These impressions arise out of a lack of uncertainty that fails to open up a diverse way of writing from the side of Western authors. Wainaina, infuriated by the imitations and exaggerations on the African continent, exceptionally captures the essence of the absurdity lying within the Western impressions of a “dark “continent”, an Africa they presume to be. And finally, “Always end your book with Nelson Mandela saying something about rainbows or renaissances” because this shows that the Western writers care immensely about the “dark continent” of Africa that can only be saved from the doom by the Western “intervention and your important book”. Africa is a beautiful place because of their sunsets, the writer reminds Western writers to never forget to include them. When writing about Africa, the writer asks the Western writer to establish their “impeccable” liberalism that portrays how much they love Africa and can never live without her. The writer further goes on to satirically say that the “real Africa” is always when there is abundant mention of filthy people and their suffering, miserable life. And their African characters should always include “naked warriors, loyal servants”, or “ancient wise men living in hermitic splendour”, even more, a necessary character that needs to be present in the story is the “The Starving African”. Moreover, Africa has to be always “pitied, worshipped or dominated” and for the African people, he asks them to absolutely make sure that they are empty inside but yet they should have “music and rhythm” in their deep down souls. But never be precise about any of these because “your readers doesn’t care about all that”. Writing fearlessly across a range of topics – from politics to international aid, cultural heritage and redefining sexuality, this is a remarkable illustration of a writer at the height of his power.The writer furthermore, asks the Western writers to always see Africa as “one country”, even though Africa is big with 54 countries. After his death in 2019, this ground-breaking collection brings together his pioneering writing on the African continent for the first time.Ī rule-breaker full of wry satire and piercing wisdom, this collection includes many of Binyavanga’s most critically acclaimed pieces, including the viral satirical sensation How to Write About Africa. Don’t get bogged down with precise descriptions.’īinyavanga Wainaina was a seminal author and activist, remembered as one of the greatest chroniclers of contemporary African life. Or it is hot and steamy with very short people who eat primates. It is hot and dusty with rolling grasslands and huge herds of animals and tall, thin people who are starving. ‘In your text, treat Africa as if it were one country.

A trailblazing collection of writing from Binyavanga Wainaina’s extraordinary life

Wainaina how to write about africa