Emma Dawson (ed). The Spirit Machine and Other New Short Stories from Cameroon. Nottingham: Critical, Cultural and Communications Press. (Publication date: June 1, 2009.
Excerpt from Intro by Emma Dawson:
Until recently the Cameroonian short story in English has often interested itself directly with postcolonial Cameroonian society. But things are changing, and as this anthology will hopefully demonstrate, many of the themes explored in the short stories are not directly linked to a sense of postcoloniality, but reach beyond that experience and into the lives of ordinary Cameroonians today. The stories do reveal the past that Cameroon has known, whether it is through the code-switching or the variety of language used or the themes that, when unravelled, lead back in some way to a legacy of colonisation...
This collection of short stories explores universal as well as local issues – the political, the personal, the scary, the serious and the profound all feature here...The new writing presented here demonstrates in varying degrees the changing voice and shifting position of the Anglophone Cameroonian writer today. It is from this point of view that writing in English in Cameroon will enjoy a fruitful and empowering future. This anthology is intended as a marker in its history.
CONTENTS
Map of Cameroon 4
General Editor’s Preface 5
Acknowledgments 7
Introduction 9
Emma Dawson
The Spirit Machine 23
Ba’bila Mutia
My First Million 36
Florence Ndiyah
The Betrayal 49
Mbuh Mbuh Tennu
Kakamba 64
John Nkemngong Nkengasong
Jury of the Corrupt 70
Wirndzerem G. Barfee
A Lie Has a Short Life 97
Eunice Ngongkum
The Lost Art 110
Job Fongho Tende
The Visit 122
Oscar Chenyi Labang
Sour Juice 131
Sammy Oke Akombi
Notes on the Contributors 138
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