Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie on what it means to be “an African writer”
<i>&quot;It is difficult in the West to talk about the connections between creating and citizenship because of the general ideas placed around art, that it is a thing apart, that an artist by creating suddenly becomes a citizen of an imaginary and apolitical land of other artists. There are people in the West who use the term “political” almost as a pejorative in reference to a work of literature. (I emphasise the West because in parts of the world called developing, art is often not seen as automatically separate from politics.)&quot;</i><p>This is quite poignant and on the nose in my experience. I&#x27;m a dark science fiction author and this has been my understanding of the situation in my field also. With the Sad&#x2F;Rabid puppies, Gamergate, Racefail, etc. its always been a large discussion that politics should stay out of art, or that art should be apolitical, or that politics in art is pandering&#x2F;bad.<p>I feel that the selection of politics in art is actually quite specific- 1984, Farenheit 451, Ayn Rand&#x27;s works are political with esteem. But works in a distinctly diverse voice are often chagrined for it- the new star wars stuff, the new star trek stuff (even when the old star trek stuff, which is also quite diverse, is well regarded). I&#x27;ve seen criticism that these are &#x27;too political&#x27;, but I&#x27;ve yet to see someone complaining that 1984 is too political of a scifi piece, or that Brave New World is shoving too much politics in its scifi. But I may just not be adequately read on criticisms of those works- I only have so much attention and I&#x27;ve found the loudest voices are of the most recent works of our time.<p>So I agree that in the West, describing fiction as political is sometimes used in a pejorative manner, even though several well-regarded works are very political. It&#x27;s just certain politics are broadly considered &#x27;too far&#x27; and hyperfocused on identity in a negative sense. I don&#x27;t understand this phenomenon myself, actually, but her observance is also my observance here as a Western writer.<p>But her later writing, about not only writing politically, but also being viewed in a political light are also true to me. Even as one does not write with a political agenda, the writing will be interpreted in a political lens and then you the author will be held responsible. This contrast between that which is viewed politically and that which is written politically is a core of significant amounts of chagrin within the field of science fiction writing.<p>The final paragraph, before the quote, encompasses so much that I relate to. (I still respect that, as an American author, I could never fully relate to her experiences as a Nigerian author. I respect that her experiences are her own. Merely that I relate to aspects of it.)<p><i>&quot;That question “Are you an African Writer?” is one I have been asked many times, and there are times when I have answered “Yes”, a yes that reflected my ambivalence but also my anxiety not to be misunderstood. I belong, was what my “Yes” said, I belong. But that “Yes” often came with a whisper: “But you must let me belong on my own terms, on multiple terms, for that is the essence of art.”&quot;</i>