Chinelo Onwualu
Chinelo Onwualu is a Nigerian editor and a speculative fiction writer. She is the co-founder and previous editor-in-chief of Omenana Magazine. She is also co-editor at Anathema Magazine.
Quotes
[edit]- “It’s interesting because I think my stories are rather lightweight. I think the story that speaks most is the one in Imagine Africa 500, ‘The Wish Box.’ I really like that story in terms of its impact."
- “‘The Wish Box’ is about poverty and how being well meaning is not enough. Just having a desire to do good is not enough to diminish structural inequalities."
- “We live in a society (Nigeria) that is one of the most unequal in the world. The rich are incredibly rich and the poor are incredibly poor."
- “You have to be willing to accept that you may lose your position of privilege should things change. Without willingness to give up your own privilege there’s a chance that all your good intention is just that. It might even backfire and make things worse."
- “The story itself came out of a dream, but it also intersected with something I’ve been struggling with, living in Nigerian society and trying to figure out how I can make things better for the world. I think I’ve come to the conclusion that the best I can do is make sure that those around me, those with whom I am in contact, are at the very least not being exploited.”
- “Someone in the diaspora complains that an anthology printed in Nigeria is full of really bad stories. While the fact is that most of us here don’t have access to educational resources that someone in the diaspora does."
- “So when you’re talking about empirical quality or you’re talking about grammar, sentence structure, and the like, you’re not going to get the same kind of quality here as you do over there."
- “Language has its own role to play, but I think we should also acknowledge the reality that we live in which is: that for all of us to read each other’s work, we do have to read in a particular language and that language is increasingly becoming English or French. The reality is that those are the colonial languages."
- “I’m sure there will be a backlash. Things come and go, right? There will be people who say, ‘No, I’m not writing or reading in colonial languages,’ and that’s great for them. But the fact of the matter is that the number of people who can speak and read and write in a language like Igbo is fast declining. And that is one of the big ones in Nigeria. We have to acknowledge it."
- “I would love to see more translations of things. I would like to see things that have different rhythms. I love that absolutely. I just have to understand that I have to be able to set aside prejudices and my understandings of the way things are written to see, to acknowledge, and appreciate that."
- "When I decided to focus on writing speculative fiction, I started looking for places that were looking for African writers. I was very disappointed not to get into Lagos_2060 because I didn’t hear about it in time."
- “I am an editor. I enjoy revising. I have much more fun writing when there is stuff to play with."
- “Frankly I enjoy writing spec fiction. I enjoy writing it, I enjoy reading it. I do have a literary bent to my tastes, but only because I love a well constructed sentence. But more than anything I love a good story. And spec fic tends to be heavier on plot than other genres and I really like that. There’s nothing I like better than having read a book and sitting back going ‘Hah, that was a fun ride.’"
- "It’s been an honour and a rare privilege to have helped create this magazine. I am deeply proud of every story and essay and piece of art that has been featured in its pages. However, it is time to pass on the editorial reins to new hands with new visions."
