Tag: empathy - Mala Naidoo's Book World

May I tell you?

Growing up in apartheid South Africa as a non-white person, living under the Group Areas Act where you only saw people like you with the same coloured skin, living with the knowledge that your people had to be hidden from view — white view — left scarred for life and needing immense strength to shelve the hurt and pain in memory’s hinterland.

This divisive system invites shame — why am I not good enough? Why can’t I eat at that wonderful seaside restaurant? Why can’t I go to a school with its English countryside setting and Victorian buildings? Why am I afraid every time I see a police officer or paddy wagon? Why can’t I lift my eyes above the ground? What have I done to be born black?

Here is why…

Racism is hatred that unleashes a plethora of negativity both ways: Unchecked power that intensifies with acts of brutality that crucifies an already broken self-concept. Systemic injustice — physical, emotional, and psychological feeds the depraved hands of power. How does the victim deal with an enforced erosion of who they are?

Let me tell you…

There are only two ways: head down — mind their manners or take to the streets to protest. Stop! When power strikes up against protest it is obvious that human survival instinct kicks in and violence erupts. Nobody wants violence — justice is all the victim wants — a fair go — it starts out as a peaceful protest, and if left to do just that, no force is necessary. Let the voices crying out for change be heard or it speaks of intolerance to change.

Then somebody cries ‘looters!’

This is why this happens…

The downtrodden are as the words say it, the ‘have-nots’— denied, deprived, shamed, and blamed for all the ills of the land. Human instinct kicks in again and necessity guides reaction/behaviour. Before we cry ‘looting’ investigate what underpins it. Where there’s social inequity the ‘haves’ have ‘looted’ the country for a very long time taking more than they needed — perpetuating inequity.

History tells us that peaceful protests become violent when the hand of power strikes. Decades before Nelson Mandela sat at the helm of government in South Africa, the country was on the brink of civil war and the Sharpeville massacre of 1960 like the Soweto riots of 1976 started out as a call for justice but led to police taking up arms against protesting civilians who wanted their voices heard.

#BlackLivesMatter is a timeless cry for justice from the time of Rudyard Kipling who referred to the people of the African continent as ‘half-devil and half-child, ’ in his 1899 poem, White Man’s Burden.
Colonialism stole the right to justice — a fair go, for original inhabitants of the land. Assimilation — one way or no way denies culture, heritage and the right of recognition.
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Remember those fallen at the hands of racial prejudice — countless — the loved ones of grieving families — too many still dying at the hands of what can be changed…if they are heard.

Listen to this Ted Talk by Amy Thunig: Disruption is not a dirty word that pulls no punches on racism endured by Indigenous Australians in a country I call home.

It’s 2020, and some in the misguided grip of power swim in the quagmire of the barbarism of racial prejudice — educated by book not humane moral code — sure-fire intellect — no emotional intelligence. Silence widens and deepens the stain of prejudice. Speaking out against racism does not always win friends and influence people, but the few who join black brothers and sisters in the fight for justice at the risk of losing their tribe — those are the gems that make #AllLivesMatter, for they will pull together to create liberty, equality and we all need fraternity.

What is your choice to be on #BlackLivesMatter?

Stay safe, speak up against injustice but as John Proctor cried in The Crucible – ‘Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! … leave me my name!’

What do you want to be remembered for?

Writing and Publishing During a Global Crisis

Every corner of the world has been hit by Covid19 — life for millions has come to a grinding halt. Businesses have shut down left, right and centre. Bookstores have closed their doors. Libraries are no longer a sanctuary as silent voices are in lockdown.

The question tossed around is: do we go ahead with the launch of a new book?

My heart says yes but my mind says, should I? Then a voice whispers an answer: yes, launch it online, reach people who need to move out of the mental space of the current crisis we all face. We need the sanctity of books. Bookshops continue to take orders online if a digital book is not a preference.

In the face of a global crisis, publishing is vital now more than ever before — it says we are here, later it will speak confirming that we were here, and this is what we did. It is akin to writing historical fiction. The Great Books of the world brought us knowledge of people, cultures, events, aspirations, challenges and celebrations from eras long before our current existence. Without those scribes, the artists of the past, we would be as ignorant of the world as the occupants in Plato’s cave.

Literature is the light into now, the glow of the past and spotlight into our dreams of the future.

Books imprint memory

Writers have the acute ability to sense mood and observe human behaviour down to minuscule details. So, why wait? It is time to pick up the pen of prose or poetry. Each will speak of this time and of our dreams and visions. Leave the messages that say we are indeed one.

In our angst and joy, we are ONE under the sky of humanity

To ignite compassion, we must walk in the shoes of angst, or suffering, to extend love and care to others because we know it—we feel it. Stories elicit compassion and bring meaning more particularly as we sit in self-isolation to protect our loved ones and communities.

Writing and publishing must go on, as must, soft digital launches of news titles and relaunching of backlists. Lower prices, offer free titles, reach the masses by bringing meaning to the lives of those living in fear of what the next news bulletin or press conference will announce. Our uncertainty unites us in our desire for a renewed tomorrow. We inhabit the same house under a global sky.

Now we speak with the same human voice in our sans streets, sans parks, sans beaches… but we should never be reduced to fearing each other.

Keep literature flowing for generations to come—it is within our control, thanks to the digital platforms that serve us.

Keep Writing, Keep Reading.

Stay Safe.

This time will pass. Keeping hope alive through poetry and stories.

Writing Through Adversity

Writing has been well documented as having therapeutic value. Do you keep a personal diary, or a journal to record moments that are significant to you? Would you write a memoir or autobiography? Have you tried poetry writing?

Fiction is an avenue that has therapeutic benefit when writing about angst through fiction or poetry. This has value in reaching readers who might face a similar situation. Receiving a reader’s comment on connecting with a character or situation makes writing move from the realm of fictional entertainment to enhancing life, creating a sense of belonging through the power of story/words that whisper, ‘there are people who go through this, you are not alone, it’s not you…’

Human difficulties like our joys are universal and part of our shared humanity regardless of demography or any divisive label. We learn from each other, we share with each other — altruism is part of our human ‘feel good’ makeup. We feel good or secure in knowing that challenges are not unique. This is where fiction like a memoir/autobiography/biography and poetry has the ability to say, ‘I see you, I hear you, I feel your situation.’

‘In our angst and joy we are one under the sky of humanity’

Oftentimes something heard, something seen, or read triggers the imagination to create a story/poem — these seeds have their origin in human experience. Everything in life has imaginative storytelling potential. Historical fiction is a genre whereby much from history or literature is reimagined to suit a particular context adding timelessness to a story.

Poems and stories, when turned inward, create… growth… healing… self-awareness

Shakespeare’s The Tempest reimagined by Margaret Atwood in her novel, Hag-Seed is an example. Prospero becomes Felix a theatre director in a present-day context — he is grieving the deaths of his wife and daughter and has been backstabbed by an aspirational colleague. His vulnerability is an evocative point of connection with the reader. Professional or workplace strife present timeless human dilemmas, but when tastefully explored as a novel’s premise or ideas, it has the potential to speak to many isolated, lonely individuals — there is no shame in being vulnerable. Shame sits on the shoulders of those who abuse vulnerability. The most endearing people, in reality, are those who have experienced hardship, financially, in grief or loss, abuse or ill-health — having walked in the shoes of many with struggles, wires empathy — as human experience should be if we hope to coexist in peace and harmony.

Fiction can remind us why it is essential to be true to who we are in our expressions of self and in our interactions with each other.

In Souls of Her Daughters, Dr Grace Sharvin who heads a busy medical ER has unimaginable frailties but her strength is in her capacity to reach out to others while fighting her own demons.

Life’s lessons come from the adversarial people met, and they become the basis upon which writers craft their villains. A little bit of this and a little bit of that blended in a cauldron and hey presto! The (im)perfect villain is born! The good people we meet shape perspectives on why adversarial individuals have no place in a shared world.

Timeless heart-warming and gut-wrenching stories on life’s challenges and celebrations.

Literature is a luxury, Fiction is a necessity — GK Chesterton

and

Albert Camus said, Fiction is the lie through which we tell the truth.

Who can argue with such pearls of truth now?

Life, literature, news of the day, and history portray human experiences that provide inroads to new fictional stories and evocative poetry that connect rather than divide by exposing, celebrating, loving, grieving and understanding what it really means to be human. We all, whether real or fictional are indeed not alone in adversity.

Which novels and poems would you recommend to readers on overcoming adversity? Have you read A Spark of Hope?

Writing: Historical Memories Recalled

Historical fiction entertains and feeds memory. I remember teaching, Jackie French’s Hitler’s Daughter, and noted students’ curiosity on whether Hitler did indeed have a daughter. Research flourished and wonderful creative writing emerged.

Some of my favourite historical reads are, Charles Dickens, Tale of Two Cities with London and Paris during the French Revolution, Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With the Wind, a tale of the American South during the Civil War, Salman Rushdie’s, Midnight Children, a story of children born at the time of India’s independence from Britain.
The lists are endless and as diverse as the world we inhabit.
Currently, I’m reading Orna Ross’, Her Secret Rose (The Yeats-Gonne Trilogy 1) cited as a ‘delicate balance of fact and fiction…’ (bookbag UK)

Writing drawn from history emerges as an unconscious process in some of my books. The experience of apartheid atrocities comes through in Across Time and Space and Vindication Across Time and underpins leaving South Africa in Souls of Her Daughters. History might be more explicit in some and more subtle in others but it emerges from the deep well of the subconscious – the unforgotten seat of memory.
‘…sit down at a typewriter and bleed,’ as Ernest Hemingway aptly stated is where authentic stories emanate from – that space of creative intensity.

Today marks a significant day in South Africa’s history, country of my birth. June 16, 1976, was the Soweto Uprising that changed the socio-political landscape. It was a day when police fired at peaceful demonstrating students – the images of this brutality surged international revulsion. From this dark history, the most soulful artists emerged, creating music and poetry that stirs the soul to this day. The seat of struggle and suffering creates indelible timeless stories.

As a fiction writer and teacher, histories of the world find their way into some of my stories. The responsibility rests with the writer to present the accuracy of the histories chosen, not in a textbook rendition, but through selective and extensive research to create believable nuances of character, place and situations for palpable connections to the past.

The joy in reading historical fiction is in being transported to a time and place as an observer of significant moments, or better still, experiencing an era through brilliant writing.

What’s your favourite historical fiction?

Happy Reading, Happy Writing!

Share your thoughts on historical fiction in the comment box below.

Fiction: Perfection in Imperfection

Perfection is too exhausting. It’s not true to who we really are as individuals, communities, and societies.

Fictional characters echo this representation of imperfection without necessarily being labelled Shakespeare’s Iagos of the world – they do exist – the first page of the daily newspaper or the first news item on the evening television news reveals that Iago exists in politics, education, the corporate world, and other dark corners.

Nobody is as good as gold…

My tag line, Perfection in Imperfection, the themes in my novels, and short stories, and essentially most novels, illustrate that life is just that – a mix of the good, the bad and the ugly. Nothing is perfect nor is anything entirely imperfect – there is always a reason for the apparent ‘imperfection,’ the interpretation of which is dependent on one’s value system in either accepting or rejecting a perceived ‘imperfection’. The psychological benefit of understanding that ‘perfection,’ as defined by ‘particular’ standards, is not the norm, invites the greatest learning in appreciation, understanding and compassion which is born from trial and error or walking in the shoes of others.

Perfection bores, it disconnects the reader from the lack of reality evident in the world around. A saintly character who holds pious thoughts and performs selfless acts through the duration of a story might offer some inspiration, but insufficient entertainment value for the reader. Give that saintly character’s perfection a dent or two and they are endearing as human after all.

The socially moral cop with a particular weakness, perhaps peeling bags of onions, eating tubs of ice cream, or engaging in a ‘monkey-ish’ tossing of almonds into his/her mouth, or some such habit, when a case is in a deadlock or about be nailed, is either loved, creates amusement, or is despised. Inspector Aldo in Vindication Across Time, a man who controls the media and women, particularly the rich, widowed, and lonely like, Ana Kutnetsov, a housekeeper with a big heart, and a secret past, grates on every character’s nerves. He is enigmatically dark – a looming manifestation of Iago.

Literary heroines such as Tolstoy’s, Anna Karenina, illustrate this point, and Margaret Atwood’s speech, Spotty-Handed Villainesses, on the good-bad women of literature highlight the fallacy of crafting perfect female characters as unrealistically flawless or insanely bad. Flaws might engender empathy in the reader when weaknesses or vulnerabilities are exposed, not the overt Jekyll and Hyde associations – which exist, depending on the genre of the tale.

Nuanced human foibles draw connections and acceptance, that to err is human. From Count Dracula, Robin Hood, Ned Kelly, to Portia and Desdemona – it’s the yin and yang, the balancing between the scales of imperfection and perfection that makes them timeless characters through reader held values, and the emotions elicited.

Perfection in the natural world is not assured, periods of drought, fires, snow and floods, etc, strengthen human and animal reactions or behaviour to changeability.

As What Change May Come is released this week, my heroes and heroines are both weak and strong. Even the selfless character Patience has her weaknesses much to the embarrassment of her sister Grace. While there are consistencies of characterisation across the three novels, Souls of Her Daughters, Chosen Lives, and What Change May Come, there are times when change elicits or decrees an unexpected behaviour in the character. They are all human after all and aren’t we all?

Happy Writing, Happy Reading!

Please share your thoughts on the topic in the box below.

Fiction: Women and Culture

Every writer has a unique voice drawn from culture and values. Even when one opts to write a ‘different’ tale with ‘different’ people, the authentic self seeps into some aspects of the writing process.

Having been raised in South Africa my psyche is wired to the spirit of the people. I remember older women as the stalwarts in the home – stalwarts with hearts of sheer gold. Writing this infuses me with warmth and tenderness. This is the reason for the crafting of Mama Elsie, in Souls of Her Daughters, Mama Thembu in Vindication Across Time and Grace’s mother Varuna whom Patience lovingly refers to as ‘Mama Varuna.’ Each of these women epitomises the significance of a mother in the home which accords them profound respect for the hardships they endure in a country that negates their existence.

The character Marcia Ntuli has the strength of character that her mother, an activist for women’s rights, exudes. Yet in seeking a new life, in a new country, she is subjected to professional racism until she is forced to give up her passion with a rapidly declining sense of self-worth. It’s only when Michael Morrissey, a human rights lawyer helps her through her dark days of self-doubt is she able to pick up the pieces of her shattered life. It is not the act of racism that is showcased but rather the resilience of the women and men who help victims find their way through inhuman situations.

In offering a lesson on how to uplift the human condition, it is men like Michael, Andrei, Brad, Keefe, Petros and Andrew who cherish the broken souls of my African women characters. A multicultural cast adds colour to the worlds of these women as the way of the world – as it should be.

I learned to appreciate this after having lived in segregation under apartheid. My premise will always remain that in our angst and joy we are one under the sky of humanity. Idealistic, perhaps, but hope has to be pursued to make a difference in how people perceive and engage with each other.

In The Rain – A Collection of Short Stories Thuli in the title story is a young, strong village woman who will do anything to keep her family together.

The song she sings to her children, a lullaby, Thula Thula Baba as she waits for the storm to end, is one I remember hearing from the cradle. It moves me to this day in its sweet, yet haunting sounds and meaning.

I give you Thula Thula Baba– a lullaby sung by mothers to calm their fretful babies while their husbands went into the cities to find work.

What Change May Come presents the coping strategies of sisters Grace and Patience in their struggle with irreversible change. Here the notion of perfection is challenged when one woman has motivations that clash with Patience’s perception of what it means to be human.

If stories open vistas of understanding and bring a lesson while entertaining – that is the footprint needed for a better today and even better tomorrow.

Go in peace.

What’s Your Line? Who’s Your ‘Person’?

Why do certain quotations remain etched in memory long after the lines have been read or heard?

The association is attached to an emotion – painful or jubilant. When similar situations recur the lines that created an impact are recalled, linking the past emotional association to the present. Painful or joyous emotional experiences are triggered by words that emulate and express what the heart feels. Lyrics of particular songs act as a balm to ease pain, reignite bliss or act as a conduit to purge pent-up emotions. Likewise, a character in a novel triggers an emotional response in the reader who feels a kinship with the character. Connections through language and people are the commonality we seek to belong in an ever-changing world.

Do you connect with any of these lines from literature?

‘I can’t go back to yesterday because I was a different person then’

-Lewis Carrol – Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

‘I know not all that may be coming, but be it what it will, I’ll go to it laughing.’

-Herman Melville –Moby-Dick

‘The pieces I am, she gather them and give them back to me in all the right order.’

-Toni Morrison, Beloved

‘Do I dare / Disturb the universe?’

-TS. Eliot, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

‘People generally see what they look for, and hear what they listen for’

-Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird

‘I have been bent and broken, but – I hope – into a better shape.’

-Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

‘Perhaps one did not want to be loved so much as to be understood.’

-George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four

‘Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise’

– Victor Hugo, Les Miserables

What about the characters in literature that strike a chord with you?

· Catherine Earnshaw from Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights– in her torrid love for and forsaking of Heathcliff

· Hamlet from Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark- caught in the web of the fratricide against his father and his mother’s marriage to the murderer, his uncle.

· Atticus Finch from Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird- a father par excellence- role model extraordinaire.

· Frankenstein’s monster in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein- abandoned creation seeking love

· Jay Gatsby from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby– he creates exorbitant wealth to impress the girl who has his heart.

· Dorian Gray from Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray- a handsome aristocrat who loses his virtue that his portrait cannot hide.

· Winston Smith from George Orwell’s, Nineteen Eighty-Four– living in hope and rebelling to reclaim his unattainable individuality.

· King Lear from Shakespeare’s King Lear- an aging king who is misguided in dividing his kingdom based on the narcissistic need to hear how much he is loved.

There are countless evocative lines and characters that bring a connection in a moment of greatest need.

What is your favourite literary line? Who is your most endearing literary character?

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