Olufemi Terry-Caine Prize Winner

Alison Flood reports on the work of Olufemi Terry:

Olufemi Terry courtesy of BookphotoSA

One of the things Terry is trying to do with his writing, he said, is to explore the issues of the African diaspora. "Living in the diaspora, whether it's west or east, throws up a whole new set of challenges and questions which I don't feel have been properly explored or looked at," he said. "The label 'African writer' is not a particularly helpful one ... Whether it's journalism or fiction, there is too much emphasis put on issues such as poverty or disease, and I feel the label 'African writing' exacerbates that particular tendency. I would like to see more of a shift away from writing about Africa set on the continent, and more exploration of the issues of the diaspora."