Ghanaian literature is going downhill - and no one cares!

Have you ever wondered why Ghanaian literature, especially that of poetry, is going downhill? I had not the slightest idea 'til I decided to release one myself, a book that I called A Book That Never Dies. After writing the book, I decided to go in for my ISBN to make it legal but that was when the book which claims will never die, nearly did.

I was told to go to Padmore Library, Accra to get the ISBN because that is the only place apparently in Ghana that offers those certifications. I was shocked to the bone because I learnt that the ISBN itself cost not more than GHC15 but transportation, lodging and feeding would cost me GHC120 just to get the ISBN. I was so shocked because we live in a country where everything you want or need is found in Accra. The systems in Ghana have made it explicit that if you are not in Accra it is just impossible for you to be a writer.

What of if you are living in Bawku? Clearly, the Ghanaian society is one that kills dreams and never help people build me. You go to the market and you see a lot of books not having ISBN not even copyright. We live in a society where we depend so much on the government for even bread and butter. How then do we grow? If you go to America for instance, people have gotten rich through literature. America has become popular just because of the stars they have helped raised; talk about Beyonce, Stephen King, R.L.Stine, Barrack Obama, John Grisham just to mention but a few, who have left their mark on Earth just putting alphabets together and have left their name in the world.

Ghanaians always talk in vacuum: if we can build extravagant hotel towers and over-heads, can't we build things like drainage systems, libraries that offers ISBN, bore holes? You live in Ghana and it as if you are born to follow the norm, die, be forgotten and never make a name for yourself. If the society does not accept its talents and help build them, how can we as a country put our name on a pedestal as Kwame Nkrumah, J.B.Danquah and the likes have always sought to do.

As I continue, I implore all my readers to get ready because on the 28th of February, I, J.Y.Frimpong will be releasing a poetry eBook called A Book That Never Dies. Although the Ghanaian systems want to kill my dreams, I am holding on to it, with a firm conviction that you will not let it die by buying a copy for yourself from amazon when the time comes.

Email: [email protected] Twitter handle: @frimpong4u