Humanising History - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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- Опубликовано: 9 фев 2025
- Acclaimed award-winning author and author of 'Half of a Yellow Sun' Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie reflects on the role of literature in conversation with Ellah Allfrey, deputy editor of Granta Magazine.
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There are many things I love about this woman, her beauty, intelligence, class , her honesty in answering uncomfortable questions honestly, but I love that she is proud of the skin that she is in , the hair that she was born with and it's uniqueness. She just has it all. God bless
One of the great writers of Africa .Not only is she an articulate modern African woman she is also stunningly beautiful & a great role model for the generations to come.One of my favorite lines from Americanah is "He took her hand in his,both clasped on the table & between them silence grew an ancient silence that they both knew. She was inside this silence & she was safe"
Philip Lewis "articulate African woman"😐
Maryse Matoko What are you trying to say?
@@victorysampson i am Always annoyed when people underline the fact that a Black perso is articulate, like it's not possible. Dats it.
Magnificent woman! I love her intelligence and grace!
Greetings from Bulgaria
Both of the women are so wonderfully articulate. What an amazing interview!!!!!
ashley , you're so right, the best interviewer, have heard so far interviewing her. They are both intelligent and eloquent. Nice one
She looks fantastic! Could watch and listen to her all day.
Gordon Graham i dis Yesterday...
I know right
This lady would make one wanna write a book. My dear! I am following you from Namibia
I like it if you could come and give writing workshops here. Stay blessed!!
Great interview ever! Great questions.South African presenter💕
Witty, graceful, intelligent,beautiful....all so effortlessy...
I appreciate all the research Chimamanda has done. Such inclusiveness is priceless. Love the way Chimamanda gives hope and helps us think through our futures and contributions as humanists.
Very beautiful intelligent woman. Keep making us proud, we love you Ada Igbo!
It is indeed a "human or humanising" book (H.a.Y.S), I have a new understanding of Nigeria and Nigerians...and other parts of the African history stories that missed their way to my school textbooks... Half a Yellow Sun is a touching, moving and eye opening book and I am so grateful for having the opportunity to exist in this time and share this digital space with you and hopefully other like minds. I have read three of your books and am soon going to start on the fourth one...you have reignited my reading passion. Keep them coming and stay blessed. Phenomenal woman you are!
the woman who inspires me so much. love her books, love her words, love everything about her.
I'm in love with ellah Wakatama's accent
So true - why does everyone seem so surprised that she should write about a hair salon?! it's a fascinating place. I love how she weaves it into the book.
As an African-born American (in the East African tradition) I absolutely admire and applaud the work that Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is doing with her writing, public speaking, and her intellectual activism. She shines light on a marginalized group of people particularly African immigrants living in the West while raising awareness on key societal realities like women's issues, racism, classism, etc. All these pursuits that she mostly pens in her writing helps push the conversation forward on important subject matter on an engrossing, educational, didactic, and creatively, thought-provoking platform. With all that aside--I do have some criticisms to her writing. Having read her 2007 novel, "Half of A Yellow Sun", and her 2014 novel, "Americanah" I feel in many ways she's overly ambitious in her writing. While her characters in her books are, indeed, multi-dimensional and complex where Adichie does a good job in articulating their worlds and way of life, the multi-part narratives isn't constructive for a novel and, in many ways, confounds her overall message. Concision is tantamount to good writing. By eliminating verbosity and any loose tangents concision establishes clarity and lucidity to the morale of the story. Plus, its clean and organized in its structure--which in no way means a novel needs to be predictable and boring. Five-hundred pages is way too long for a novel and while both novels "Half of A Yellow Sun" (543 pages) and "Americanah" (588 pages) doesn't really stray off on a tangent it does bring in multiple major and minor characters to ongoing storylines mixed in with various themes that often leaves the reader confused and misguided to the original story arc itself. Simplicity is not only important in writing a novel for a wide market of readers because of sales it is vital in getting at the point of why the story is even being penned in the first place. There's no need to pack in all important subject matter and topics in one respectful novel. Leave your reader time to breathe, think, and reflect. If we are writing a nonfiction book that's a whole different thing in terms of concision. I felt after reading both novels that the story is so ongoing that it probably wouldn't really end--which was exactly the feeling I had afterwards. Both novels could really keep going in introducing new themes one after the other with no conclusion or closure. And, what great writer would not want one heck of a conclusion to their story? "Half of A Yellow Sun" which was the better-written book, in my opinion, was essentially a 3-person narrative in the backdrop of the Biafra War (Nigerian Civil War) during the mid-to-late 1960s. The three main characters are written simultaneously in chapter breaks from each other. Along the way, however, the timelines change and the story is no longer moving in chronological order, until later, it does again. Since this is Adichie's writing style--due to it also employed in her later novel "Americanah" I felt confounded as to where she is leading me as the reader. Her topics of love, war, violence, lessons in history, national identity, tribal/ethnic identity, patriotism, parenting, sexual expression, and so on gets lost in its juxtaposition constantly being inter-weaved in and out with no sense of understanding why and what to get at in context to the building of the story. Less is more--whether we are writing a novel, a screenplay for film, a teleplay for television, a script for stage-acting, or even an outline for a documentary film. Adichie should take one topic and one character and ride with it. For "Half of A Yellow Sun" I thought the character of Ugwu, the houseboy, as he goes through a loss of innocence during the war was far more intriguing of a storyline in development than the other two characters. Adichie could break each character down into their own respected novels as a series-part on the Biafra War, for example. Concision, in this case, is not only your friend but can save you and ensure a timeless legacy--if done well. As far as "Americanah" is concerned--again, a loose soap opera novel consisting of multiple themed-storylines with varying minor characters where the two major characters as part of a romantic entanglement carries the narrative over a time-frame spanning more than a decade. Plus, the blog entries that summed up the end of most of the chapters felt like the entire book was written as a freestyle, op-ed piece on race, hair, national identity, an immigrant experience in the U.S. and U.K., and more, which, really belongs more to the blogosphere than anywhere else.
+Adelin Gasana, you always post this comment on all her videos, why? What do you hope to achieve?
Conversation
+ikenna Steve Nweke lol
looool I love nigerians they don't know they are funny
Not only was this well written and explained I would have to agree with you! She is a terrific, eloquent, humane, and wise writer. However, concision and fluidity is definitely what keeps the professionals and amateurs apart. Granted she is a new novelist and with time and experience it will make her brilliant, constructive Christian like the one you outlined will aid in her growth. The ache that the reader feels after Kainene’s disappearance is vast. Is she dead, is she alive, is Ugwu a well received writer. I wanted more than Ugwu’s tears about his sisters abuse and his time being conscripted in the war! I also didn’t think Olanna experienced any growth as a character. Anyway don’t listen to the comments, your opinion matters and I enjoyed reading it! Also are you a writer yourself or just enjoy modern historical fiction?
I love you so much after watching you on ted talk. You have a good heart, mind and soul. Please keep up the good work.
I am astonished with her intelligence
you're wonderfully made
It is so important that when interviewing an Intelligent woman the Interviewer must be intelligent as well. Thank you Ellah Allfrey, you did not disappoint.
Beautiful inside out and really inspiring...Thank you !!! One
God bless your good work.
What an incredible role model for people across the world. And I think she should write as much as she wants about "enjoyable sex". The sexuality in her books is beautifully liberating.
I love the interviewers laugh at the end, so adorable
Beautiful interview
People love to hear her speak... Her pronunciations.
We need pipo like you who will tell African stories in our perspectives so we can change the stereotypes
And free our collective minds...
I love the fact that she loves derek walcott. This connects me so much to her that she loves the work of one of my countrymen. I like her even more now. Derek is a genius.
Phenomenal brilliance
Someone commented about the small number of views. Come on this is not a hip hop video .
+jide1000 Great answer bro
An author being interviewed about a work of literary fiction.. who'd have thought it wouldn't get 20 million views?
She has gotten over 10million views in other uploads.
Truly enjoyed listening to this - thanks Chimamanda for inspiring me! By the way, I think this interviewer rocks!
I have lately came up in her assessment but I’m deeply loving her performance and writings, need her books
What a woman!!!!
I really enjoy her works,the way she construct herself with her stories and her sense of cultural-ism is really inspiring.
I hope we have more writer from the continent of Africa....
Chimamanda how I love and admire you!
I love her !
Love this woman.
I am not able to follow all the poets she said. May someone please list it here? Pleaseee... ughh I so love her freeing and embracing humanity.
I remembered when I was serving as a youth corp member in Asaba, student I gathered to a free coaching once made jest of me that I didn't have a an English, were I a child like them I would have cried but I told them the English name that they cherished are local names from a foreign land, they became sober when I told them that they were ashamed of their nativity.
Very interesting observation
Very professional: the interviewer
Every human being has a responsibility to truth and justice for everyone.
Chimamanda❤️
I am here to observe her poise,mannerism and strong vocabulary
Is there a transcript of this? Automatic captions have screwed up most of the names
beautiful woman [and I don't limit this to physical beauty]!!!!
What a woman.
Interesting line of thinking
I want to register in the workshop please how do i go about it?
Wonderful conversation! Thanks for sharing. It would be great if somebody could write down the names of the three Nigerian poets she mentioned around the 17th minute. Since I don't know how to spell them:-) I thought it is a shame how little I know about African poetry in general. Well, I'd be thankful for any answer.
She said she read a lot of JP Clark, Tanro Jaide, Gabriel Okara, Graham Green. I hope i spelled them well ;-) Just google.. But pls where are u from ?
Kingsdonn Ras
Hi there! Thank you very much for your answer:-) I am from Turkey.
;-)
Cool
I mean. She is my idol.
very interesting my dear, love ur style
💚💚
why so few views?
Mattteus It is easier to watch a short video about pop music than to watch a longer video about literature.
In love with her
:-))) smile
Why does the host have green lips?
+Twinkle TwinkleStore its a makeup.. and its very beautifull
She is Irish
Irina Irina , it's a make up and if am not mistaken, she used the colour of her choice and she also look beautiful wearing it
14:24
Host "do you think fiction can tell the truth" Writer "I do" I'm done 🙋 That's a child's answer.
Is there any substance to what she says? Does there have to be?
Slobodan Horvaarten you here again. Wow! She’s got you under her spell 🤣🤣🤣
Splendid