NTSIKA KOTA WINS THE COMMONWEALTH SHORT STORY PRIZE

By Prosper Ifeanyi

      

Ntsika makes history as the first writer from Eswatini (formerly called Swaziland, with it's  capital Mbabane or Lobamba in Southern Africa) to win the coveted Commonwealth Short Story Prize for his story, “and the earth drank deep.” The name “Ntsika Kota” isn't a very popular household name and this somewhat earmarks his feat as something spectacular. This places him in the league of other prominent writers such as Abdulrazak Gurnah, the Nobel Prize Winner, whose obscurity dovetails his ingeniosity. 

The first thing I did when I stumbled across the news was look up his profile, and to my greatest surprise I found nothing. So I thought to myself, if I was going to  understand this man and his identity, I had to search for vestiges or trails of himself in his writing (every writer does that, unknowingly), this prompted me to read his story. From reading, I noticed two things; this writer had a way of making complex situational narratives very plain, simple or direct if you like. Secondly, he was patient with his characters and himself. I believe these elements constituted the rationale behind the Chair Judge, Fred D'Aguiar's dubbing of the story as an “instant classic.”

I am one among many who think African literature is boundless. The Commonwealth Prize is one of those media where the playing field becomes levelled for writers, not only Africans, to tell their stories. Today it's Kota, tomorrow, it might just be that writer you haven't devoted enough time to read. This is a wake up call to readers and writers alike, everyone owes themselves this responsibility as it gears us each day to the zenith of our humanity. Congratulations to Kota once again.

In partnership with the Commonwealth Writers, Granta publishes the regional winners of the 2022 Commonwealth Short Story Prize. Ntsika Kota’s ‘and the earth drank deep’ is the winning entry from Africa. Read story here