*This interview was conducted and transcribed by Jemila Abdulai (Perspectives Editor, The Mount Holyoke News.)
She might as well be the youngest Mount Holyoke Accra , Ghana , graduated from Mount Holyoke in 2005 with a major in biochemistry, and thereafter pursued a masters degree in journalism at Columbia University Ghana
Mount Holyoke News: How did you get into writing?
Ayesha Harruna Attah: It’s something that I always did in primary school in Ghana Mount Holyoke
MHN: What was your inspiration for writing Harmattan Rain?
AHA: I wrote the idea down in a notebook about two years before I actually started writing the book, and thought, what if I write a story about what my mother’s experience was and her mother’s experience as well and tie them in with a narrative about my own experience of life. I am interested in the tiny details of life that many people tend to gloss over. I like taking an idea and creating a world around it, so I took the simple idea of our respective times, the music, the kind of clothes worn, and the political scene and developed a story around that.
MHN: How did you decide on the title?
AHA: That was a long painful process and it didn’t come until after the book was done. I was looking for a title that would tie all three women’s stories together. So instead of looking at the characters, which for me is the most important thing, I looked at the plot where there’s a single and sudden violent happening. I thought about an event in nature that would reflect that, and in West Africa there is the harmattan season where it’s dry, so rain is a rare thing and is sometimes violent.
MHN: During your book reading you mentioned that you wrote the book through a writer’s workshop. Can you tell us more about that?
AHA: It went wonderfully. It was the Per Sesh Writer’s workshop ran by Per Ankh, a publishing cooperative that looks for African writers and publishes their work. Four fellows, including myself, where selected based on our writing samples, to go to Popemguine, a peaceful seaside village in Senegal
MHN: Who is your favorite character in the book?
AHA: My favorite character is Akua Afriyie, the woman from the second generation. Her life is completely different from mine. She gets pregnant at 17, and she is sort of a passive character. One thing we learned at the workshop was to avoid passve characters as they are characters who just let life happen to them. I took a risk with this character who is just floating through life, but when life is thrown at her, she begins to act. I like that she is able to pick up values as she goes along and the values she picks up are things that resonate with me, like reasoning, fairness and equality. There’s a scene in the book where a political party is just forming and in typical African-style, one guy decides he’s the leader and President-elect and starts delegating tasks to everyone. Akua Afriyie stands up and says “Let’s vote on it.” With that example alone, I think her character is the strongest.
MHN: What advice do you have for aspiring authors?
AHA: First things first. Just write. Don’t let anyone discourage you and don’t let anyone tell you you can’t. Even now, I’ve had people ask me why I’m doing this when there’s no money in it, but I do it because I just find it so much fulfilling. I know its hard sometimes, and half the time you might not believe in what you’re doing, but just do it and get other people out there to read your work. If you can, get people who are in the same field as you are to share ideas. It’s a very lonely profession but if you ask other people who are writing poetry, articles etc, you can come together and start sharing ideas. Especially for African writers, I think that’s a way for us to get our writing out there because there isn’t enough work from young African writers out there.
MHN: How would you describe your style of writing?
AHA: Having come from a journalism background- both from a family point of view and from school – my writing is influenced by the reporting style. I just go along with the characters, carrying a hidden camera and recording everything they see and do, so that’s the style. But then, I use the third person voice in the story so I also get the chance to go into the characters heads and talk about their feelings and emotions.
MHN: Where did you see yourself in four years while in college, and what are you looking forward to next?
AHA: In my first year at MHC, I thought four years after graduation I’d be in Med School or finishing Med School Accra , Ghana
