A Sierra Leonean writer, Pede Hollist has been shortlisted for the prestigious Caine Prize for African writing for 2013. According to the announcement made yesterday, Hollist is the only non-Nigerian in the list of five, for his book “Foreign Aid”. The Chair of judges, art historian and broadcaster, Gus Casely-Hayford said, “The shortlist was selected from 96 entries from 16 African countries. They are all outstanding African stories that were drawn from an extraordinary body of high quality submissions.” He said, “The five contrasting titles interrogate aspects of things that we might feel we know of Africa – violence, religion, corruption, family, community – but these are subjects that are deconstructed and beautifully remade. These are challenging, arresting, provocative stories of a continent and its descendants captured at a time of burgeoning change.” The winner of the £10,000 prize is to be announced at a celebratory dinner at the Bodleian Library, Oxford, on Monday 8 July. Former principal of Fourah Bay College, Professor Eldred Durosimi Jones tells Politico that US-based writer “is very gifted” and has a “great facility with words”. He says he is not surprised at his being shortlisted for the Caines Prize. Prof Jones says Hollist was “an outstanding student” when he taught him at FBC. Referring to Hollist’s 296-page novel, titled “So the past does not die”, the emeritus professor of English language and literature says he “does too much” and could have written four novels with the material contained in the book. He says the novel, which he refers to as a blockbuster, starts in the provinces, comes to Freetown which it looks at in considerable depth and moves on to talk about West Indian life. It is about an aborted female circumcision which is supported by the girl’s grandmother but opposed by her father. She later flees the provinces and comes to Freetown before emigrating abroad. Last year the Caine Prize was won by Nigerian writer Rotimi Babatunde. He has subsequently co-authored a play ‘Feast’ for the Young Vic and the Royal Court theatres in London. The 2013 shortlist is made up of:
- Elnathan John (Nigeria) ‘Bayan Layi’ from Per Contra, Issue 25 (USA, 2012)
- Tope Folarin (Nigeria) ‘Miracle’ from Transition, Issue 109 (Bloomington, 2012)
- Pede Hollist (Sierra Leone) ‘Foreign Aid’ from Journal of Progressive Human Services, Vol. 23.3 (Philadelphia, 2012)
- Abubakar Adam Ibrahim (Nigeria) ‘The Whispering Trees’ from The Whispering Trees, published by Parrésia Publishers (Lagos, 2012)
- Chinelo Okparanta (Nigeria) ‘America’ from Granta, Issue 118 (London, 2012)
