On Wednesday, Nigerian-American author Nnedi Okorafor visited campus. She held a Q&A coffee hour at the DMC, which I unfortunately did not get the chance to attend, but I did go to her reading and book talk in the Barn. Earlier this semester, my creative writing class read her short story “The Book of Phoenix”, which is set in the same world as her novel Who Fears Death. I really enjoyed the story, which was a well-written work of science fiction, and became interested in Okorafor’s writing. Unfortunately, with work from four classes (two of them literature courses), I haven’t had a lot of time for pleasure reading this semester. On multiple occasions, on trips to the bookstore for more practical necessities, I’ve hesitated near her books, looking at works like Akata Witch and the aforementioned Who Fears Death and wondering how I could make time to read them. After listening to her read and talk about her books, however, I knew I had to start reading more of her writing.
Okorafor read excerpts from the beginnings of Who Fears Death, Lagoon, and the first novella in her Binti trilogy. As far as genre, she focuses on African science fiction. She spoke about the lack of African representation in sci-fi, particularly in post-apocalyptic stories, and explained that her writing is a response to that gap. Her books are usually set in the future, imagining what traditional African cultures will look like then; how will they change over time, and what aspects will stay the same? Many African cultures have elements of mysticism, so she tries to include this in her books, though science fiction doesn’t usually focus much on magic — this is one thing that distinguishes this genre from general sci-fi.
Age-wise, Okorafor said she doesn’t write to a specific audience, but simply writes a story and then decides, or lets her editor or agent decide, what age group it’s for. I found her discussion about how she writes to be very interesting and inspiring. She talked about how her books are often inspired by personal events or experiences triggering an idea or theme; she started writing Binti, in which the protagonist leaves her close-knit family for a far-away university, when she left her whole extended family in Chicago to teach at the University of Buffalo. She writes non-linearly (out of order), and doesn’t plot ahead of time, just letting her stories take shape as she goes along. Her unique experience as the American child of Nigerian parents gives her a perspective that helps her to write what she does, knowing Nigeria more intimately than an outsider would, but also being able to appreciate the surprise of unexpected aspects that seem normal to natives. In response to a question about her influences, she named Ben Okri as a very quotable Nigerian writer, and Octavia Butler as an accessible and African-American science fiction writer. She also named Stephen King as a very talented writer, despite his sometimes problematic depiction of black characters and other issues.
At the end of Okorafor’s talk, I purchased Who Fears Death. The excerpt she read was super compelling, and I had been intrigued by “The Book of Phoenix.” This novel is also set to be turned into an HBO show, produced by George R. R. Martin. If you like science fiction, want to diversify your reading material, or just want some great writing, I definitely recommend picking up something by Nnedi Okorafor! Her website includes links to short stories and articles she’s written, if you don’t have time for a book or want to explore her work before buying a longer novel. I was really impressed by her talk and can’t wait to continue reading her work.