Cheluchi Onyemelukwe is a lawyer, academic and writer. She is the author of the critically acclaimed novel, The Son of the House. It won the Nigeria Prize for Literature, the Best International Fiction Prize at the Sharjah International Book Festival, and the SprinNG Women Authors Prize and was a finalist for the Scotiabank Giller Prize and the Chinua Achebe Prize for Fiction. It has been published in Italian, Ukrainian and Armenian, and is forthcoming in Arabic. Her essays have appeared recently in Il Notore, Of Our Country, and The Passenger. She is working on a memoir and a novel.

The Editor: In the acknowledgement of your award-winning novel, The Son of the House, you expressed a deep sense of fulfillment having seen your life-long dream of authoring a novel come to birth. What was it like waiting throughout your life for that moment when you first realized its manifestation?

Cheluchi Onyemelukwe: Many thanks for your question. Now, to it, I kept busy. I tried my hands at writing different pieces, some of which have never been published, others which made their way out into the world as short stories. But I was always busy with other aspects of my life: studying law, working as a lawyer and an academic amongst other things. So, I never really allowed myself to be overwhelmed by the thought of ‘waiting.’ But it was nevertheless a huge joy when The Son of the House was published.

The Editor: Considering that the book was your fictional debut, did it come as a sort of surprise to you for scooping a coveted number of prizes, including: Sharjah International Bookfair, 2019; SprinNG Women Authors Prize, 2020; Giller Prize Shortlistee and winner of the Nigeria Prize for Literature, 2021? 

Cheluchi Onyemelukwe: My father would ask me after each nomination, “Is it the same book?” Which made me smile and laugh. It did surprise me. As much as this was a story dear to my heart, after many rejections, despite my faith in it, I could not help being pleasantly surprised that others saw in this story what made me refuse to give up on it. 

The Editor: Northrop Frye has posited that the potency of a literary work is in its ability to birth a multiplicity of interpretation. While the novel succeeds sufficiently at this, it is in the life-like proposition of Aristotle, bearing the former in mind, that my question stems. Some readers have drawn comparisons between you and the character of Julie, for the right reasons of course, by threading the needle on a perceived affinity of academic excellence, self awareness and enviable career success. What do you say? Was your experience or person factored into the weaving of this character? 

Cheluchi Onyemelukwe: I always smile at the conjectures about which of the characters most resemble me. Julie is not my definition of an academic, except perhaps by some rough comparison with Nwabulu. She is, however, a woman in a certain society and I imagine many women in that society would find a few areas of affinity. Nwabulu, like me, is a reader, so, in fact, that is where I would feel some kinship. These characters stand on their own. I will allow readers to draw their own conclusions. 

The Editor: The Son of the House is steeped in Gender critique and boisterous classism. The harrowing experiences of Nwabulu at the cliff of patriarchy and the many dilemmas of Julie in the face of male chauvinism resonate with feminist consciousness. This brings to mind another notable Nigerian writer, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, whose kernel of preoccupation is anchored on a similar terrain. Is this purely coincidental or outrightly intentional? Would you count her as having a measure of influence on your choice of writing? 

Cheluchi Onyemelukwe: The Son of the House is, as I have said elsewhere, inspired by growing up in a certain setting and context, watching my mother and her friends, experiencing my friendships with girls who served as help, and listening to my mother’s stories. So when people tell me that the characters, including the minor characters, come across as real, like the everyday people they know, I am not surprised, but pleased that I achieved something that I set out to do. With respect to being influenced by writers, many female writers have strong feelings about the place of women in our society, and this does not surprise, because we live the stories in diverse ways. From Flora Nwapa to Buchi Emecheta, from Chimamanda Adichie to Chika Unigwe, the concerns resonate, sometimes faintly but many times strongly. This does not surprise. Beyond gender equality and related concerns, I have always been a firm believer that we must address inequality and injustice in all forms, and classism is one that permeates the very fabric of our society. 

The Editor: It is particularly noteworthy that the novel maintains a sole cultural focus and sensibility–the Igbo socio-cultural milieu, which of course is anchored on your authentic African experiences. And unlike many Africans who shuttle between Africa and the West, you did not inject a western hue into the story. Do you mind saying if this is something you gave considerable thought to at some point?

Cheluchi Onyemelukwe: I did. When I got rejection after rejection, it did occur to me that the specific focus on the setting, the socio-cultural milieu and the stories of the women I was trying to tell were perhaps not everyone’s cup of tea. But I have always felt, even as a child trying my hands on stories and reading all kinds of books, that our stories, our humanity, our concerns, whether as Igbos, Africans, women, are just as human and worth writing about as any. And so, I persevered. And this is also evident in other writings I have done.

The Editor: In an interview with Olongo Africa, you remarked that “Literature is inherently political. The freedom to write what one chooses to write and have it accepted or not, only on its merits, is political.” Do you think this is a scourge that shuts writers up and shoos them away, particularly young writers who pigeonhole a barrage of rejections?

Cheluchi Onyemelukwe: I would not call it a scourge. I would simply say that we must continue to write our stories. There are many avenues emerging on the continent to do so. Rejections, I think, are part of the territory. Sometimes they help point us more firmly in the direction in which we should go, other times they are obstacles which we must overcome. Not easy, but if my experience is anything to go by, doable, survivable. 

The Editor: Accordingly, in the same interview, while responding to the question of influences, you expressed having a “Sentimental place” for the late writer, Chinua Achebe, who was prominent in advocating a writer’s social responsibility. Does this influence share an embrace with your vocalized affiliation with the school of thought that champions Art for Social Change as against Art for Art sake?

Cheluchi Onyemelukwe: I happen to believe that there is much room for doing good, for asking questions that need answering, for articulating concerns that surround us, for looking on our society and identifying its demons. I believe in doing what one can, through writing, through other avenues, in my case, lawyering and advocacy to improve the conditions in which we live. I think the writers before us, like Chinua Achebe, whom you mention inspire us to think that what we do has meaning. And I am willing to go down that path and see where it leads. It may be idealistic, but it is also practical, because what else can we do?

The Editor: As a writer, what do you reckon is chief in storytelling: the story or the voice behind it? 

Cheluchi Onyemelukwe: Both. 

The Editor: In another interview with 49thshelf, you mentioned that being a lawyer and academic, alongside being a writer, all share an intricacy that helps you see the “Holistic understanding of dilemmas,” and how your writing “Tends towards justice.” Joggling these titles must be as overwhelming as it is satisfying. Do you consider the intermittent switches a boost or burden? 

Cheluchi Onyemelukwe: Neither. They are all by turns stimulating, challenging, engaging, meaningful and grueling. I am blessed to be able to do them. 

The Editor: In 2019, a student and poet from the English and Literary Studies department in UNN—Chukwuemeka Akachi of blessed memory, took his own life after a long battle with mental health. Akachiʼs painful demise helped highlight the struggles that creatives endure in the process of making and engaging deeply with art. For years now, you, along with the Center for Health Ethics, Law and Development (CHELD), a non-profit organization you founded which seeks to fill the loop between health and law, have been aligned with other bodies and individuals seeking the decriminalization of attempted suicide in Nigeria. Do you see the possibility of the legislature eventually acting on this issue, and is there hope for writers (and other creatives) who need help in managing their mental health struggles?

Cheluchi Onyemelukwe: This continues to be a focus of our work this year. After the passage of the National Mental Health Act, which I played a key role in, having led the technical drafting, and the development of the Strategic Framework for Suicide Prevention which has a core objective of decriminalization of attempted suicide, we hope to see more encouraging steps towards decriminalization. With respect to creatives, I think it is encouraging that we are beginning to have important conversations around mental health. It would be helpful to have solid organization around this, and a plugging into efforts being made by other organizations such as CHELD. 

The Editor: As a follow-up, having borne witness to an average African’s metric on mental health—flagrant trivialization and ridicule, how essential, would you say, is the issue of mental health to a healthy society? Do you see yourself integrating this awareness, into your subsequent novels?

Cheluchi Onyemelukwe: It is important in my view to continue to destigmatize mental illness. As a person who works in mental health, have supported family and friends with mental illness, I can tell you that it is not an ‘us’ vs ‘them’ conversation. Many of us are directly and indirectly affected by mental disorders at different levels. Nigerians have anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder; we suffer mental stresses of varying degrees. And so we must continue to have the necessary conversations. In terms of writing, I did write about mental health in The Son of the House and it is likely to continue to feature in future writing, not as an exotic matter, but as part of what it means to be human, to exist, and to suffer in the world.

The Editor: Would you surmise the fusion of Health and Literature as one capable of sparking a widespread interest and dialogue in non-diasporic African literature?

Cheluchi Onyemelukwe: I would argue that we already see this fusion in literature around infertility, mental illness, amongst others. It would be interesting to see how we deepen the engagement between these two important fields.

The Editor: This next question comes subdued, not to trigger your memory of loss and bereavement. The loss of your father, Chief Onyemelukwe, must have been imploding. He was one whom your love and fondness for have always reverberated across territories. My profound condolences. Seeing how much he meant to you, should we expect an immortalization of this haloed memory in your next work?

Cheluchi Onyemelukwe: I am working on a memoir about him. Fingers crossed.

The Editor: You have always recounted your passion for writing and life-long desire of authorship. Inspite of your now accomplished trajectory; looking back, would you have taken to a different career path had the technology our generation of writers now enjoy made available to you in your early days?

Cheluchi Onyemelukwe: I cannot say and I refuse to speculate. I will say I am happy to have a life in which I explore different careers and approaches to doing life. It is not always easy, but I would not change anything.

The Editor: For a parting gift that is as cliche as it is paramount, what last words do you have for budding literary artists?

Cheluchi Onyemelukwe: Keep pushing. Your dreams are valid.

The Editor: Many thanks for your time and insight, ma.

Cheluchi Onyemelukwe: Thank you for the interview, Uchenna.