MAKOLA ROMANCE

THE CABINET SHOWCASE

MAKOLA and KEJETIA market literature – an accretion of cheap and mistaken ridden books with titles such as “Koforidua flowers”, “Kiss me Quick”, “The Evil Child”, “The Pot of God” just to mention but a few is showcased in wooden cabinet depicting them as the best story books one can ever read.  The writers of “Makola romance “novels often portray themselves as people with a passion for writing and excellence.

As a child, I had always despised these books. My friends used to tell me that I was too conceited and that those books were the best one could read. Of course, I disagreed strongly. Makola romance often come in smaller sizes and are therefore attractive to people who have aversions for reading “big” novels or of reading at all.

What’s more, they often come in PART I, II, III and sometimes even VI. I remember “THE SNAKE GIRL” for instance was up to Part V or so! (If my memory serves me right). I do not loathe “Makola romance”; it will be unethical to do that. I am for one person who appreciates people’s talent so I can’t bring myself to do that. I know a couple of friends who grew up to love reading due to the influences of “Makola romance”.

My reasons for not liking those walks on the path of lack of professionalism and the seemingly dislike of these writers to bring out a book which does not inflict headache upon a read.

WHO ARE THE PUBLISHERS?

I remember that when I was young, I called one of the publishers and had an interesting discussion with them. I asked him the number of books they(his outfit) had published and he told me that they had published many and various of these books. There and then, I began to have a great deal of hope in him. However, my hopes were cut short when he (the voice sounded like a male’s voice) told me that they have for now stopped publishing story books because they were un-commercial. I went ahead and asked them what they meant by publishing, the impression that I however got seems to advance that they viewed publishing as merely the printing and or distribution of books without a regard for proofreading and correcting errors.

I was not despaired, I borrowed another one from a friend (I did fathom how I could buy such books) and I again called the publisher. This one seemed to be a rather harsh and a bad-tempered one. This seems to suggest that most of the publishers of these Makola romance are printing houses whose only desire is and was that of the financial and not to bring quality wares to the public.

WHO ARE THE MARKETERS?

I do not know how Makola romance became popular on the market but it seems that every two weeks there is a new hit “single”. These books were often displayed in market places and near educational institutions. The titles of these novels are also very catchy and also account for their high performance on the market. During that era, I think there was so much of an avalanche of such books on the market. I am of the opinion that if things were managed well and revolutionized the literature industry in Ghana could not have collapsed as we are experiencing now. That notwithstanding, the marketers of these novels were usually the market women, people who had little educational background and from "random people". I remember that a friend used to buy these books from a provision store :) :) :)

WHY STUDENTS LOVED THEM

The major reason I can attribute to the reason why students in particular loved these books was because of its size. They often ranged between 30 – 45 pages and were often less tensed in writing. The second reason was that most of them were based on sexual relationships, witchcraft and also popular Ananse stories which they often degraded and raped in the name of being creative. Also they were readily accessible at the time since one could find one to buy on one’s way to or from school as compared to others which could be found in bookshops which were found in downtown and special places. The price element was also a factor; these books were very cheap to buy and therefore one could buy it without sacrificing very much for it.

MY RESERVATIONS ABOUT MAKOLA ROMANCE

My reservation about these books is that on a read, you will realize that the author was under duress was to write something for reasons which could be of financial or of popularity. Also, some of the stories were so much implausible that it seems that all the characters in the book were either stupid or wanted to create a 4 by 1 hero of the day. The Grammatical error committed by these authors are too difficult to handle. So I stay away from these novels.

THE SHIFTING CULTURE TO TELENOVELAS 

At the time when telenovelas became the phenomenon of the day, these publishers turned their attention to the publishing of these storyline of these telenovelas. The females were so concerned about what was going to happen to Rosalinda or Juana La Virgen so publishing materials in this direction saw an further and a profit making ventures for these publishers and printing houses. All in all, students especially females who were going to the boarding house found it advantageous to purchase these books therefore collapsing the writing industry to some extent. This culture seems to persists up till date

CONCLUSION

Makola romance, as the name communicates, was a commercial as well as a social phenomenon. The pivot personality in the commercial system is the publisher. Like all other entrepreneurs, the main focus is on profit rather than providing its readers with the best of wares and product.

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Amma Konadu Anarfi

The apple

Sits atop an old book

- its yellowed leaves

Coated with decades of dust

The deep rouge of the fruit

Gives it a classic look 

of perfection

It sits there

Beckoning.

ROGUE DISTRACTION! Even sounds classic, doesn’t it? Amma Konadu Anarfi hits poetry right on its head and you sit down like a Pillar of Salt and wonder how a beautiful damsel can sit down and create something of this sophistication and magnificence.

To begin with, Amma Konadu is a good writer. There is no doubt about it. I wonder who will try and contest it. I do not read her works, her works rather read to me. To read her works, you do not have to be an avid reader or an English “geek”, her works will explain itself to you

I met Amma Konadu on twitter and her works have captivated me ever since. There are some people you meet and forget the same instance. There are others you meet and they impact so much in your life for a lifetime. Amma falls in the category of the latter.

At a time when Ghanaian literature is going downhill, I see Amma as one of the people who can help lift the image of literature in Ghana and put Ghana on the pedestal as we have all wanted and needed it to be. Meeting her on 28^th February and 1^st March 2014 was my biggest moments. I finally got to see the face behind those beautiful posts and tweets. I finally got the chance to interact with the lady who through her words has re-created life.

So when she sang to me and Amma Toffet that day, I melted away like butter. Not only does she have a powerful writing but also a voice that can melt your heart away. :) <Yes I said it>

On the aforesaid dates, I also met another poet Kwabena Agyare and literature enthusiast Ama Toffet who have also shaped my life about literature in general. The picturesque conversations we had have also shown me the power of poetry and how we can use our words and works for the benefit of society.

Mirror-surfaced

Red beauty

Looks ready to burst-

Taut with sweetness

Strange hunger draws me

To that scene

I sit

And stare

The seconds pass

A sigh escapes

Reaching out

For the food in sight

I eagerly devour it

Slowly

As the hunger leaves

The apple sits

And stares

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