Phaswane Mpe is the author of Welcome To Our Hillbrow. He is a former African literature lecturer at the University of the Witwatersrand and is currently a doctoral fellow at the Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research.
Is the language you chose to write in an important issue?
Language is an extremely important issue in literature. I believe that when a writer decides to write in English, indigenous expressions should also be used. The writer should be able to mix phrases from different languages.
Do you have an audience as an author?
I have a much bigger audience than I expected. Currently, Welcome To Our Hillbrow is being read in the United States and is being distributed in the United Kingdom. Last year the book got an honourable mention at the Noma Awards for Publishing in Africa.
Do you think it is important to concentrate on ‘African” themes?
It is up to the writer to decide what is important. What is important to me are some of the issues that I tackled in my book, like xenophobia, HIV/Aids, education, suicide and witchcraft.
How do you make a living from writing?
If you are not a well-known name as a writer it is going to be difficult to make a living from writing. To fully make a living from writing takes a lot of time. Generally, a writer cannot only survive on income from writing.
What kind of literature should be taught in schools?
Learners should be taught African literature from the beginning. British classics like those of Charles Dickens and William Shakespeare should not be totally ruled out, but we should recognise that little has been done on African writing. A large dose of African writers should be suggested for the syllabus, especially because it is easier for learners to read if it is about their own environment.
How can we get young people to read books?
I believe the importance of reading should first be emphasised at home. At school, teachers who are well-read and adventurous should be able to explore issues with learners. Projects that promote reading like Book-eish, READ and Masifunde Sonke should also be supported. I also think writers need to be prepared to talk about their work to young people and further explain what their books are about.