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danyelle756games · 4 years

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How to use a blackweb bwa17ho004 customizable pc gaming keyboard

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icawritestbh · 7 years

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REVIEW: “Waitress” Serves Up a Feminist Pie

Upon entering Brooks Atkinson Theatre, I caught a whiff of a freshly baked pie. Although there was no real pie being baked inside the theatre, as it was a little stint by the set designers, it begged the question—What’s cooking?

Waitress tells the story of Jenna (Jessie Mueller), who works in Joe’s Diner and has a knack for creating mouth-watering pies. She has dreams of opening her own pie shop, but is weighed down by her abusive husband, Earl (Nick Cordero). She’s close friends with her co-workers, Becky (Keala Settle) and Dawn (Kimiko Glenn), and her demanding but sweet boss, Joe (Dakin Matthews). At the start, she finds out that she has an unwanted pregnancy with Earl and begins her regular visits to Dr. Jim Pomatter (Drew Gehling), her new OB Gyne. To kickstart her dreams of opening a pie shop, she plans to join a pie-making contest. But things get messy, as she starts an affair with Dr. Pomatter and deals with the abuses of her husband. Sounds like a simple formula for a Broadway show, but what’s inside?

The sugar. In baking, sugar serves several purposes. The most obvious is that it gives our pie its sweet taste, making it the crucial ingredient. After all, does anyone really enjoy a sugarfree pie? Likewise, the music in a Broadway show sweetens the experience and is a defining component of any show.

The music and lyrics of Waitress are by Sara Bareilles, a singer-songwriter known for her hits like “Love Song” and “Gravity.” Her musical style of mixing pop and soulful acoustics with a sweet yet powerful vocal has certainly carried over to Waitress, with the songs sounding distinctly created by her.

Some songs on the cast recording sound like they could have easily been part of Bareilles’ discography and played on the radio. With a few tweaks with its lyrics, the 11 o’clock number, “She Used to be Mine,” could be a pop heartbreak anthem. Similarly, “Everything Changes” features falsetto riffs that are reminiscent of Bareilles’ “Gravity.” This is what Bareilles excelled at—she created pop-influenced Broadway songs that are relatable and digestible to all.

Other songs are less radio-ready, but are ear candy just the same. Mueller, Settle and Glenn’s vocals melt like butter onto each other, forming the perfect harmonies. At the start of the show, we meet our trio as they showcase their vibrant personalities and tight vocals in “The Negative.” Our heroine, Jenna, is a sweet southern gal who’s too nice for her own good. Becky is sassy, strong and brutally honest, while Dawn is awkward, nerdy and timid. On paper, they sound like an unlikely band of friends, but like their vocals, they relate harmoniously and have a genuine connection with one another, most strikingly in “A Soft Place to Land.”

“The Negative” also kickstarts the show on a feminist note. The song is about how Becky and Dawn convince Jenna to finally take a pregnancy test, the three of them hoping that it would come out negative. They speak graphically, in terms that only women would relate to. With lyrics like, “A squat and a squeeze, a prayer and a please” as well as “What if his boys don’t swim, I mean wow! Miraculous luck!”, we are immediately thrust into a feminist ride. As seen from this song number, the show has no plans to shy away from showing the raw and real struggles women face. Several other song numbers, like “Contraction Ballet,” with synchronized breathing sounds to signify Jenna’s childbirth agony, and “I Didn’t Plan It,” a song where Becky tries to justify her infidelity, are proof that Waitress will make sure that the perspectives of women are not kept in the dark, but put under the spotlight.

My personal favorite was Glenn’s performance of “When He Sees Me.” This song number made Kimiko Glenn an instant stand-out in the cast. Dawn’s personality shone through this number—quirky, overly cautious, but all-in-all, vulnerable to falling in love. Dawn sings, “He could be less than kind/Or even worse he could be very nice, have lovely eyes/And make me laugh, come out of hiding.” Crazy enough, most of us can relate to this fear of love and happiness, and this was perfectly encapsulated in this fun and genuine song number.

The butter. In baking, butter works in concert with other ingredients to give our pie its body and texture. Similarly, the actors work with the script, score, and set to form and give character to the show. Waitress’ story is focused on the struggles of our trio, and featured three powerful actresses to match. Jessie Mueller was spotless as our heroine, Jenna. As expected from our Tony-awarded lead, she delivered a three-dimensional character, portraying Jenna as a hard-working waitress, a supportive friend, an abused wife, a foolish lover, and a gifted pie-maker, all in one. Her vocal control was impeccable, switching from sweet falsettos to powerful belts effortlessly. It’s as if the role of Jenna was made for her.

Keala Settle and Kimiko Glenn also fit like a glove in their respective roles as Becky and Dawn, portraying their characters as imperfect, but understandably so. This trio had such great chemistry together, and their antics and raw dialogue provide some of the highlights of the show.

The male cast delivered some highlights as well. Christopher Fitzgerald, who plays Dawn’s creepy-stalker-turned-love-interest, gives us a memorable performance in “Never Ever Getting Rid of Me.” On the other hand, Drew Gehling’s performance as Dr. Jim Pomatter, the leading man, falls flat. Even when he delivers his line in the turning point of the show, his expression made me feel nothing. Perhaps the story purposely never fleshed out his story enough as to focus more on the female characters, but as he was the leading man, I never felt compelled to root for him. Ultimately, it’s the female leads who steal the show.

And finally, the flour, which gives our pie its structure. Just the same, it’s the book of a play that ties all the different elements together. Waitress was based on the 2007 film of the same title, written, directed, and starred in by Adrienne Shelly. Just as the source material’s creative team was headed by a woman, the Broadway version is a landmark production, as it is the first to be directed, written, scored and choreographed by an all-female team.

Waitress has a simple plot. It’s an unpretentious story about a woman whom we’ve all met before—the unhappy wife, who is resilient yet impulsive, daring but fearful. What makes this story so exhilarating is how it truthfully depicts the struggles of Jenna and her friends, giving us flawed yet likable characters that make us laugh, scratch our heads, and cry in the span of two and a half hours. Jenna feels familiar, like a friend we’d scold for having an affair with her OB Gyne, cheer on endlessly as she prepares for her pie-making contest, and hold in our arms as she breaks down and loses hope for herself. She is real and full of depth, making her story one that is undoubtedly feminist.

It is noteworthy that she eventually sees her newfound romance, not as the solution to her problems, but as a catalyst to act on them. And as seen in the songs and dialogue of Waitress, its all-female creative team had no plans of sugarcoating the desires of women that society has marked as taboo. Our trio sings about not wanting to be pregnant, wishing to leave their husbands, and desiring other men. But more importantly, they sing about their fears and dreams.

In the end, our sweet Jenna triumphs. We see her making pies with sugar, butter, and flour, but feeling happier and freer than ever. What’s cooking, you ask? No longer a Pregnant Miserable Self-Pitying Loser Pie, but a Fearlessly Fun and Feminist Pie.

#review #broadway #musical #theater #waitress #jessie mueller #sara bareilles

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jillmckenzie1 · 5 years

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I Am The Bad Script, Goo Goo G’Joob

What do The Beatles mean? It’s a difficult question, one that I’m ill-equipped to answer. What we know for sure is that they cast a shadow that touches virtually every aspect of human life. Think of the music they made as the first domino in a vast and sprawling design. From pop to indie to rock to hip hop to punk and beyond, the DNA of the Fab Four winds through virtually all of it.

Their reach stretches far beyond music. Their 1964 concert film/documentary/comedy A Hard Day’s Night is both massively influential and enormously entertaining in terms of film. They were pioneers in the development of music videos. Hell, say what you will about Yellow Submarine, it still helped push interest in regarding animation as a serious artistic medium.

There are books and scholarly works about The Beatles. There is art that appropriates the ideas and themes of their music. A quick search on Google will help you discover Beatles related developmental gear for infants, pet supplies and, presumably, sex toys.* It’s no exaggeration to say they literally changed the course of human civilization.

But what if they didn’t? What if there was a world where Ringo Starr didn’t replace Pete Best, where John Lennon decided to focus on art school instead of music, where Paul McCartney didn’t invite George Harrison to watch his current band, The Quarrymen? A great movie could be made about a Beatle-free world. Yesterday, unfortunately, is not that movie.

It’s not exactly fair to call Jack (Himesh Patel) a has-been. He lives with his parents in Suffolk and works in a warehouse. Music is his passion, and as a busker performing in coffee shops and on boardwalks, it’s more accurate to characterize him as a never-gonna-be. While he’s a pretty good singer and an okayish songwriter, he simply doesn’t have “it,” the strange musical alchemy that can pluck artists from obscurity.

Ellie (Lily James) still believes in him. Ever since Jack performed Oasis’ “Wonderwall” at a school talent show, Lily has spent years as his manager and best friend. She books him a gig at a local music festival. It could be the moment he blows up…except that only seven people bother to listen to his music. He’s crushed, and from across the universe, it seems like the universe is telling him it’s time to pack it in.

While Jack bikes home to his parents, two very odd things happen. The first is a 12-second global blackout, which makes it very easy for him to get hit by a bus. The second occurs after he awakes in the hospital. Gradually, Jack discovers that the world is, among other things, utterly unaware of the music of The Beatles. No “Back In The U.S.S.R.,” no “I Want To Hold Your Hand,” and no “Rocky Raccoon.”**

From there, Jack hatches an audacious scheme. He’ll pass off The Beatles’ stuff as his own and achieve his dreams of rock godhood. Ed Sheeran (Ed Sheeran) sees Jack on a TV spot and asks him to be his opening act. From there, he attracts the attention of cold-blooded record executive Debra Hammer (Kate McKinnon) who sees trainloads of money in Jack’s future. Yet does anyone else know about the scam Jack is running? Most importantly—at least, according to the movie—will Jack and Ellie realize their attraction to each other?

As a quick digression, oatmeal-raisin cookies are the Judas of baked goods. They lure you in with the promise that what you’re eating is, in fact, a chocolate chip cookie. As you bring the cookie towards your mouth, you’re expecting an explosion of dough and chocolate on your tastebuds. However, when it makes contact, there’s a piercing moment of betrayal as you realize that the chocolate chip you yearned for is actually a raisin. Sure, you can eat around the raisins, and those parts of the cookie are pretty good. Inevitably, you’ll be confronted with yet another raisin. Why am I laying this righteous science upon you? Because Yesterday is an oatmeal-raisin cookie of a movie.

I can’t blame Danny Boyle for it. God, who could? Boyle is the visionary director of Trainspotting, 28 Days Later, and Slumdog Millionaire. Whether he’s showing us a mission to reignite the sun or a man hacking off his own trapped arm, Boyle makes films bursting with style and creativity. Here, when he’s not bogged down by the script and focuses on the music and performances, Boyle gives us sequences that are delightful.

I can’t blame the cast for it. As Jack, Himesh Patel gives us a charming and likable performance. He’s asked to perform some of the greatest songs in history, and he pulls it off while simultaneously recognizing their power and making them a little bit his own. Lily James, who made such a strong impression on me in Baby Driver, doesn’t have much to do beyond believing in Jack then inexplicably ditching him. She’s stuck with a poorly written role, and she occasionally rises above the material.

Let’s take a moment to talk about the mighty Kate McKinnon. As the reptilian Debra, McKinnon gives the film a sarcastic edge, one that I think a certain Mr. Lennon would have appreciated. She’s one of those performers who always brings it, even when the material is below her. Sooner or later, she’s going to be the centerpiece of a film, and she’ll blow audiences away when that happens.

Who can I blame? Why, screenwriter Richard Curtis! He’s the architect of twee romantic comedies like Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, and Love, Actually. Here, he’s taken a compelling idea and executed it in the safest way possible. What does the world look like without the music of McCartney, Lennon, Starr, and Harrison? Curtis’ script tells us it looks…well…pretty much the same. Instead, he focuses on a lazy “will they/won’t they” between Jack and Ellie. As with many other works by Curtis, we have some occasionally good jokes, a declarative speech about love that no human being would never give, and some truly hacky plotting.

There are a few interesting moments early on where Jack sings their music while busking and nobody cares. Does that mean Jack is the weak link? Apparently not, as Jack becomes a globally famous celebrity after Ed Sheeran notices him. As far as I can tell, Curtis’ script believes that the music of The Beatles exists outside of its original time, place, and influences, and it would be staggeringly successful whenever it was released. Would it, though? Would people respond to “Can’t Buy Me Love” the same way now? The script never tells us. Also, the script treats their music as perfect works of art handed down from Mount Olympus.*** Along with a ton of classics, The Beatles wrote a few songs that are godawful. That humanizes them, and the script should have recognized it.

With every album, The Beatles grew in stature. They could be triumphant, horny, mawkishly sentimental, and psychedelic. They took chances, and we’re better for it. While you’re watching Yesterday, you can feel Danny Boyle and the cast straining to make a film equaling the power of “Come Together.” Instead, the screenplay drags the film down to the level of “Wild Honey Pie.”

*You’ll forgive me if I don’t look that one up.

**They ain’t all classics.

***I’d like to remind you that John Lennon himself referred to “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” as “granny music shit.”

from Blog https://ondenver.com/i-am-the-bad-script-goo-goo-gjoob/

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marina-elphick · 6 years

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Batik art for Buchi Emecheta

Detail of “Buchi Emecheta” portrait by Marina Elphick.

Buchi Emecheta was a Nigerian writer who emigrated to the UK in 1960 and whose prolific output would earn her success and reputation during her lifetime. Her work is based on many of her own experiences as well as the struggles of African women to reconcile traditional roles with the demands of modern life.

Through her strength and determination for autonomy, against all odds, she became a critically acclaimed writer and winner of several prestigious awards, including an OBE in 2005.

Buchi Emecheta died in January of 2017, a huge loss to her family, but also to her many readers and young writers who she still inspires.

I feel compelled to write about my own connection to Buchi Emecheta’s work and share some of the batik artworks that she inspired.

The set of ten artworks for Buchi Emecheta’s books, in the order they were created by Marina.

The Commission

In 1986 I was commissioned by Collins Publishers to illustrate the front cover of Buchi Emecheta’s autobiography, “Head Above Water”, it was my first job after leaving Goldsmith’s art school. At that time I had little knowledge of African writers, so learning about Buchi Emecheta’s world was a revelation to me; what an incredible woman and story teller she was.

Detail of batik artwork for “Head Above Water”, a portrait of Buchi Emecheta, by Marina Elphick.

In 1984 five of my batiks had been included in Brixton Baroque, an exhibition of work by various local artists, curated by Rita Keegan at the newly formed Brixton Gallery. At the private view I was approached by an agent for Collins, who showed interest in my work and thought my batik self portrait of “Ophelia” would be suitable as a book cover for “Women Dreaming” by Brenda Mallon. All he needed was a photographic slide of the artwork. I was paid £100 just for the loan of the slide and felt thrilled at this unexpected route for my batik; but my aim was to continue to work in batik as a fine artist.

Flyer for ‘Brixton Baroque’ an exhibition at Brixton Art Gallery.

Batik hanging of “Ophelia” used for the front cover image of ” Women Dreaming”. Artwork made in batik, embellished with embroidery and shisha mirror, by Marina Elphick.

Book cover for “Women Dreaming” taken from my batik self portrait of ‘Ophelia’.

A year or so later I was telephoned by an art director at Collins Publishers who, having seen the image for “Women Dreaming”, wanted me to attend an interview with a few examples of my work. I rolled some of my life-sized batiks onto cardboard tubes and took them by taxi to Grafton street, Piccadilly where Collins was based. In the foyer the receptionist was somewhat taken aback by my load, telling me to wait while she telephoned the graphics department.

I sat nervously with my portfolio and bundled up 4.5 foot tall tubes. I hadn’t trained as an illustrator or graphic designer, consequently I didn’t know the protocol, so when I was introduced to John Munday with all my ‘stuff’, he seemed rather bemused as he lead me to his office. I remember being eager to show him how batik was an excellent medium for book illustration and started to unroll some of my work. I was soon told he didn’t need to see any more, I already had the job. I felt a little silly bringing so much along, believing it would take some convincing, but it had turned out to be a stress-free interview.

For reference I was given a streaky photocopy of a photo of Buchi Emecheta and a small part of the manuscript to “Head Above Water” to read. I was given free rein to express my own ideas for a portrait of the author and create the final artwork in my preferred medium of batik.

A photo of Buchi Emecheta, much sharper but similar to the photocopy I was given as reference for “Head Above Water”.

Head Above Water

Sketch for “Head Above Water”, wax crayon.

Colour sketch for “Head Above Water”, Pastel, by Marina Elphick.

Watercolour study for “Head Above Water”, by Marina Elphick.

Sketch and colour plan for “Head Above Water”, watercolour and wax crayon.

Portrait of Buchi Emecheta in charcoal, by Marina Elphick. The final artwork in batik was based on this drawing.

I made a few roughs in watercolour of what I had in mind for Buchi’s portrait, playing on the idea of water, dreams and rainbows of colour. The design was approved and I went ahead with the batik, a life-size portrait with decorative border. The job was ideal because I was developing my figurative style and was accustomed to portraiture in batik.

Completed artwork in batik for “Head Above Water”, Buchi Emecheta’s autobiography.

Batik without border for “Head Above Water”, a portrait of Buchi Emecheta, by Marina Elphick.

Printed book cover for “Head Above Water” By Buchi Emecheta.

Thankfully it was a great success and lead to more work, re-designing the covers of Buchi’s previously published books, completing the set in a cohesive new style.

Ten of the batik artworks I made for Buchi Emecheta’s books, grouped together in the order that I created them.

Batik was an unknown and completely new technique to Illustration at the time and despite a mixed reaction from the world of fine art, it drew attention from several publishers. Admittedly this entailed some leg-work, cold-calling art directors from various publishers, describing batik and its luminescent colour. This lead to further interviews and book cover commissions. By then I had learned it was best only to bring photographs of my batiks and one actual example, plus the printed proofs from Collins, which helped greatly.

Second Class Citizen

Rough ideas for Buchi Emecheta book covers.

Watercolour sketch for “Second Class Citizen”.

Second Class Citizen rough, crayon and watercolour.

Artwork in batik for Buchi Emecheta’s “Second Class Citizen”

Detail of artwork, for “Second Class Citizen” a portrait of Caroline.

Printed book cover for “Second Class Citizen” By Buchi Emecheta.

In The Ditch

Sketch of Caroline with headscarf for ‘In the Ditch’, pencil, by Marina Elphick.

Study of Caroline for “In the Ditch”. Soft pencil on paper.

Caroline sketch for ‘In the Ditch’, pencil, by Marina Elphick.

Artwork in batik for Buchi Emecheta’s “In The Ditch”, batik by Marina Elphick.

Detail of Buchi Emecheta’s “In The Ditch”, batik by Marina Elphick.

Printed book cover for “In The Ditch”, By Buchi Emecheta.

The Slave Girl

The Slave Girl,rough.

The Slave Girl sketch, pencil and watercolour.

“The Slave Girl” rough sketch in watercolour.

Artwork in batik for Buchi Emecheta’s ” The Slave Girl”, batik by Marina Elphick.

Detail of “The Slave Girl”, batik artwork by Marina Elphick,.

Printed book cover for “The Slave Girl” By Buchi Emecheta.

The Joys Of Motherhood

Printed book cover for “The Joys Of Motherhood”, By Buchi Emecheta.

Sketch of Anthea for “The Joys of Motherhood”.

Artwork in batik for Buchi Emecheta’s “The Joys of Motherhood”, batik by Marina Elphick.

Detail of artwork in batik for Buchi’s “The Joys of Motherhood”.

The Bride Price

Pencil study of Yvonne for Bride Price.

“The Bride Price” rough sketch in watercolour.

Sketches of Yvonne for “The Bride Price”.

Completed artwork in batik for Buchi Emecheta’s “The Bride Price”, by Marina Elphick.

Detail of Yvonne in batik artwork for Buchi Emecheta’s “The Bride Price”, by Marina Elphick.

Printed book cover for “The Bride Price” By Buchi Emecheta.

The Rape of Shavi

Batik artwork for Buchi Emecheta’s “The Rape Of Shavi”, by Marina Elphick.

Batik detail from Buchi Emecheta’s “The Rape Of Shavi”, by Marina Elphick.

Printed book cover for ” The Rape Of Shavi” By Buchi Emecheta.

Double Yoke

Final artwork for Buchi Emecheta’s ” Double Yoke” in batik, by Marina Elphick.

Caroline sketch for “Double Yoke”, pencil.

Detail of artwork for Buchi Emecheta’s ” Double Yoke”, batik Marina Elphick.

Printed book cover for “Double Yoke” By Buchi Emecheta.

Destination Biafra

Watercolour rough for “Destination Biafra”.

Anthea, detail of artwork in batik by Marina Elphick.

Anthea sketch for Destination Biafra.

Completed artwork for Buchi Emecheta’s “Destination Biafra”, batik by Marina Elphick.

Gwendolen

“Gwendolen”, watercolour sketch.

Batik cover for the paperback edition Buchi Emecheta’s “Gwendolen”, by Marina Elphick.

Printed book cover for ” Gwendolen” By Buchi Emecheta.

Batik for Buchi Emecheta’s “Gwendolen”, by Marina Elphick.

Gwendolen detail, batik by Marina Elphick.

The last cover I completed was for “Gwendolen” in 1989, the year my daughter was born.

Batik in print, Buchi Emecheta’s books.

Buchi Emecheta 1944 – 2017

Florence Onyebuchi Emecheta, Photo courtesy of Bella Naija.

Florence Onyebuchi Emecheta was born two months prematurely on 21st July 1944 to Igbo parents in Yaba, near Lagos, when Nigeria was still a British colony. Her fighting spirit was there right at the beginning and would help steer her through enormous difficulties later in adolescence and adult life. Despite economic disadvantages and racial and gender prejudice, Buchi Emecheta repeatedly rose above her circumstances.

From very humble beginnings and despite flagrant traditional prejudice against education for girls, Florence Onyebuchi Emecheta managed through sheer determination to secure a basic schooling for herself. She spent her early childhood at an all-girl’s missionary school and was only nine years old when her father died. At this time Buchi’s mother, Alice Ogbanje Ojebeta, returned to her native village of Ibusa and the community she knew there. Buchi was determined to continue her education so did not follow her mother to Ibusa and the restrictions of a more traditional life.

Knowing an education would qualify her to be the wife of one of the new Nigerian elite, she secretly sat for a scholarship exam and won a full scholarship to the Methodist Girls high School, where she would study until 1960. Buchi Emecheta had dreamt of being a writer from an early age, influenced by the story telling of her elderly aunt. Buchi was close to her aunt, who was the oldest woman in her family and in Igbo culture meant she held a place of respect. Known as “Big Mother,” venerable and nearly blind, she told visionary stories to the children about the family’s Igbo ancestors, stimulating the young listeners’ imaginations in the moonlight.

The young mother Buchi Emecheta. Photo used courtesy of the Onwordi family.

Buchi Emecheta as a young woman. Photo used courtesy of the Onwordi family.

Buchi Emecheta. Photo used courtesy of the Onwordi family.

In 1960, at the age of sixteen, Buchi married Sylvester Onwordi, a student who she had been engaged to since the age of eleven. In 1962, after the death of her mother and now an orphan with two small children, she left Nigeria and followed her husband to London, where he was studying accountancy. The young family struggled in cold, grey London with poor living conditions and overt racial prejudice. Buchi noticed that her husband’s interest in his education had slackened and felt he had become lazy and unsupportive, which surprised and concerned her.

With her still limited English, Buchi was determined to improve her language skills so decided to begin writing, however three more pregnancies and three more children kept her from following that goal for a while. Furthermore, Sylvester’s lack of ambition forced her to go out to work. Her first job was at Chalk Farm Library, where Buchi became acquainted with colleagues and made new friends who were encouraging of her writing.

In 1965 Buchi found a job in the library of the British Museum and at the same time started writing her first novel. Sylvester was not supportive of Buchi’s efforts and was abusive, resenting her literary initiative. In 1966 when he burned the manuscript to her first book, “The Bride Price,” Buchi Emecheta left her husband.

Single

At the age of 22, the single mother of five young children remained undaunted as she set out on her own to accomplish her goals. Facing harassment from landlords and financial difficulty, Buchi learned to be tough, and finally managed to get a council flat in Camden which she nick-named ,”Pussy Cat Mansions” from her novel “In The Ditch”. There Buchi met friendly, colourful characters, who despite their poverty would make her laugh again and gave her a sense of hope.

Buchi Emecheta and her children. Photo used courtesy of the Onwordi family.

By 1970 Buchi had started a sociology degree at the University of London, and with the help of the newly discovered Inner London Education Authority she qualified for a grant. Her children were now all at school and Buchi was surrounded by a new group of intellectuals. They were interested in her life and how she had managed to go to university, a single mother with five children. This motivated a new style of writing, “social reality” in which Buchi recorded her experiences of black British life in London. She sent weekly journals to publishers, which after months of rejection were eventually accepted and published in the “The New Statesman” as a weekly column. This well respected socialist paper attracted a left wing readership and big names would contribute to it; suddenly Buchi Emecheta was in demand. A collection of these articles were subsequently compiled into her first published book, “In the Ditch” in 1972. The hardship and uncertainty that Buchi encountered in London during the early 1960s provided her with significant material for the books that she refers to as her ‘immigrant novels’.

Now fully qualified with an honours degree in sociology, Buchi Emecheta began her dual career: working as a youth worker with the London Education Authority, while writing at the kitchen table early in the morning, often with her children playing around her. After “In the Ditch”, her next novel to be published in 1974 was “Second-Class Citizen”, both were her ‘immigrant novels’ describing a woman’s struggle against sexual discrimination in Nigeria, racism, classism, and sexism as an immigrant in Britain. In 1976 “The Bride Price” was finally published, Buchi had re-written the manuscript that had been brutally destroyed by her husband over ten years earlier. It was the first of her works to be set in Nigeria, focusing on a young woman struggling with the cultural traditions that cruelly restricted her life.

Buchi Emecheta in Stockholm. Photo used courtesy of the Onwordi family.

Legacy

Buchi was the author of more than twenty books and her graphic tales of child slavery, motherhood, female independence and freedom through education won her much critical acclaim. Her work included teenage fiction as well as plays; her television play, “A Kind of Marriage” was first screened by the BBC in 1976. Throughout 1979 Buchi lectured at a number of universities in the United States as a visiting professor, where she was received with welcome. Buchi followed her first degree with an MPhil in social education and finally completed her PhD in 1991.

Buchi Emecheta was a pioneer as an African woman writer in the UK, publishing a large body of work to international recognition. Several of her books are autobiographical in nature, feminist in spirit, and explore issues around identity in postcolonial Nigeria.

I have learned through reading her novels that Buchi Emecheta’s writing was intimately intertwined with her lived experience. She was a conscientious, resilient and loving mother to her five children, showing great fortitude in bringing them up alone. In her struggle for autonomy she encountered sexism, racism and domestic abuse but she would not allow herself to be daunted or discouraged. Her strength shines vividly through her writing, revealing a determined, courageous and dynamic woman who emerges with her ‘head high above water’.

Buchi Emecheta in charcoal, by Marina Elphick

Buchi Emecheta Quotes

Describing her career as a novelist, in the 1980s, “I am simply doing what my ‘Big Mother’ was doing for free about thirty years ago,” ”The only difference is that she told her stories in the moonlight, while I have to bang away at a typewriter I picked up from Woolworth’s in London.”

When asked whether she regarded her fiction as feminist, Buchi answered “I work toward the liberation of women, but I’m not feminist. I’m just a woman.”

“My hope for us all that not only will the nuclear war be a non-starter, but that the white European woman from the North will regard the black woman from the South as her sister and that both of us together will hold hands and try to salvage what is left of our world from the mess the sons we have brought into it have made. “ Buchi Emecheta, Head Above Water.

Set of ten books by Buchi Emecheta, illustrated by Marina Elphick.

Links

Memorial event 3rd February 2018 at Brunei Gallery, London to celebrate the life and work of Buchi Emecheta

Buchi Emecheta website

Marina Elphick Artworks

Marina’s Muses

References

New Statesman, Sylvester Onwordi Remembering my mother Buchi Emecheta, 1944-2017

Julie Holmes, The Voice July 9, 1996 ‘Just’ an Igbo woman: Buchi Emecheta

A Sort of Career: Remembering Buchi Emecheta by Jane Bryce

Anuoluwapo Adeseun

Grace Bavington

Chioma Opara

notes

*The Igbo are one of Nigeria’s main ethnic groups who in the past had created highly developed city-states, even empires before the Europeans arrived in the fifteenth century to conduct the slave trade.

*Nigeria was under British rule from 1906 until 1960.

Batik Artwork for Buchi Emecheta Batik art for Buchi Emecheta Buchi Emecheta was a Nigerian writer who emigrated to the UK in 1960 and whose prolific output would earn her success and reputation during her lifetime.

#African writer #Batik #Batik artist #Buchi Emecheta #Florence Onyebuchi Emecheta #Head Above Water #Ibusa Nigeria #Marina Elphick #The Bride Price #The Slave Girl

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