be added to the tale, the conversation turned to Jennifer Makumbi-her debut novel Kintu was the greatest African work of the moment according to many at the table. Yet, it is essential that Adichie, and Americanah in particular, do not remain the only story of African literature. The conversation during this particular panel often revolved around the Adichie’s idea about the “single story” of African literature in her famous TedTalk on the “Danger of a Single Story.” Within this discussion, most agreed that her work had been pivotal in insuring that Western audiences have the opportunity to explore African texts. I had personally read more African authors than just Adichie, yet besides some of greats such as Achebe and Soyinka, most of the works I had read were diasporic-essentially, I was behind and Makumbi could see it. One woman on the panel explained that, if a student reads Americanah, she then will offer him or her another African text, as it demonstrates a readiness to explore African literature. Although remaining a pivotal text, Americanah feels more acceptable to Western audiences, taking place largely in the United States and possibly over-simplifying American race relations. Adichie’s novels Purple Hibiscus and Half a Yellow Sun on the other hand, often feel farther away to American readers, being set fully in Nigeria in the 1990’s and then during the Biafran war. I was still curious as to where I went wrong in responding Americanah. It only took five minutes of that session to see the ignorance in my answer-it was the classic American student’s response. I had not truly understood the extent to which this initial conversation with Makumbi mattered until I attended a session the following day on Chimmamanda Ngozi Adichie. Quickly, Makumbi offered me other novels to read-Noviolet Bulawayo’s We Need New Names was the first on her list of texts I needed to read. To Makumbi, Adichie was unable to effectively harness and work through the anger of the blog posts which fill the novel. Makumbi explained that her disenchantment with Americanah was, in large part, due to what she described as Adichie’s brilliance as a writer, but lack of strength as a blogger.
She asked me over lunch which of Chimamanda’s works was my favorite. The first real conversation I had with Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi was about Adichie. Clara Molot, who will be attending Yale in the fall, wrote the following essay after attending the African Literature Association’s 2017 Annual Conference hosted by Yale University June 14-17.
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