Photo courtesy of LBK
By Anthony Okoth
There is power in storytelling. Africa is known for its storytelling culture: the setting of a grandmother or grandfather telling stories to little ones around a fire is never far from the mind. These stories were much more than just entertainment: they passed on culture and history, gave warnings, taught the difference between right and wrong. Modern culture has seen the dwindling of interaction between grandparents and their children, and the effect of this is plain to see according to Joyce Wanjiku Mutongu: “We have lost our intimate level of interaction, our sense of community… Our culture.”
Joyce has been around books and stories her whole life. She has worked at the Post Modern library at the Kenyatta University, and has fond recollections of stories from her youth. “When I was younger, my teacher read ‘Oliver Twist’ to us,” she says. “It taught us to avoid gangs. I came across the book the other day and bought it, because good stories are timeless.” A self published author who started in 2008, she has so far written 20 books and published two, with three set for publication in 2015. “Everyday, I have a story in my head. Writing is what I want to do even after I retire, until I can’t walk anymore,” she adds.
Choosing to be a children’s writer was never a difficult decision for Joyce to make. “I’m crazy about kids. Because I work in a library, I see the importance of reading to children as they grow up.” She is also keen to tell the stories that no one seems to want to tell in a Kenya seemingly fascinated with everything foreign: the stories that her grandmother told her. “The stories my grandmother told me were mentoring stories: stories about interacting with animals and the environment, stories with warnings, stories about how to keep a home, how to behave, how to interact with the opposite sex, how to deal with anger and relationships. All of these are areas that children now are struggling with, and the problems continue into adulthood. My stories are all about bringing back that culture and passing on that information.” Joyce is not lost on the finer details and challenges of children’s writing, however. “I’ve learnt that you have to be careful about words and language because the children may not understand. Children’s books also have to have illustrations, which are quite expensive. These help them develop their vocabulary.”
Photo courtesy of LBK
Her two books out so far are “Baby Wangari and the Monkeys” and “The Boy who defeated the Ogre.” The latter is about a boy who disregards warnings about going into a haunted, is attacked by a hyena and ends up with a limp. When he warns his friends against going into the same forest, they laugh at him and ignore him. “The book is meant to show children that it is wrong to discriminate against people with disabilities and disadvantages,” states Joyce. “It is also meant to show the importance of listening to warnings, helping one another and rising above adversity.”
Much has been said about Kenya’s reading culture, or the apparent lack of it. While the jury is still out, Joyce is of the opinion that it has waned. To hear her tell of her experiences, it’s hard to question her stance on the matter. “People are poor with regards to composition and writing because they think it’s a bother. In the university, there were so many cases of irregularities because students didn’t read. It should be much easier now: students don’t have to fetch firewood and water like I did when I was in school. The poor reading culture has brought about a lack of knowledge and appreciation for it, which leads to problems with cheating and writing even in the university.”
The modernization of Kenya has brought with it lots of advances. However, there are negatives as Joyce points out, ”Children are reading more Western stories than Kenyan ones, despite the fact that most are the same but only told in different languages. We have put our languages and cultures aside, and as a result there are very few books in vernacular for children. Our languages should be just as important as foreign ones, and emphasis on teaching children French and Chinese should be the same as that with regards to teaching them their mother tongue.”
Photo courtesy of LBK
Though she is a champion of the old way of instruction by word of mouth, Joyce is not lost to the fact that things have changed even for the instructors of old. “The role of the grandmother has changed: even they are working now. They are unable to pass on their knowledge of culture and discipline because of this. It doesn’t help that children these days are know-it-alls, ‘digital’. Something has to change.”
Most writers know that self-publication is the more difficult route to go, and Joyce is no exception. “The wait for publication can be between six months and one year. It’s very easy to get frustrated, especially if it’s your first book. The cost is also high, if I was writing to make money I would’ve been in hospital by now!” She attributes her decision to self-publish to a lack of encouragement by publishing houses to new authors. Piracy is also something she fears, though she can see the humour in it when she throws in a quip about “My books are probably on River Road by now!” Bookshops have also been a challenge for Joyce, “They thing they can take advantage of self-published authors.” Even when it comes to the education systems, there has been much difficulty. “You have to buy a tender if you want your book to be used for the school curriculum, it costs a lot of money and they normally don’t choose self-published authors.”
Other children’s books writers in Kenya, particularly Muthoni Kimani, inspire Joyce. “She’s still writing, and she’s 89! When you hear her speak, you can tell she’s smart.” She uses her inspiration to ensure her writing evolves and reaches a wider audience, with translating her work to different local languages top on her priority list. “”I’m working on one in Kikuyu now, but I’m searching for people to work with as regards to translation to different languages. Even if they don’t translate my books, I want them to write in their own languages.”
Photo courtesy of LBK
Publishing and writing have been fraught with challenges for Joyce, but she refuses to give up. She was taught not to, after all. She plans to visit as many publishing houses as possible, start at the county level and push for education about a culture that is dying. As she so aptly puts, “If my actions and books can help change the lives of even five children, that will be the start of change. I will have done my part.”
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