Today I finished reading
all the stories submitted for this year’s Caine Prize. In February the postman
had delivered a sumptuous box full of books, journals, magazines and
photocopied sheets. I opened it straight
away. Inside was the future winner of the 2013 Caine Prize and I was going to play a part in
discovering him or her. What struck me
first was the practicality of running a prize.
Each book, for example, had a typed label on the front cover with the
name of the submitted story and the page numbers. A spread-sheet, three pages long,
listed each entry by title, author, country of origin, publication and whether
the story was included in a book, journal or as a photocopy (most of the
photocopies were internet publications). Each of the five judges must have
received an identical box. A lot of hard
work had gone into this, I thought. Running a prize was not an easy matter.
And would judging it be any easier? At
first I dug in and read haphazardly but I had to develop some system. I decided
to grade the stories. I gave a D to
those stories that should not have been published in the first place, let alone
submitted. I gave a C to the mediocre ones. And I gave an A to the exceptional,
outstanding ones, the kind of stories I would want to pass on to friends, the kind
of stories I would be keen to recommend. As for the Bs, they intrigued me the
most because here was talent that needed development, here were shy voices that
needed to be raised a notch, here were first drafts that needed more work and
here were flashes of brilliance bogged down by clumsy skills and what I suspected
to be lack of sufficient exposure to critical reading and editorial support.
Perhaps the As would forge ahead no matter what but the Bs were the ones in
need of encouragement
In conclusion, the statistics were
as follows:
A s 19 stories 18.4%
B s 26 stories 25.2%
C s 36 stories 35%
D s 22 stories 21.4%
I made notes on the As and Bs and I
am now looking forward to reading them again. But before I started on this next
stage, I decided to jot down the top ten stories that made the biggest initial
impression on first reading, the ones that stood out in my memory. It turned out that six of them were ones I
had given an A grade and four a B. Perhaps they would be the stories I would
take with me to the judges’ short-list meeting, perhaps on a second reading I
would swap them for others. Have I steered
away from the more brutal themes? Am I more inclined towards the domestic and
emotional? I am looking forward to
discussing my choices with the other judges. I am sure my own tastes would be challenged at
times but hopefully, too, my instincts would be confirmed.
Nearly every submitted story
reflected the economic, political and social difficulties of life in
Africa. The writers did not shy away
from sensitive issues or gruelling realities.
But serious subject matters do
not guarantee a good story. There are other qualities that are more
important – creative imagination, skills, the ability to invoke delight, plough depth, stir drama and chart connections,
a sense of place, history and culture,
characters who intrigue, an individual vision. Here are some of the notes
I jotted down on the entries I judged worth re-reading, the ones that scored As
and Bs
Earthy, confident writing with a
sense of integrity
Poetic and strange
Chilling with a neat ending
No-nonsense rending of a familiar
tale of tragedy
Spirited, universal
Creepy
Vibrant, great opening line
Confident, superb pacing
Wacky, gripping,
Fluid narrative, touching
Bold…. I want to read more from this
writer.
Throughout the past two months I have
read approximately one hundred stories and kept company with the diverse voices
of African writers. A literary prize such as the Caine confers recognition,
exposure and an international stamp of approval. African writers deserve their place in the
sun. Whatever their themes, regardless
of their chosen setting, at the end of the
day it is excellent writing that makes the powerful impact, it is the cream
which rises to the top.
