The Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2021: an interview with Franklyn Usouwa from Nigeria

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Picture of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize and of Franklyn Osouwa: https://www.commonwealthwriters.org/2021-commonwealth-short-story-prize-shortlist/; picture of pen writing on paper: Pixabay

The Commonwealth Short Story Prize is awarded annually for the best piece of unpublished short fiction from any of the Commonwealth’s 54 member states.

Here is more information on the competition and the shortlist of this year: https://www.litnet.co.za/press-release-2021-commonwealth-short-story-prize-shortlist-announced/.

Franklyn Usouwa from Nigeria talks to Naomi Meyer about his shortlisted story, A for abortion.

Congratulations on your short story, nominated for this year’s Commonwealth Short Story Prize! Please could you tell me what your story is about and what inspired you to write your story?

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My story is titled A for abortion and is about a girl who is forced to have an abortion by her married lover, whom she believes she is in love with and who she believes is in love with her.

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My story is titled A for abortion and is about a girl who is forced to have an abortion by her married lover, whom she believes she is in love with and who she believes is in love with her. It was inspired, in part, by the debates on abortion laws around the world and how those conversations, in my opinion, do not say enough about those who may be forced to have abortions that they do not want to have, by people who have power over them.

It was possible to take part in this competition in languages other than English (entries could be submitted in Bengali, Chinese, French, Greek, Malay, Portuguese, Samoan, Swahili, Tamil and Turkish). Tell me about the language you used for your entry. Did you write in your home language? If you wrote in English, do you think the language you speak at home was reflected in the English that you used? Tell me about the language you used as tool for your writing.

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My story was written in English. I did not write in my home language, which is Igbo; however, two central characters in the story have Igbo words as names.

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My story was written in English. I did not write in my home language, which is Igbo; however, two central characters in the story have Igbo words as names. One is Nne, which means “mother” and is the name of a nurse who performs abortions. The other is Madu, which means “person” or “somebody”, and in the story is the name of the man trying to get the girl he has impregnated to have an abortion. English is actually my first language, while Igbo is more of a second language for me.

What did this nomination mean to you, and what are your writing dreams for the future?

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I dream of telling stories that resonate with readers, stories that matter to people, and of improving continuously so that I am worthy to tell those stories.

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It means a lot to have been shortlisted. I feel like my storytelling career has just begun, and to be validated in such a manner so early on is amazing. It has given me a lot of confidence going forward, and now I just want to keep writing, keep telling stories. I dream of telling stories that resonate with readers, stories that matter to people, and of improving continuously so that I am worthy to tell those stories.

Also read:

The Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2021: an interview with Vincent Anioke from Nigeria

The Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2021: an interview with Rémy Ngamije from Namibia

The Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2021: an interview with Ola W Halim from Nigeria

The Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2021: an interview with Moso Sematlane from Lesotho

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