“Nigeria : I Read Novels, Fictions - Habila - AllAfrica.com” |
| Nigeria : I Read Novels, Fictions - Habila - AllAfrica.com Posted: 31 Dec 2010 03:54 PM PST Daily Independent (Lagos) Yemi Adebisi 1 January 2011 opinion Lagos — Reading is described as a complex cognitive process of decoding symbols for the intention of deriving meaning. It is also described as a means of language acquisition, of communication, and of sharing information and ideas. Experts recommend therefore that the reading process requires continuous practices, development, and refinement. This suggests that there might be no pronounced progress without a good habit of reading. Author of Waiting For An Angel and winner of 2001 Caine Prize for African Writing, Helon Habila appears to have agreed with this concept that the making of a giant in any field start with how far he can go with reading. This is obvious since in most cases, one can only discover new information through reading. In his chat with Sunday Independent recently, Habila disclosed that he had quality time to read in his growing age since he was the only child living with his parents then. Though he loves story books, novels and fictions, Helon Habila's prowess as an award winner is deep rooted in his reading habit. "I spend endless time in the library. Books kept my company when I was living with my parents. I was lonely so I really read. What happened was that we were in Gombe. All my brothers were sent back home to learn the local language. I was the only one left with my parents. Up till my secondary school days, I was lonely with my parents. I was sold into stories. That's really something that drifted me into writing. Much later I couldn't help it becoming a lover of the books. I never aspired to be a writer because I never knew one could just sit down and write." So which books are really his favourites today? "I read In A Strange Room by Damon Galgut. I really love the concept of this book. Also, I teach creative writing, so I have to read about 15 to 20 books at a time. Sometimes I read my short stories all over again. Again I read some of my books since naturally you would want to change one or two other things. My shelf is full of books," he said. Since a number of readers would love to write their books one day, Habila said it is important to read and find more information by oneself other than depending on others or institutions. "I think that there is a lot of ignorance about the process people think they need to go through before they get their work published. I know ANA is doing its best to promote writers and other stuffs like that. People need more information. Sometimes it's your duty to find out most of these information. Actually I found out about Caine prize myself. The internet was not even like the way it is today. I got to school and began to fetch for information. I went to libraries too. Some of them think they are stalked in Nigeria here and that is why they are not probably making it. It is not going to be easier even if you choose to live in New York. You can't just get published because you are in New York. If you are really hungry and you get a good publisher, good for you. People need to stop seeing themselves as victims or handicap." AllAfrica - All the Time This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
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