A Nigerian writer based in the United States, TOPE FOLARIN has clinched the 2013 Caine Prize for African Writing, one of the most prestigious in the writing world. He smiles home with £10,000 ($15,000), that’s about N2.5 million naira. His winning work was titled ‘Miracle’ and is a short story set in an evangelical Nigerian church in the American city of Texas. According to the judges, the book is a ”delightful and beautifully paced narrative that is exquisitely observed and utterly compelling“.
He was one of the five authors shortlisted and in Africa, the prize stands out clearly as one of the most coveted. Interestingly, three other Nigerians also made the final selection: - Elnathan John for Bayan Layi, Abubakar Adam Ibrahim for The Whispering Trees and Chinelo Okparanta for America (the only lady). The only non-Nigerian finalist was Pede Hollist from Sierra Leone with his short story titled Foreign Aid.
The book, Miracle, talks of a group of worshippers in a church who have congregated to witness the supernatural powers of a blind pastor-prophet. According to the Caine Prize committee:
“Religion and the gullibility of those caught in the deceit that sometimes comes with faith rise to the surface as a young boy volunteers to be healed and begins to believe in miracles.”
Mr. Folarin is also a recipient of other writing fellowships and he is a member of the board of the Hurston /Wright Foundation. He attended Morehouse College and later proceeded to the University of Oxford where he bagged two master degrees on Rhodes scholarship. He is based in Washington DC, USA, where he works and resides.
On the continent and across the globe, Nigerians have shown themselves to be the unrivalled champions. Last year, the prize was also won by a Nigerian, Rotimi Babatunde for his work, Bombay’s Republic, which focused on the experiences of Nigerian soldiers during the Second World War. Nigeria, the land of great writers!
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