By Adewale Banjo
Contrary to what obtained in the past, African artists are now helping the world to have a deep understanding of the continent.
The new trend, which artists employ to broaden the African worldview, is not only through Nollywood movies but also the works of international writers like Iheoma Nwachukwu.
In his essay, “Pandemic Surrealism”, published last year in the prestigious international journal, AGNI, Nwachukwu explores the world of surrealism where dreams are more solid than what people perceive as reality.
Addressing the American audience, Nwachukwu talks about ghosts and elementals in his fiction, the two-part world of Igbo cosmology where both the spiritual and physical worlds have equal weight. Of course, this is a belief widely shared in Africa but arguably alien to the Americans.
Nwachukwu’s essay is of major cultural significance, because in an immigrant country like America that prefers a secular philosophy, his contribution helps Americans to better understand the worldview of their immigrant neighbours. This tends to ease tension in the workplace like banks, schools, and prevents escalation of conflict, leading to greater productivity in America’s economy.
Attesting to Nwachukwu’s essay, Dr. D.M Aderibigbe, director, University of Southern Mississippi’s Visiting Writers Series, said it has provoked intellectual commentary among his peers in the literary world, with some comparing it to another of his work, Cyborg’s Brother published in AGNI, where a young man is surprised by his father’s apparition rising out of poured water.
“The cultural aesthetics preserved in his fiction makes one think of Gabriel Marquez. He might not be as well known as Chimamanda Adichie, but he holds his own among the finest writers of this generation. He’s obviously a talented writer,” Aderibigbe says.
Iheoma Nwachukwu has won prestigious fellowships from top institutions like Michener Centre for Writers, University of Texas, Austin; Chinua Achebe Centre for Writers, Bard College, New York; Florida State University (Bailey Fellowship) and Mississippi Arts Commission – a state-legislated fellowship (Individual Artist), which he won last year. His work has been anthologised in Best of Eclectica and Sunspot Jungle, and cited in Best American Short Stories, as well as Pushcart Prize.
Nwachukwu, who lives in Pennsylvania, USA where he is an Assistant Professor of English at Eastern University, holds a Ph.D. in English and Creative Writing from Florida State University. His essay is useful and thought provoking, and it’s the kind of sensible work that the Nigerian artists, especially African artists who work at home and in the Diaspora should continue to produce.