Unlocking Our Untapped Literary Wealth

Africa has been shaped by powerful and evocative stories.

Since time immemorial, communities have recounted history, preserved memory, imparted wisdom, and cemented identity through a wealth of oral traditions.

Folktales shared around burning embers, unique proverbs and song and dance explained circumstances, the meaning of life, and how communities related to temporal and spiritual worlds.

Oral tradition remains a priceless, if endangered, cultural asset.

Literature, writing that captures human experiences and emotions in a way that reflects timeless, universal and mostly relatable elements, offers something additional and powerful: portability, durability and global reach.

When stories are written, published, and distributed, they transcend time and space; unique local voices reach audiences beyond borders and across generations. 

Beyond artistic expression, writing bolsters self-awareness. Literature enables individuals and communities to see their reflections honestly, warts and all.

POSTCOLONIAL AFFIRMATION

When people write about their lives through fiction, non-fiction and poetry, for example, they strengthen their identity, express unique world views, and affirm their social, cultural and ideological belonging.

This is especially vital in a postcolonial context.

Africa’s stories have often been authored elsewhere, creating hegemonic narratives that often distort local identities and cast aspersions on the continent’s achievements.

Through literature, people claim narrative independenc; they get to define themselves in their own words and languages.  

Literature also promotes critical and reflective thinking. Reading stories encourages people to question, analyse, empathise and debate.

Through novels, poems, essays and memoirs, readers are transported into complex moral and social worlds.

This, in turn, fosters tolerance and appreciation of diversity.

Literature offers a window into the experiences across nationalities, ethnicities, classes, gender and generations.
In a diverse society like Namibia, for instance, this empathetic value of literature is not a luxury or an option; it is a crucial social asset.  

NAMIBIAN REALITIES

Literature also presents an economic opportunity. Books are not just cultural and intellectual output; they are potentially exportable commodities.

Stories rooted in Namibia, for example, can resonate globally with universal themes such as loss, love, injustice and resilience.

For this reason, Namibian writers must shift their mindset from merely writing for Namibia to writing from Namibia: this means being grounded in local realities while intentionally engaging global audiences.

It implies that a story set in Katutura, Warmbad, Sorris Sorris, or Divundu, for instance, can speak to readers in Lagos, Amsterdam, Suva or New York. 

Like other African nations, Namibia does not need to start from scratch.

Emerging, and aspiring authors can draw inspiration from writers whose work demonstrates the power of Namibian literature.

For example, Joseph Diescho’s ‘Born of the Sun’ is a landmark novel that captures the struggle, dignity and resilience of the Namibian people.

There is also the late Neshani Andreas’s ‘The Purple Violet of Oshaantu’, an account of rare candour and courage that opens intimate windows into gender, culture and social expectations.

Anneli Nghikembua’s poetry collection, ‘A True Me in Words’, has been studied in the literature departments of some South African universities.

More recently, Remy Ngamije has emerged as a brilliant literary voice with ‘The Eternal Audience of One’ and ‘Only Stars Know the Meaning of Space’, earning international acclaim.

These writers show Namibian stories can travel and be celebrated far beyond our borders. 

A SUPPORTIVE ENVIRONMENT

Namibia’s political environment is also supportive.

President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has publicly championed the creative industries, placing Namibia among a small but growing number of African countries where leaders recognise culture as an economic sector, not just a pastime.

At a strategic and policy level, frameworks such as the sixth National Development Plan explicitly identify the creative sector, which includes literature, as a priority for growth and development.

This policy recognition and support needs to be translated, through deliberate efforts, into sustained investment, institutional backing, and market access for writers, publishers, editors and distributors. 

Education is a crucial entry point.

Literature must be integrated into the school curriculum and not regarded as an optional or marginal subject.

Reading creative works should be nurtured from early childhood through secondary and tertiary levels.

Global evidence increasingly demonstrates that Stem (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) alone is insufficient for holistic, sustainable and meaningful economic development.

The arts, including literature, play a vital role in fostering cultural identity, intelligence, empathy, creativity, innovation and communication skills.

These abilities drive entrepreneurship and adaptability in modern economies. Needless to say, the arts enhance Stem by becoming the ‘a’ in Steam (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics). 

IT’S OUR MOMENT

Robust economic diversification, social cohesion and a strong global cultural presence require that the literary sector receive the strategic attention it deserves.

By investing in writers, supporting publishers, integrating literature into education, and cultivating an international outlook, Africa in general, and Namibia in particular, can transform ancient storytelling traditions into a contemporary creative industry.

Our stories are abundant.

Now is the moment to write, package, and promote them so they can travel with confidence and authenticity, reaching people worldwide. 

• Samuel Mayinoti manages a Windhoek-based consultancy that offers services along the publishing value chain. He writes in his personal capacity; smayinoti@gmail.com

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