‘Why Belly Bellows is in English’
Akinwumi Isola who rarely writes in English explains why his entry for the Prize is in the language.
“When I went to
teach in the United States, I went to visit one of my friends,
Professor Oyelaran, who was also teaching there. We went to
Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and I met Leon Hamlin. He used to
organise the National Black Theatre Festival there. When I was
introduced to him as a playwright, he asked me to write a play he can
stage and I agreed. I was prepared to one on Sango in Yoruba before,
but when he asked me to write a play, I decided to write it in English.
“I returned to Nigeria and after I completed the play, I sent it to
them at Winston-Salem but they told me Leon Hamlin had left Winston-
Salem and took money for the festival with him; that they couldn’t
stage the festival again. So, I rewrote it and gave it to University
Press in 2008. They published it in 2009 and felt they should enter it
for the NLNG. They submitted it with my knowledge; it’s not that they
did it behind my back. I would be happier if there is this kind of
prize for writing in Yoruba language, I would like to win that if it is
possible.”
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