TWO BOOKS ON JOURNALISM
By Pule Lebuso
Book: Fillets of Plaice
Author: Omoseye Bolaji
Publisher: Leballo Literary Services (2000)
Book: Adventures in Journalism
Author: Flaxman Qoopane
Publisher: Drufoma (2001)
These two books are essentially about the world of journalism, both written by black writers/journalists based in the Free State. Their books are quite different though, as this brief essay will show.
One gets the impression that Flaxman Qoopane is often frustrated with editors, and he goes into some detail on this. Omoseye Bolaji (pictured) however just tells us very briefly in one sentence in his book (page 10): “Editors have broken my heart – many times”
The conclusion of both books are not so different from each other, highlighting how frustrating journalism can be. Bolaji’s book was published at least a year before that of Qoopane’s, hence it is possible it might have influenced the subsequent book a little.
The approach of both authors is very different. As we are used to by now, Qoopane’s book is more of autobiography. Bolaji’s is more technical, and his Chapters reflect this: The Writer, Making money from writing, Fiction, Editors, Photo journalism etc
Qoopane has a habit of detailing many names in his books, which can be tedious; he does this in his book. Bolaji often cuts out excess information, making his books easier to read as he gives interesting examples, jokes etc.
Again, Bolaji often brings in national, international analogies and examples, and in his book we are introduced to the likes of Jeffrey Archer, Wole Soyinka, Enid Blyton, William Barrett, even Glenn Hoddle, among others.
Qoopane often goes into particulars quite chronologically, of his progress as a journalist, writing for newspapers and magazines in different countries; but Bolaji’s book is more general, incorporating experiences briefly rather than giving many specific details.
Hence Qoopane for example in his Chapter about Next magazine goes into great detail about his and Bolaji’s “great days” in the magazine; how they enjoyed wine, women, music! But Bolaji quite incredibly hardly mentions Next magazine; we are restricted mainly to a few lines in the appendix of the book.
Another feature of Qoopane’s book on Journalism is the liberal use of letters, especially in the second part of the book. This of course reminds us of his book, Letters to a Poet. Although at least one of the longest letters published in Qoopane’s book was written by Bolaji, in his (Bolaji’s) own book on Journalism, there is nothing like this.
Often we hear that black writers (including journalists) hardly write books based on their experiences for others to learn from. It is pleasing that both Flaxman Qoopane and Omoseye Bolaji have written books about journalism.
* Originally written/published in 2003
