A Prize for African Writing

In a previous life I used to be a huge Caine Prize fan.

The AKO Caine Prize for African Writing to use it’s full name is a registered charity whose stated aim is “to bring African writing to a wider audience using our annual literary award.”

My awareness of the Prize started when I worked at an Arts Trust that had a huge link with Caine but over the years my fandom has dwindled. 

The lapse was due to a realization that writing for the Western gaze means the authors have to meet stereotypical expectations of what people in the West expect to be “African”.

Also, the Caine Prize seems to be rotated based on location, gender and not solely dependent on the writing. 

However, I still read shortlisted stories, rank them and wait to see the judges’ pick.

At first reading and without googling the shortlisted authors, these were my raw notes of the 2021 Caine Prize shortlist.

1. Lucky

Slow start. Then builds up. Not quite fleshed out. A child’s perspective of specific war, with a killing witnessed. Also,  tales of different wars from a child’s eyes. Rugged. Jarring. Typos? 

2. A Separation 

Starts well. Soggy middle. Good end. Life, death, continuity, spirit world, what you can see and what you can’t see, culture, diaspora. A granddaughter mourning her grandma. Humane. 

3. Street Sweep

A sideways look at the NGO world, white folk living it up pretending to save Africans, older Africans cynical, younger Africans naive until they smell the coffee and join the make believe world. Merit is irrelevant and it is a different world. Brilliantly descriptive of people and places. New coat on an expected tale. Long. 

4. Giver of Nicknames

Pompous. Presumptuous. Big name dropping. Jarring writing style. There is a story, the themes are valid but felt like writer did too much and got in the way of the story. Coming of age. High school. Bullying. Inequality. Gender based violence. Migration. Long. 

5. This Little Light of Mine

Disability after an accident. The changes in life, mind, relationships. Life from a disability perspective. Real. Gripping. Short and sweet. Loved it. Tugged at my heart.

**Predictably, themes in 4 out of 5 of the Caine Prize shortlist were expected stories of Africa as seen by white people. Sigh.

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If I was a judge my Caine Prize ranking of the 2021 shortlist would be:

1. This Little Light of Mine

2. A Separation

2. The Street Sweep

4. Giver of Nicknames

5. Lucky

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The actual judges picked Street Sweep as the winning story.

Congratulations to Ethiopian-American writer Meron Hadero for her win which was a first Caine Prize for Ethiopia. 

On shortlist only Ethiopia and Rwanda/Namibia had never won. Given Kenya has had 4 winners and Nigeria 7, any chance of Kenyan or Nigerian writer winning the Caine Prize anytime soon is minimal.

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Keep reading and writing African stories.