If we are forgotten now, when will we be remembered

In January 2021, at the swearing-in ceremony of the 46th President of the United States, Joe Biden, apart from the world’s biggest artists to attend, a 22-year-old young girl—a writer of poetry books—named Amanda Gorman was also invited. This poet was not only invited to eat peanuts at the White House and take pictures, but she was also given the opportunity to read her poem called The Hill we Climb, an opportunity that—within just one day—led to two of her books, Change Sings: Children Anthem and The Hill we Climb, climbing the charts and holding the top two positions on the Amazon sales list.

Besides that, within the same day, millions of followers flooded her social media pages. For example, on Twitter, where she only had seven thousand followers, she reached more than two million.

Her Instagram following grew exponentially, too. After the inauguration, major media outlets like CNN, BBC, Al-Jazeera, and online ones like the Oprah Show, etc., scrambled with much haste to conduct interviews with her. Various institutions in the United States, such as Morgan State University, offered her work in their departments of literature.

This great success, fuelled by the small act of the White House inviting her and giving her the opportunity to appear in front of a large audience, did not end only with Amanda; the effect shook the entire industry of book authors in the United States. The sales of many books doubled, and the status of authors rose as well.

With that event, the White House sent a message to the world about how it appreciates the status and promotes the talents of its book authors, in line with its efforts to encourage the reading of books—something that stirs up ideas in the brains of its people and stimulates creativity in the growth of their gifts.

Let’s ask each other: how many “Amandas” in our country kill their creativity and bury their talents due to a lack of motivation from the authorities?

I remembered the incident of Amanda and the White House after my heart longed to see authors of books (novels, poems, etc.)—just like the musicians on the stage—and they were given that esteemed and rare opportunity at the inauguration of the new State House in Chamwino.

But—my oh my—not only did they miss out on the opportunity to go on stage or be recognized in public, but they even lost out on being invited in the first place. They were completely ignored—or rather “politely”, let’s say, they were forgotten.

Still, when Ommy Dimpoz is invited and Shafi Adam Shafi (author of Kuli, Kasri ya Mwinyifuadi, Mbali na Nyumbani) is forgotten, then that is ignorance; when Christian Bella is invited while Hussein Tuwa (author of Mfadhili, Mkimbizi, Mdunguaji, etc.) is ignored, then that is ignorance; when Steve Nyerere is invited while Prof. Emanuel Mbogo (author of Watoto wa Mama, Nitilie, Malikia Sitti bint Saad, etc.) is forgotten, then that is ignorance; when Hajji Manara is invited while Richard Mabala (author of Hawa The Bus Driver, Mabala The Farmer, etc.) is forgotten, then that is ignorance.

Now why do we ignore—or forget—the people who, through their pens, protect our culture and provoke our ideas?

Have you ever wondered why pop artists and even their entourage are invited to the Parliament but then the winners of literary awards (novels, poems) by Safal-Cornell and Mwalimu Nyerere are forgotten? It’s just sheer ignorance.

In such an environment, do you think that the youth who studied Richard Mabala, Hussein Tuwa, then ends up only seeing them on Facebook and Twitter, when he comes to see Ommy Dimpoz and Steve Nyerere—with the President of the country—at major state events, who will they want to be in the future, between a musician and a writer? Will they like to read books or listen to songs? I’m not saying that we don’t need musicians, actors, etc.; of course we do. But we need a mosaic of artists and academics from various fields.

Right now, we have a big national vacuum of female authors in the book industry, so much so that women lack someone to voice their thoughts. Now imagine that at that State House event, in front of the President’s eyes, authors like Zainab Baharoon, Laura Pettie, Lilian Mbaga, Elizabeth Mramba, and others would be recognized. It would have been great motivation to reach girls across the country who wish to be authors, but alas, they do not see the light!

Writers of books (novels, poems, etc.) have two hats on their heads: firstly, they are academics—because their books are written academically and are used in academic activities; secondly, they are artists—because their books (novels, poetry, etc.), like songs and plays, are genres of literature. And literature is a branch of art. Therefore, poets and novelists are artists too. Do you know the effects of forgetting a person who not only impacts society academically but artistically too?

This unfortunate phenomenon does not only occur at State House events but rather almost everywhere artists and academics are invited, and authors of books (novels, poems, etc.) are forgotten. Are we really building a nation that lacks the motivation to write or the will to read?

Developed countries across the globe take care of and reward their authors with great envy. Take, for example, President Obama, who, during his administration, invited hundreds of authors to the White House—such as Toni Morrison, Joyce Carol Oates, Daniel Aaron, Stephen King, and many others—and awarded them medals as part of honouring and recognizing their contribution to society.

Take the second example: the novelist James Patterson, when he thought of writing a novel about the issues of the presidency and the White House, reached out to President Bill Clinton and convinced him to write the book together. Bill Clinton agreed. As a result, they came out with an incredible novel: The President is Missing and the President’s Daughter. With this honour given to Patterson, how many young people do you think searched for and read this book? How many young people wanted to become like Patterson? Without leaders creating these opportunities, no one will be motivated to go far.

Even here in Bongo, in those years when the reading of books was ubiquitous, it did not happen by chance. The top leaders of our country participated in awakening the spirit of reading and raising the status of authors. One may remember that Mwalimu Nyerere collaborated a lot with authors like Kaluta Amri Abeid, Shaaban Robert, and others since the fight for independence and even after it was achieved. These authors were then respected everywhere. There was a time when Mwalimu had a streak of inviting authors like Elvis Musiba (who wrote the stories of Willy Gamba), Ben R. Mtobwa (who wrote the stories of Joram Kiango), and others to have coffee and just chat with them, something that raised the status of authors and the value of the books they wrote.

One can say that maybe that is because Mwalimu Nyerere himself was an author. Au contraire. Being an author alone is not enough; one must recognize the calling of this very precarious industry. Take this example: in March 2017, President Magufuli appointed a talented novelist in the country, Dr. Harrison Mwakyembe, to be the Minister of Information, Arts, and Sports. As authors, we believed that if we didn’t get to the room, we would be taken out of the washroom and placed at least in the parlour.

However, the same “wine” that intoxicated many to think that art is only for singers and actors had already intoxicated this minister who wrote the novel, Pepo ya Mabwege. The wine only made him sway here and there, swinging between the trumpets of Bongo Fleva (local music) and the spotlights of Bongo Muvi (local movies).

There was a time, with the help of an elderly author and novelists from the writers’ union, UWARIDI (Umoja wa Waandishi wa Riwaya wenye Dira), when we were able to reach the office of Dr. Mwakyembe in Dodoma with our reports detailing our journeys and recommendations for addressing our occupational needs. The most optimistic outcome of that meeting would be that our reports, luckily, were not used in wrapping maandazi.

At last, today we have President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who, as the Vice President of the United Republic of Tanzania, in February 2021, attended the Mabati-Cornell literary award ceremony (novel and poetry) and spoke a lot about writing and reading. She mentioned Hajji Gora, Shafi Adam Shafi, Mohammed Said Abdulla, and many others to indicate the way she was passionate and well versed about this industry. If we don’t raise our voices today, when will we?

And if we are forgotten at this time when the Director of Presidential Communications, Zuhura Yunus, is also our fellow author of books—when will we be remembered?

Translated by Ally Baharoon from the original piece by Maundu Mwingizi