Of Chameleons and Gods is the title of the first collection of poetry by Malawian

Malawi

The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...

 poet Jack Mapanje

Jack Mapanje

Jack Mapanje is a Malawian writer and poet. He was the former head of English at the University of Malawi, and is currently a senior lecturer in English at Newcastle University.-Works:* Of Chameleons and Gods, 1981...

, published in 1981 in the UK. Despite critical acclaim, the collection was withdrawn from circulation in Malawi, because it was seen as a critique of the current government and especially the leader Hastings Kamuzu Banda.

Mapanje, in his introduction to the work, describes as the result of the work of "ten turbulent years". The 'chameleon' of the title refers to the disguise of personal voice

Writer's voice

Writer's voice is the literary term used to describe the individual writing style of an author. Voice was generally considered to be a combination of a writer's use of syntax, diction, punctuation, character development, dialogue, etc., within a given body of text . Voice can be thought of in terms...

 he deemed necessary in order to mount a criticism of the politics at the time.

Of Chameleons and Gods is divided into four sections: 'Of Chameleons and Gods', 'Sketches from London', 'Re-entering Chingwe's Hole' and 'Assembling Another Voice'. The sections are almost chronological: poems in 'Sketches from London' were written between 1972 and 1975; those in 'Re-entering Chingwe's Hole', on Mapanje's return from London between 1975 and 1978; and those in 'Assembling Another Voice' were probably the last to be written'.

Literary Criticism

The literary features of the collection have been overshadowed by its censorship. The poet makes use of the verse form to provide a satirical perspective on the political leaders and their supporters. However, his criticism is by no means limited to the political scenario: poems like 'Kabulo Curio-Shop' demonstrate a critique of the exploitation of art and the artist in tourism.

The collection made use of repeated imagery in its satire of the government. Images included references to 'dawn' or 'cockerel', alluding to the Malawi Congress Party

Malawi Congress Party

The Malawi Congress Party is a political party in Malawi.It was the successor to the Nyasaland African Congress , which was banned in 1959.The MCP was founded by Hastings Banda and other NAC leaders in 1960....

's flag which bears a picture of the sunrise and H. Kamuzu Banda's use of "Kwatcha!" ("Dawn!") at the start of addresses. These images were used not only in Mapanje's poetry, but also other poetry of protest from the situation.

Much of the poetry also demonstrates the influence of oral forms of poetry

Oral poetry

Oral poetry can be defined in various ways. A strict definition would include only poetry that is composed and transmitted without any aid of writing. However, the complex relationships between written and spoken literature in some societies can make this definition hard to maintain, and oral...

, especially in range and density of images and the address of the voice to an implied audience, which follows from Mapanje's endorsement of the sophistication of the oral mode of literature against the presumption, prevalent in the early 1970's, of its primitiveness.

Censorship

After its initial launch in London, Mapanje was told of rumours of a poor reception by the Malawian Censorship Board, including the purchasing of multiple copies of the text only to dispose the books in public latrines. It was suggested to Mapanje that a Malawian edition of the collection could be published with "at least eighty percent" of the poems included. This suggestion went no further.

After a poor reception of the 1984 reprint of the collection by officials in Malawi, the Ministry of Education and Culture banned the book from schools and universities in June 1985, claiming it was "unsuitable". Mapanje believes that those on the Censorship Board felt positive towards the work, but that it was the introduction to the work and the inclusion of the poem 'Making our Clowns Martyrs' which lead to the decision. Officially the work was not "banned" by "withdrawn from circulation".

Mapanje was imprisoned without charge. In response to his imprisonment, Amnesty International

Amnesty International

Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...

 made him a Prisoner of Conscience

Prisoner of conscience

Prisoner of conscience is a term defined in Peter Benenson's 1961 article "The Forgotten Prisoners" often used by the human rights group Amnesty International. It can refer to anyone imprisoned because of their race, religion, or political views...

; protests included a reading of selections from Of Chameleons and Gods outside the Malawian High Commission in London by Harold Pinter

Harold Pinter

Harold Pinter, CH, CBE was a Nobel Prize–winning English playwright and screenwriter. One of the most influential modern British dramatists, his writing career spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party , The Homecoming , and Betrayal , each of which he adapted to...

.

In response to the book's censorship, Mapanje wrote the poem 'On Banning Of Chameleons and Gods (June, 1985)', first published in his later collection The Chattering Wagtails of Mikuyu Prison.