1. Every writer has a moment that pushed them into storytelling. What experiences shaped you into the writer you are today?
Like virtually all writers, I loved reading from childhood. Like many African children from a similar background, I read books from western and local authors – mostly foreign to be honest. From enjoying books, I progressed to trying to create them. Of course, as I discovered, writing is a completely different kettle of fish.
My previous published books have been for teenagers and young adults. But then I had stories for children brewing about in my head and in half abandoned manuscripts for years. People think writing for children is simple. In way it is because there are strict limits to how complex the story can be, types of words and appropriate themes.
But it is very difficult to get it right, because one needs to get inside the head of a child to see how a story would work from their perspective without talking down to them. Very few people have been able to achieve this. It was a real challenge for me.
2. Why did you choose the title Six Strange Stories? What makes these stories ‘strange’ beyond mystery or fantasy?
A strange question! I have discovered stories seem to take an identity of their own. In this case, I think the tales are a little bit weird – not exactly what one would expect. Each story is very different and there’s something unexpected for the reader. They range from the whimsically humorous to the spooky and the psychological. Although there is an underlying theme that unites them all. I think the title is appropriate enough suggesting the magic realism nature of some of the tales.
3. Many African children grow up consuming foreign stories. How important is it for African children to see African settings, emotions, spirituality, and realities inside fiction?
Many African children grow up consuming foreign tales because that is what is readily available and accessible. They are everywhere. Of course, our colonial heritage plays a major role, but the educational systems and world media are built around a foreign narrative. It is not in itself a bad thing though because as I have mentioned I grew up reading writers like CS Lewis, Enid Blyton, Roald Dahl together with our African folktales.
It was clear that the protagonists in those stories did not look like me and the writers probably didn’t have African children in mind while writing them, but yet it didn’t matter, because I still enjoyed them and this illustrates the universal appeal of good stories.
I also devoured our stories from authors like Cyprian Ekwensi, Chinua Achebe, Mabel Segun and others from the African Writers Series about our culture with children/protagonists that I could identify with. It evoked a different feeling which suggested that these were stories for me. It is important for African children to see familiar settings because this tells them that we do matter. Our unique stories and experiences matter. Our rich cultural heritage is an endless joy to discover.
4. “Your stories mix realism, mystery, and imagination. What role do you think imagination plays in helping children and teenagers understand the real world?”
What would we do without imagination? Setting us free from the drudge of daily life and telling us about endless possibilities… Well, CS Lewis (who is possibly my favourite author) spoke about the need to have fairy tales.
Fairy tales are enjoyed by children and yet do not deceive them about the real world. They will meet aspects of good and evil in the real world. Let them defeat those dragons in the stories.
5. Which story in the book was the hardest for you to write, and why?
Hmm that’s a tough one. It’s hard to write any story because there are many things involved. Writing is hard! But I would say probably The Stories of Suah, because I found it quite tough to get the tone right – in an appropriate way for children.
As a child I remember seeing and reading about the numerous reports of the Liberian war in the adult newspapers from the relative safety of our living room in Lagos and this somehow stayed with me over the years. A war story involving children? For children?
A reviewer noted aspects of that story might be too distressing. It is a sort of horror story because war is macabre. Yet I think children are not as averse to a good fright as one might think!
For example, Roald Dahl’s ‘The Witches’ is by any standard a spine-chilling piece of work for any child to read. Yet it is regarded as a modern classic of children’s literature and has been enjoyed by numerous children over the years despite scaring the bejeezus out of them. Many fairy tales and folktales are quite dark when you come to think about it.
6. What do you hope a young African reader feels after finishing Six Strange Stories?
I hope they enjoy and maybe learn from them. The first purpose of any story is to entertain. If they could bring pleasure and make them feel and think the way stories made me feel as a young child, then my work is done.
7. If this book became an animated series or film tomorrow, what would you want audiences around the world to understand about Africa through these stories?
We have a variety of stories to tell too. Diverse and rich. But above all I want African children to know there are stories for and about them.
Mohammed AH
