Àkàyé: To read and comprehend.

Àkàyé is a publication that seeks to invite you into the world of Yoruba literature.

Yoruba literature once thrived with a loyal readership. In 2023, my fervour for it pushed me to write an essay that declares Yoruba literature in need of saving. It’s full of questions: some answered, others thrown to my readers. Àkàyé is my own answer to the question the essay ends with: what must be done to save Yoruba literature?

When I went into a rabbit hole to understand why people, even fluent speakers, hardly seek out literary works in Yoruba, the simplest answer I crawled out with is that they’re rarely excited to do so.

As readers, we’re drawn to books that live in conversations. They make it into our TBR lists and eventually our hands because they’re being talked about, reviewed, discussed, debated, recommended everywhere we turn. Àkàyé exists to make this happen for literature-in-Yoruba. The goal is to whet your appetite with the works discussed so you can’t resist reading them.

It’s a weekly edition. Never miss it.

Why is this newsletter not in Yoruba?

Haha good question.

I’m team Thiong’o as I am team Achebe. *Accept my warmest handshake if you understand the context.

Àkàyé’s mission is to reach the widest audience possible and produce a ripple effect. Maybe you’ll be spurred to read a Yoruba novel for the first time. Or a Yoruba learner will start stacking novels to sharpen their vocabulary. Or a non-speaker will be compelled to search for a translation. Or like me, someone out there will start advocating for getting more Yoruba works back in print.