SUPPORT THE READING CULTURE

Talk about literature- the art of reading and writing- in Ghana and the consensus is uniform. It is waning. Ghanaians are not reading and writers are not writing. Those who are writing are not getting the necessary help: it is difficult getting a publisher and distribution of books is a frenetic exercise, making it a non-profitable venture for publishers.

On Wednesday, 27^th March, 2013, I had the privilege of attending a book reading session organized by Writers Project Ghana. My first. Though I have heard about the Ghana Voices Series (that’s what it is known), I have, frankly been lazy at attending.

The guest writer was Alex Agyei-Agyiri, a lawyer/author. It was an interesting experience as he read from some of his old works, which included poems and few chapters from his new novel ‘Unexpected Joy At Dawn’. His writing is biased towards politics and how politicians have employed the conduit of politics to advance more of their course and less of the nation.

I was, however, saddened by the number of attendees that night. We were less than 25. I will not ascribe a reason for the low turnout. But it did set my mind on a quest to find answers to these questions and what can be done to promote this book reading culture. Interestingly, people will turn up for book reading if the guest is a celebrated writer or celebrated poet. They’ll be there more for photo shooting sessions. The ‘I-Was-There-Some’ symbolism is more important.

I asked a friend for his opinion on the subject of Ghanaians and reading. Hear his response: ‘Ghanaians (excluding the illiterate class) do read. They read their newspapers, their motivational/ spiritual books and their novels, authored by non-Ghanaians/Africans’.

He went further to indicate that most people, especially students, don’t read beyond their areas of study. It’s even worse when they complete school. Reading ceases in many cases.

This point has been emphasized by Joe Frazier, a columnist for the Daily Graphic in one of his articles. He opines: ‘The fact of the matter is that only a few Ghanaians read; if they are not compelled to do so to pass an examination, or to understand a religious tract’.

I have been reading Prof. Kofi Awoonor’s ‘The African Predicament-A Collection of Essays’. And in Chapter 2 of that book, he narrates his travels, in the 1960s across the US, visiting various Universities and High Schools reading poetry and educating his audience, mostly white students about Africa.

I’m wondering if an institution like the University of Ghana or the Department of English (I don’t know if they do though) can’t organize such reading encounters for students of her department, who are most likely to be in the business of writing one day. If for nothing at all, it will bring students into close proximity to some of their ‘heroes’. They also will get inspired; understand the works of the guest literary persons among other factors.

Cost? How these readings will be funded? The University has the resources. They own some good facilities. And even if they can’t fund it, the University has a ‘face’ attractive enough to source some corporate funding to support.

As it stands, Writers Project Ghana appears to be fanning this initiative. And i would want to commend them for promoting creative writing and literature on the whole. Though they ran on a shoe string budget, they are doing a great job. I don’t want to talk about corporate sponsorship because corporate Ghana appears to support all things except educational programmes. Every good thing has to begin ‘small’. It takes just a spark to create an inferno. Kudos to you.

And if you are reading this, I’ll urge you to make it a point to attend these interesting and educative gatherings once you hear about it. You won’t regret the experience.

Lest I forget, the Ghana Voices Series happens on the last Wednesday of every month. Follow @writerspg on twitter for updates.