CONTRARY to what obtained in the past, African artists are now helping the world to have a deep understanding of the continent.
The new trend, which artists employ to broaden the African worldview, is not only through Nollywood movies but also the works of international writers like Iheoma Nwachukwu.
In his essay, “Pandemic Surrealism”, published last year in the prestigious international
journal, AGNI, Nwachukwu explores the world of surrealism where dreams are more solid than what people perceive as reality.
Addressing the American audience, Nwachukwu talks about ghosts and elementals in
his fiction, the two-part world of Igbo cosmology where both the spiritual and physical
worlds have equal weight. Of course, this is a belief widely shared in Africa but arguably
alien to the Americans.
Nwachukwu’s essay is of major cultural significance, because in an immigrant country like America that prefers a secular philosophy, his contribution helps Americans to better understand the worldview of their immigrant neighbours. This tends to ease tension in
the workplace like banks, schools, and prevents escalation of conflict, leading to greater productivity in America’s economy.
Attesting to Nwachukwu’s essay, Dr. D.M Aderibigbe, director, University of Southern Mississippi’s Visiting Writers Series, said it has provoked intellectual commentary among his peers in the literary world, with some comparing it to another of his work, Cyborg’s Brother published in AGNI, where a young man is surprised by his father’s apparition rising out of poured water.
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