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 | This article about a short story (or stories) published in the 2010s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
| "Stickfighting Days" | |
|---|---|
| Short story by Olufemi Terry | |
| Country | Sierra Leone |
| Language | English |
| Publication | |
| Publisher | Chimurenga, Vol. 12/13 |
| Media type | Short story |
"Stickfighting Days" is the second short story by Olufemi Terry from Sierra Leonean. It is the winner of the 2010 Caine Prize for African Writing. [1] It was originally published in the pan-African magazine Chimurenga (vol. 12/13). [2]
The story follows a group of glue-sniffing boys in a dump who fight with sticks. [3] Terry said the story originally came into his head as "the idea of street boys in Nairobi, in rags, sniffing glue", adding: "The stickfighting element just popped into my head—there wasn't any obvious connection between the two strands, but somehow I found myself working with these two elements and the story just poured out of me". [2]
"Stickfighting Days" won the Caine Prize for African Writing on 5 July 2010. It defeated shortlisted entries by writers from across Africa, including Ken Barris (South Africa), Lily Mabura (Kenya), Namwali Serpell (Zambia), and Alex Smith (South Africa). [4] Fiammetta Rocco, the judges' chair and literary editor with The Economist , said: "Ambitious, brave and hugely imaginative, Olufemi Terry's 'Stickfighting Days' presents a heroic culture that is Homeric in its scale and conception. The execution of this story is so tight and the presentation so cinematic, it confirms Olufemi Terry as a talent with an enormous future". [2]
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