Oladejo Okediji on His Writing Life

In this interview with Oládèjo Òkédìjí we catch a glimpse of the personality, life-story, philosophy, and artistic methods of an important African-language writer. Òkédìjí is a leading Yoruba novelist and playwright with a distinctive, much acclaimed style and an original take on life. The discussion provides an inside view of his formation as a writer, the nature of his readership, and the conditions in which African-language written genres emerge and are transformed. He talks about his childhood encounters with written literature and his immersion in Yoruba oral genres; his reasons for writing in Yoruba and the pleasures and challenges that this brings; the problems of translation and his experiences with publishers. He offers rare insight into his own modes of composition and his personal understanding of literature's role in the world.