Post date: May 23, 2011 2:26:6 PM
African writers take part in a literature festival to promote reading and writing culture in West Africa.
LOME, TOGO (MAY 18, 2011) REUTERS - Seventeen African writers were recently in Togo's capital, Lome for the first edition of a Francophone literature festival, which is aimed at encouraging young people to read more.
Accessing books in Africa can be difficult because they are often expensive.
Star Librairie, considered to be the biggest book store in Togo has seen a decrease in book sales over the years.
Book sellers say taxes charged on books brought into the country push prices up to as high as 50 US dollars per book.
"Buying books here is not the same as in past. First, I guess the first reason, the first obstacle when it comes to purchasing books is due to the tax that we have to pay on the books on arrival, which means that books are becoming more and more expensive compared to other African countries," said Florence Ganke, a staff member at Star Librairie.
Many African youth also have no interest in books, preferring to spend time watching television.
Organisers of the recent French-Speaking Writers Festival in Togo hope that they can ignite an interest for reading in youth by enabling them to meet some of the continent's most celebrated authors.
The festival featured the works of prominent writers in contemporary French literature, such Jean Divassa from Gabon, Kangni Alem and Sami Tchak, both from Togo.
The writers held workshops with students across Lome, talking about some of the themes in their books like culture and issues on the African continent.
"I think it has great cultural significance because Togo itself does not have many writers and specifically here at our school, because we do not have adequate means, we do not get the chance to study many writers. But the fact that this program is in place for them to come will allow us to know them a bit more," said Josias Kouawovi, a student.
Gabonese author Jean Divassa, who won the Major Literary Prize of Black Africa in 2008, an award for French-speaking writers in sub-suharan Africa, toured schools as part of the festival.
"It is a very good idea because this initiative allows Togolese literature to be livelier and it also allows young people to find their place," said Divassa.
Twenty-year old Essanam Kokoe Kouevi is an aspiring author from Togo in her final year of secondary school.
She relished taking part in the writing workshops led by French writer, Michel Cadence but Kouevi did not have to wait for the festival to put her talents to work.
She began writing her first novel "Myriam ou la rose Noir" - "Myriam or the Black rose" at 16 years old.
Kouevi said working with Cadence at the workshops was a chance for her to develop her skills even further.
"It's not every day that we have the opportunity to have these kind of festivals in Togo, and moreover, this is the first edition, so it's nice to be selected for the workshop and with someone like Michel Cadence, I think we will learn a lot to improve our writing," she said.
Cadence, who is also a publisher said he was impressed with the literary potential in Togo.
"What is evident in African literature is first and foremost its diversity and I think that diversity is the source of wealth," he said.
Kouevi was also chosen by the organisers to speak to her classmates about the need to read books and take interest in literature. She also presented her first novel to her peers.
Kouevi said one of the hurdles of being an emerging author is the difficulty to get published.
"I am a self published author; the publisher could not take over because of a lack of resources. The problem remains at the publishing houses level. Otherwise, I met several people who are very talented but they could not afford to get published," she said.
In Togo, the youth literacy rate in 2008 was at an average 83 percent for both boys and girls.
According to the World Bank, Zimbabwe has one of the highest adult literacy rates in Africa at over 90 percent while Mali and Burkina Faso have the lowest at about 20-28 percent.