Africa, a continent rich in literary talents, but often forgotten by the Nobel literature committee. With only five African writers winning the prize, Africa remains far behind Europe and North America in terms of international literary recognition. Some wonder if African writers are forgotten by the Nobel committee.
Last year, Norwegian writer Jon Fosse was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, joining the list of 118 previous winners, mostly from Europe or North America. Although African writers such as Wole Soyinka, Naguib Mahfouz, Nadine Gordimer, John Maxwell Coetzee and Abdulrazak Gurnah have been awarded prizes in the past, the number of winning African writers remains small compared to the continent’s literary output.
Many are eagerly awaiting recognition for Kenyan writer Ngugi Wa Thiong’o, who is regularly among Nobel Prize contenders but has never been awarded the prize. Other African authors such as Boubacar Boris Diop of Senegal and Ben Okri of Nigeria are also cited regularly, without success.
Some criticize the Nobel Prize for Literature for its supposed Eurocentric universalism. According to Elara Bertho, researcher at the CNRS and specialist in African literature, the Nobel committee has a very Eurocentric vision of world literature, leaving aside entire portions of literary production, particularly in Africa. It is important to emphasize that this problem is not specific to Africa, since other regions of the world, such as Oceania and Asia, are also underrepresented.
Some believe that the low representation of African Nobel Prize-winning writers is due to the profusion of quality writers in Europe and America, compared to Africa. Sami Tchak, Togolese writer who won the Grand Literary Prize for Black Africa, affirms that there are not as many great writers in Africa as in other regions of the world, which would explain their absence from the Nobel Prize winners. Elara Bertho, for her part, evokes a long history of the invisibility of African literature.
Another possible explanation is the dominance of European languages in the field of international literature. Among the five African writers who won the Nobel Prize for Literature, four wrote in English and one in literary Arabic. French-speaking African authors are particularly unhappy with this situation, because the French-speaking world is reduced to France. According to Elara Bertho, African languages are also absent, because they have little visibility in the world of literature. African literature is often associated with European languages, such as French and English, thus neglecting literatures in African languages, such as Wolof or Swahili..
Despite these obstacles, some emphasize the importance of translation in making African writers known beyond their linguistic borders. However, it is important to note that translations may be limited, due to low readership in some African languages.
To break this symbolic domination and give greater visibility to African writers, it is necessary to develop powerful publishing houses in Africa and to organize literary prizes on the continent. Currently, many African writers are published by European publishing houses and depend on major European literary prizes to be recognized. It is time to change this dynamic to allow more equitable recognition of African literary talents.
In conclusion, although Africa is full of literary talent, the continent’s writers often remain in the shadows when it comes to the Nobel Prize for Literature. The reasons for this underrepresentation are multiple, ranging from the Eurocentrism of the Nobel committee to the domination of European languages in the international literature industry. It is essential that actions are taken to give greater visibility and recognition to African writers, by developing powerful publishing houses in Africa and by promoting literature in African languages.