Nsah Mala

Nsah Mala
Nsah Mala
Born	Kenneth Toah Nsah; 10 September 1988 (age 35); Mbesa, Cameroon
Occupation	Poet, writer, children's author, literary researcher
Nationality	Cameroonian
Education	PhD Comparative Literature, Erasmus Mundus Masters Crossways in Cultural Narratives, Bachelor of Arts in Bilingual Studies, DIPES 1 Bilingual Letters
Genre	Poetry, Short Fiction, Children's Literature
Notable works	Constimocrazy: Malafricanising Democracy, Bites of Insanity, Les Pleurs du mal

Last updated November 21, 2023

Nsah Mala (born Kenneth Toah Nsah) is a Cameroonian poet,^[1]^[2] writer,^[3] author of children's books and researcher-scholar.^[4]^{[ failed verification ]} He writes in English, French, and Iteanghe-a-Mbesa (Mbesa language).^[5]

Biography

Early life and education

Born in Mbesa (also Mbessa), Nsah Mala did his primary education in CBC School Mbesa.

He wrote his first play in Form Two in Government Secondary School (GSS) Mbessa, and obtained his General Certificate of Education (GCE) Ordinary Level in 2007. He did high school education in CCAST Bambili where he obtained his GCE Advanced Level in 2009, emerging as the national overall best candidate in Literature in English which earned him an award from the Cameroon Association of English-Speaking Journalists (CAMASEJ).^[6]^[7]

In 2012 he graduated from École Normale Supérieure (ENS) de Yaoundé and University of Yaoundé I.^[8] From 2016 to 2018, with an Erasmus Mundus Scholarship, he studied for the Erasmus Mundus Masters Crossways in Cultural Narratives^[9] at the University of Perpignan Via Domitia (France), University of St Andrews (UK), and Universidad de Santiago de Compostela (Spain).

In September 2018, he enrolled in a PhD programme in Comparative Literature at Aarhus University (Denmark).^[10] On 11 March 2022, he successfully defended his PhD dissertation entitled: "Can Literature Save the Congo Basin? Postcolonial Ecocriticism and Environmental Literary Activism."^[11]^[12]^[13]^[14] His dissertation had been co-supervised by Professor Mads Rosendahl Thomsen, Comparative Literature Department, and Associate Professor Peter Mortensen, English Department, both at Aarhus University.^[11]^[12]^[13]^[14] Nsah's doctoral assessment committee consisted of Professor Scott Slovic, English Department, University of Idaho (USA), Associate Professor Étienne-Marie Lassi, French Department, University of Manitoba (Canada), and Associate Professor Marianne Ping Huang, Comparative Literature, Aarhus University (Committee Chair).^[11]^[12]^[13] His doctoral thesis won the Prix de thèses francophones en Prospective 2022 (Prize for Francophone Theses in Foresight and Futures Studies) from la Fondation 2100 and l'Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF).^[15]^[16]^[17]^[18]

After working as postdoctoral researcher at Radboud University (Netherlands), Nsah was recruited as a postdoctoral teaching and research fellow at Université de Lille (France).^[19]^[20] Nsah Mala was seleted as a 2023 Next Generation Foresight Practitioner (NGFP) Fellow at the School of International Futures in the United Kingdom for a project on the Congo Basin.^[21]

Writing career

Nsah Mala wrote his first play in the second year (Form Two) of secondary education at GSS Mbessa.^[22] He published his first poetry collection entitled Chaining Freedom in 2012 and has gone on to publish three other poetry collections in English and one in French. He has published three picture books in Cameroon and France while his poems and stories appear in magazines and anthologies.^[23]^[24]^[5]^[25]^{[ excessive citations ]}

Constimocrazy: Malafricanising Democracy (2017), his fourth poetry collection, received reviews. Nelson Mlambo described it in Tuck Magazine as "a profound expression of Afro-talent and the personification of an Afropolitan voice."^[26] Global Arts and Politics Alliance (GAPA) observed that Nsah Mala "reminds despots that they are a minority and they thrive on using the masses to gain popularity and benefit from power".^[27]

In 2016, Nsah Mala's short story "Christmas Disappointment" was one of the ten winners of a competition organised by the Cameroonian Ministry of Arts and Culture.^[28]^{[ better source needed ]} In December 2016, his short story "Fanta from America" received a special mention in a competition organised by Bakwa Magazine in Cameroon.^[29]^[30]^[31]^[5]^[32]^{[ excessive citations ]} His French poem "Servants de l'État" received a "mention spéciale du concours littéraire Malraux" (France) in December 2017.^[5] He attended the Caine Prize Writers' Workshop in Gisenyi, Rwanda, in March 2018.^[33]

In summer 2020, POW! Kids Books acquired world rights (excluding Africa) to Nsah Mala's North American debut picture book entitled What the Moon Cooks to be published in spring 2021.^[34]

Publications

Poetry collections

(fr) Les Pleurs du mal, 2019, ISBN 978-1942876465
(en) Constimocrazy: Malafricanising Democracy, 2017, ISBN 978-0998847665
(en) If You Must Fall Bush, 2016, ISBN 978-9956763856
(en) Bites of Insanity, 2015, ISBN 978-9956792672
(en) Chaining Freedom, 2012, ISBN 978-0615692852

Children's books

(en) Explore Animal Sounds with Little Nain (NMI-Education, 2022)
(en) Andolo: the Talented Albino, 2020, ISBN 978-978-956-124-7
(fr) Andolo: l'albinos talentueux, 2020, ISBN 978-978-956-139-1
(fr) Le petit Gabriel commence à lire, 2020, ISBN 978-2368686621
(en) Little Gabriel Starts to Read, 2020, ISBN 978-1-942876-71-7

Edited books

(co-edited with Mbizo Chirasha) Corpses of Unity – Cadavres de l'unité, 2020, ISBN 978-9966133991
(co-edited with Tendai Rinos Mwanaka) Best New African Poets 2019 Anthology, 2020, ISBN 978-1779296108
(co-edited with Tendai Rinos Mwanaka) Best New African Poets 2018 Anthology, 2018, ISBN 978-1779063601

Short fiction

"Departure,"^[35]Redemption Song and Other Stories, Caine Prize Anthology, 2018, ISBN 978-1623719708
"America at Midnight," Kalahari Review, 2017
"Stubborn Miniskirt," PAROUSIA Magazine, 2017

Essays

“African Union: Climate Action Offers Organisation Unique Chance for Revival,”The Conversation, France.^[36]
"“L’action climatique peut-elle redorer l’image de l’Union africaine ?” The Conversation, France.^[37]
"Vanishing Insects & Dying Earth: Reflecting on Insects & Soil in Mbessa (Cameroon),” GeoSemantics in ASAP/Journal, 2023.^[38]
"There is no such thing as African literature," Kalahari Review, 2023.^[39]
"Literature from the Congo Basin offers ways to address the climate crisis," The Conversation, 2022.
"The virality of letters: the Covid-19 literary archive keeps growing," Corona Times, 2020.
"Alleged corruption in academic appointments highlights Cameroon's PhD glut," Times Higher Education, 2020.
"Comment expliquer la timide mobilisation de la jeunesse africaine pour le climat ?" The Conversation, 2019.

Peer-reviewed articles and book chapters

Nsah, Kenneth Toah. 2023. “Conserving Africa’s Eden? Green Colonialism, Neoliberal Capitalism, and Sustainable Development in Congo Basin Literature.” Humanities 12(3): 38.[40] DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/h12030038
Nsah, Kenneth Toah. 2023. “Our Children Will Fight for the Climate: How Congo-Basin Writers Prophesied the Global Youth Climate Movement.” Electronic Green Journal 48(2023).^[41] URL: https://escholarship.org/uc/item/88n2v0wv
Nsah, Kenneth Toah. 2021. "The Ecopolitics of Water Pollution and Disorderly Urbanization in Congo-Basin Plays." Orbis Litterarum.
Nsah, Kenneth Toah. 2021. "The Return of Bush Fallers: Cameroon Anglophone Fiction Responds to Clandestine Immigration." Postcolonial Text, vol. 16 no. 1, pp. 1–24.
Nsah, Kenneth Toah. 2020. "Of Dogs, Horses and Buffalos in Cameroon: Companion Animals in Cameroonian Fiction." In Reading Cats and Dogs: Companion Animals in World Literature, eds. F. Besson et al. Lanham: Lexington Books, pp. 169–188. {{ISBN<978-1-7936-1106-2}}.
Nsah, Kenneth Toah. 2020. "When Trees Scream." DRAMA – Nordic Drama Pedagogical Journal.
Nsah, Kenneth Toah: 2019. "The Screaming Forest: An Ecocritical Assessment of Le Cri de la forêt." Ecological In(ter)ventions in the Francophone World, eds. Anne-Rachel Hermetet and Stephanie Posthumus, special issue of Ecozon@: European Journal of Literature, Culture and Environment, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 58–75.
Nsah, Kenneth Toah. 2018. "'No Forest, No Water. No Forest, No Animals': An Ecocritical Reading of Ekpe Inyang's The Hill Barbers." Ecozon@: European Journal of Literature, Culture and Environment, vol. 9 no. 1, pp. 94–110.
Nsah, Kenneth Toah. 2017. "Triple Marginality in Cameroon Anglophone Literature." In Rewriting Pasts, Imagining Futures: Critical Explorations of Contemporary African Fiction and Theatre, eds. Victor Gomia and Gilbert Ndi. Colorado: Spears Media Press, pp. 96–110. ISBN 978-1942876182.
Nsah, Kenneth Toah. 2016. "Cameroon Professors Publish: A Reply to Nwanatifu Nwaco's 'Cameroon: Professors without Publications.'" Voice of Research, vol. 5 no. 2, pp. 53–59.
Nsah, Kenneth Toah. 2016. "La métamorphose chez Kafka et Darriussecq: Une étude compare." Cahiers ivoiriens d’études comparées, vol. 7, pp. 33–52.
Nsah, Kenneth Toah. 2015. "Eco-cultural Sensitivity in John Nkengasong's Njogobi Festival and Nol Alembong's Forest Echoes." Journal of English Language, Literature and Culture (JELLiC), vol. 4 no. 1, pp. 37–58. ISBN 978-1523331598.
Nsah, Kenneth Toah. 2015. "Black Prophesies on White Soils and Ears: A Reading of Joyce Ashuntantang's 'The Clairvoyant.'" Modern Research Studies, vol. 2 no. 3, pp. 502–514.

Related Research Articles

Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Its coastline lies on the Bight of Biafra, part of the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean. Due to its strategic position at the crossroads between West Africa and Central Africa, it has been categorized as being in both camps. Its nearly 27 million people speak 250 native languages and English or French or both.

French Equatorial Africa was a federation of French colonial territories in Equatorial Africa which consisted of Gabon, French Congo, Ubangi-Shari, and Chad. It existed from 1910 to 1958 and its administration was based in Brazzaville.

British Cameroon or the British Cameroons was a British mandate territory in British West Africa, formed of the Northern Cameroons and Southern Cameroons. Today, the Northern Cameroons forms parts of the Borno, Adamawa and Taraba states of Nigeria, while the Southern Cameroons forms part of the Northwest and Southwest regions of Cameroon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ahmadou Ahidjo</span> 1st President of Cameroon, from 1960 to 1982

Ahmadou Babatoura Ahidjo was a Cameroonian politician who was the first President of Cameroon, holding the office from 1960 until 1982. Ahidjo played a major role in Cameroon's independence from France as well as reuniting the French and English-speaking parts of the country. During Ahidjo's time in office, he established a centralized political system. Ahidjo established a single-party state under the Cameroon National Union (CNU) in 1966. In 1972, Ahidjo abolished the federation in favor of a unitary state.

Central Africa is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries according to different definitions. Middle Africa is an analogous term used by the United Nations in its geoscheme for Africa and consists of the following countries: Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Rwanda, and São Tomé and Príncipe. These eleven countries are members of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS). Six of those countries are also members of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC) and share a common currency, the Central African CFA franc.

Ambazonia, alternatively the "Federal Republic of Ambazonia" or "State of Ambazonia", is a political entity proclaimed by Anglophone separatists who are seeking independence from Cameroon. The separatists claim that Ambazonia should consist of the Northwest Region and Southwest Region of Cameroon. Since 2017, Ambazonian rebels are in an armed conflict with the Cameroonian military, in what is known as the Anglophone Crisis, setting up a government-in-exile and capturing some territory. No country has recognized Ambazonia's existence as of 2023.

Cameroon English is an English dialect spoken predominantly in Cameroon, mostly learned as a second language. It shares some similarities with English varieties in neighbouring West Africa, as Cameroon lies at the west of Central Africa. It is primarily spoken in the Northwest and Southwest regions of Cameroon.

Cameroon is home to at least 250 languages, with some accounts reporting around 600. These include 55 Afro-Asiatic languages, two Nilo-Saharan languages, four Ubangian languages, and 169 Niger–Congo languages. This latter group comprises one Senegambian language (Fulfulde), 28 Adamawa languages, and 142 Benue–Congo languages . French and English are official languages, a heritage of Cameroon's colonial past as a colony of both France and the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1961. Eight out of the ten regions of Cameroon are primarily francophone, representing 83% of the country's population, and two are anglophone, representing 17%. The official percentage of French and English speakers by the Presidency of Cameroon is estimated to be 70% and 30% respectively.

Cameroon–United States relations are international relations between Cameroon and the United States.

Batouri is a town and commune in the East Province of Cameroon. It is the second largest municipality in the province after the provincial capital Bertoua. It is located on the main road connecting Bertoua to the Central African Republic and to the Cameroonian town of Yokadouma. It had an estimated 33,500 inhabitants as of 2012.

Hervé Yamguen is a Cameroonian painter and sculptor. A self-taught artist, he launched himself in painting, sculpture and he discovered a passion for the writing which enables him to wonder about its daily live. He currently works on plays.

Peter Wuteh Vakunta is an author, literary theorist, poet, and professor, noted for his work in and on hybrid languages, including Camfranglais, Cameroonian Creole, linguistic indigenization, and multilingual educational systems. He is originally from Bamunka-Ndop, in the Northwest Region of the Republic of Cameroon, and currently teaches French language and literature and serves as Chair of the Department of Modern Languages at the University of Indianapolis.

John Ngosong Nkemngong Nkengasong was a Cameroonian playwright, novelist, poet and scholar. He was often referred to as a "radical visionary" of Anglophone Cameroon and an “ardent upholder of innovative creativity and crusader for the truth” as is demonstrated by his novels, poetry, short stories but most notably his plays.

Theatre of Cameroon consists in the theatrical plays produced across Cameroon. Its history dates back to the pre-colonial time, but it has gained wide popularity since the 1970s, with practitioners such as Daniel Ndo, Dieudonné Afana and David Kemzeu. It is made of different trends, some of them are more inflected by the European theatrical tradition, some others are more attuned to the indigenous performative styles. The comic genre is presently dominating so that laughter has become synonymous with modern Cameroon theatre productions, according to Bole Butake. Theatre of Cameroon is sometimes subdivided in traditional theatre, colonial theatre, and post-independence theatre.

Fonyuy Leonard Nsohburinka is a Cameroonian singer who is well known by his stage name Mr. Leo, he rose to fame after his single "E go beta" a hit aired in most Radio/TV stations in and out of Cameroon. Mr. Leo is a musical artist; in 2016, he received three awards at the Balafon Music Awards 2016 edition in Song of the Year, Revelation of the Year and Best Male Artist. He was nominated for the All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) in Lagos, Nigeria 2017 edition in the category of Best Male Central Africa. As part of his career, in March 2017 he became the brand ambassador of Itel Mobile in Cameroon.

The Ambazonia Defence Forces (ADF) are a military organization that fights for the independence of Ambazonia, a self-declared independent state in the Anglophone regions of the former Southern Cameroons, Cameroon. It was formally established by the Ambazonia Governing Council (AGovC) on 9 September 2017, the same day as the organization declared a war of independence.

Joyce Ashuntantang is a Cameroonian poet and creative writer. She has contributed to nine international anthologies of poetry and currently a tenured Professor of English at the University of Hartford, West Hartford, Connecticut.

Careen Pilo Selangai who writes as Careen Pilo is an author, writer, and diplomat from Cameroon.

References

↑ Ojaide, Tanure; Ashuntantang, Joyce (29 April 2020). Routledge Handbook of Minority Discourses in African Literature. Routledge. ISBN 9781000053050 – via Google Books.
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↑ N, Gomia, Victor; Shang, Ndi, Gilbert (20 February 2018). Re-writing Pasts, Imagining Futures: Critical Explorations of Contemporary African Fiction and Theater. Spears Media Press. ISBN 9781942876182 – via Google Books.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
↑ réd/clp (17 December 2017). "|e-cahiers littéraires – Nsah Mala : deux poèmes inédits". Malraux.org (in French). Retrieved 30 August 2020.
1 2 3 4 Rinos, Mwanaka, Tendai; Ricardo, Félix, Rodríguez (6 April 2019). Writing Grandmothers: Africa Vs Latin America Vol 2 (in Spanish). Mwanaka Media and Publishing Pvt Ltd. ISBN 978-1-77906-356-4.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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↑ "Dr Kenneth Toah Nsah wins international thesis prize". Radboud Institute for Culture & History. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
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↑ aslebr (7 November 2019). "Talking about Africa and the Environment: The Contemporary Poetry of Nsah Mala – ASLE Brasil" . Retrieved 31 August 2020.
↑ "Current Events | St Andrews Poetry Forum". poetryforum.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
↑ Mlambo, Nelson (18 January 2018). "'Constimocrazy: Malafricanising Democracy' by Nsah Mala: A Review – Tuck Magazine" . Retrieved 30 August 2020.
↑ Chirasha, Mbizo (17 April 2018). "The African Poet Patriot in Nsah Mala – Unpacking CONSTIMOCRAZY: Malafricanising Democracy". Global Arts and Politics Alliance. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
↑ Mala, Nsah (11 December 2017). Constimocrazy: Malafricanising Democracy. Pski's Porch. ISBN 978-0-9988476-6-5.
↑ admin (4 May 2016). "Bakwa Magazine Short Story Competition" . Retrieved 30 August 2020.
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↑ REDEMPTION SONG AND OTHER STORIES | Kirkus Reviews.
↑ Tevoedjre, Eric; Nsah, Kenneth (20 July 2023). "African Union: climate action offers organisation unique chance for revival". The Conversation. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
↑ Tevoedjre, Eric; Nsah, Kenneth (6 June 2023). "L'action climatique peut-elle redorer l'image de l'Union africaine ?". The Conversation. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
↑ Mala), Kenneth Nsah (Nsah (25 September 2023). "GeoSemantics / Vanishing Insects & Dying Earth: Reflecting on Insects & Soil in Mbessa (Cameroon) / Kenneth Nsah (Nsah Mala)". ASAP/J. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
↑ Review, The Kalahari (19 September 2023). "There is No Such Thing as African Literature". Medium. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
↑ Nsah, Kenneth Toah (June 2023). "Conserving Africa's Eden? Green Colonialism, Neoliberal Capitalism, and Sustainable Development in Congo Basin Literature". Humanities. 12 (3): 38. doi: 10.3390/h12030038 . ISSN 2076-0787.
↑ Nsah, Kenneth Toah (2023). "Our Children Will Fight for the Climate: How Congo-Basin Writers Prophesied Global Youth Climate Activism". Electronic Green Journal. 1 (48). doi: 10.5070/G314855358 . S2CID 258538820.