VOA标准英语2009年-Oprah Winfrey Selects Nigerian Author's St

By Fid Thompson
Dakar
01 October 2009

 
Oprah Winfrey in Copenhagen, Denmark 30 Sep 2009
Emerging Nigerian writer Uwem Akpan's short story collection, Say You're One of Them, recently was chosen by U.S. television talk show host Oprah Winfrey for her book club. Oprah's book club is the biggest in the world, with about two million readers. Oprah says she is deeply impressed with Akpan's work.

"Our 63rd book club selection is Say You're One of Them by Uwem Akpan," Winfrey announced. "This is the first time I have ever chosen a collection of short stories. Each one of them left me gasping¹ and profoundly moved."

What are the stories about?

Uwem Akpan's work is a collection of six stories, each one set in a different African country but all told from a child's perspective. Akpan, who began writing at seminary school while studying to be a priest, says he was overwhelmed by the news that Oprah Winfrey had selected his book for her readers.

"I was very grateful to God and humbled² by all this, that I could start writing fiction 10 years ago and today I have a few awards to show for my efforts, the Oprah endorsement³ even more so," Akpan said. "What are the chances that Oprah would pick your book?"

Akpan won the 2009 Commonwealth⁴ Writers Prize for best first book and his collection of stories have racked up several awards, including being shortlisted for the prestigious⁵ Caine Prize for African fiction.

How he got started

The stories in Akpan's book are set in Kenya, Benin, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Rwanda, and cover dark and diverse issues as child trafficking, religious conflict, child prostitution and genocide. Akpan's subjects are African children, whose daily experiences could have been taken from the pages of humanitarian⁶ organization reports.

"My original motivation was to critique the ills of my own society," Akpan explained. "But when I realized I couldn't get my essays into the Guardian⁷ newspaper, in my country Nigeria, and I noticed they published fiction on Saturdays, I tried to write fiction and this is where it has led me."

Say You're One of Them has impressed readers and critics in the United States and in Africa.

Praise from peers

Corbin Collins, who edits the literary blog, Earthgoat, first read Akpan's stories in The New Yorker magazine. He says Akpan's writing is crystal clear and compares his characters to famous child narrators like Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn.

Collins says he is pleased that Akpan's stories will reach a wide audience through Oprah Winfrey's book club.

"I'm so happy for him and I'm so happy for American readers who are going to be turned on to him, who otherwise would never have even heard of him," Collins said. "This could single-handedly bring African fiction into the mainstream⁸ in the West."

Anote Ajeluorou is an arts journalist at Nigeria's Guardian newspaper.

"His collection of short stories, Say You're One of Them, I think is one of the most remarkable⁹ works of fiction to come out of Africa for some time now," Ajeluorou said. "The stories are really heartrending because they deal with a section of the society that is hardly spoken about -- that is children, especially those who are in vulnerable positions."

Alejuorou says Oprah's selection of Akpan's book is a great thing for Africa because it highlights the positive creativity that so often, he says, is overshadowed by the continent's political and economic problems. For him, Akpan's book is a cause of celebration.

1 gasping   

adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词

参考例句：

• He was gasping for breath. 他在喘气。
• "Did you need a drink?""Yes, I'm gasping!” “你要喝点什么吗？”“我巴不得能喝点！”

2 humbled   

adj. 卑下的，谦逊的，粗陋的 vt. 使 ... 卑下，贬低

参考例句：

• The examination results humbled him. 考试成绩挫了他的傲气。
• I am sure millions of viewers were humbled by this story. 我相信数百万观众看了这个故事后都会感到自己的渺小。

3 endorsement   

n.背书；赞成，认可，担保；签(注)，批注

参考例句：

• We are happy to give the product our full endorsement.我们很高兴给予该产品完全的认可。
• His presidential campaign won endorsement from several celebrities.他参加总统竞选得到一些社会名流的支持。

4 commonwealth   

n.共和国，联邦，共同体

参考例句：

• He is the chairman of the commonwealth of artists.他是艺术家协会的主席。
• Most of the members of the Commonwealth are nonwhite.英联邦的许多成员国不是白人国家。

5 prestigious   

adj.有威望的，有声望的，受尊敬的

参考例句：

• The young man graduated from a prestigious university.这个年轻人毕业于一所名牌大学。
• You may even join a prestigious magazine as a contributing editor.甚至可能会加入一个知名杂志做编辑。

6 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

7 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

8 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

9 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。