A Salesman in America, a Horseman in Oyo AT first glance, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman and Wole Soyinka’s Death and the King’s Horseman appear to have almost nothing in common. One is set in post-war America and follows an ageing salesman struggling with professional failure. The other is rooted in Yoruba society under […]
Young Critics Revisit Osofisan’s ‘The Best of Times’, Expose Nigeria’s Social Fault Lines THE enduring political and social concerns in the works of Nigerian playwright and novelist Femi Osofisan came under close examination as three young literary critics revisited his collection of novellas, The Best of Times. The discussion formed part of the preview sessions […]
The Mystery at the Heart of Storytelling FOR generations, aspiring novelists have searched for the perfect writing formula—structured outlines, colour-coded notes, chapter templates and productivity systems designed to make storytelling predictable. Yet many accomplished authors argue that the greatest works of fiction rarely emerge from rigid planning alone. Rather than following a straight path, they […]
By EMILY RAPP BLACK The Creative Power of Play: Rethinking Structure, Memory, and Imagination in Writing From Order to Overwhelm: The Tyranny of the Outline THE writer recalls a formative attempt in Brooklyn to construct a rigid outline for a first book, an exercise widely prescribed as essential for narrative clarity and structural discipline. The […]