African Literature Week : Reviewing Cameroon’s Past and Present Poetry

www.noocultures.info – As part of activities to mark the commemoration of the African Literature Week in Cameroon, the French Institute in Yaounde organized an exchange and poetic dedication. This had as aim to rethink Cameroon’s poetry of yesterday and today. It took place on the 20^th of March 2023 and had as key speakers Kouam Tawa, poet, actor and film director and Jean Claude Awono, poet and director of Editions Ifrikiya.

If one could compare Cameroon’s poetry that existed before and the one existing now, one would notice a drastic change. What are these changes? , Are these changes positive? , Who is responsible for the change? What can be done to put poetry back on track? These are some of the issues that were at the center of discussion during the poetic exchange at the French Institute in Yaoundé. Speaking during the exchange, Kouam Tawa, a poet, says the most fundamental difference between the two Cameroonian poetries is at the level of responsibility.

“When we read old poems written by our own people, we notice that they have a sense of responsibility that is bigger. That is, they wrote what the people were going through. They did not write only for themselves. That is why the people had a sense of belonging to the poem because it talked about them. However, the poetry of nowadays has grown into “selfishness”. They write only about their personal stories and the public hardly identifies themselves in them”, he evoked.

While adding to the changes recorded in poetry, Jean Claude Awono, made it clear that it is difficult these days, to see young people interested in poetry. The learning process according to the speakers is limited only at the level of the classroom and that is why it has slowed down poetry development in Cameroon. “Young Cameroonians are no longer interested in poetry. They prefer sitting in front of their television set or scrolling their phones rather than picking up a pen to write. If you look deeply, you cannot really blame them because we did not build the foundation they need. Even when they struggle to write, their mastery of language is very low,” he regrets. The poet and literary critic however admitted that all hope is not lost because of the engagement of youths in “slam” which is some sort of spoken poetry.

Reinstalling Poetry in youths

It is certain youths are the tomorrow and so in order to keep the poetry flame burning bright; we need to correct the mistakes of yesterday and find solutions. The very first solution proposed was that of bringing the world of poetry to the digital space. “Youths spend time more online. Having websites where interesting poems could be posted would help a lot in reinstalling the norm,” expressed a youth at the exchange. The speakers went further to summon the media to play a vital role in the promotion of poetry.

This according to them could be done through the broadcast of poems on radio and television, “Some years ago, it was an obligation for the radio and television channels to broadcast poems every day. The habit suddenly died down,” commented a participant. Furthermore, the speakers pleaded on the government to support editing and publishing houses so as to ease the publishing of poems. With all said, it came to conclusion that, if we really want to see poetry evolve in Cameroon, the cultivation should start at home and in schools.

The poetic exchange ended with the dedication of some poetry books and works of arts produced by the speakers such as “A hauteur de sang” by Jean Claude Awono. As activities continue in accordance with the African Literature Week, poet lovers and literary experts are sure to have gained a lot.

Kuwan Chelsea Kernyuy (Trainee editor) ©www.noocultures.info