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My Writing Life: Eric Ngalle Charles

Eric Ngalle Charles is a Cameroonian writer, poet, playwright, and human rights activist based in Wales. A PhD researcher at King’s College London, he was awarded a Creative Wales Award Fellowship in 2017 for his work on migration, trauma, and memory. His autobiography, I, Eric Ngalle: One Man’s Journey Crossing Continents from Africa to Europe (2019), was published by Parthian Books. He was selected as one of Jackie Kay’s best British BAME writers in the Guardian poll as a writer with a unique theatrical voice. Eric also sits on boards at the Aberystwyth Arts Advisory Board and edited Hiraeth Erzolirzoli: A Wales-Cameroon Anthology (2018). The 3 Molas (2020) is an anthology about Cameroon and Wales. His poetry collection Homelands (2022) was published by Seren Books. Eric is an RLF grants beneficiary.

Eric recently spoke with WritersMosaic for their What We Leave We Carry podcast. Listen here.

1. What book should every writer read?

As a writer, you should feast your senses with whatever books you stumble upon. My go-to book, though, is New Daughters of Africa; it is packed with over six hundred stories from some of my favourite writers and it formed an integral part of my PhD. I believe in the power of reading widely and voraciously, as it not only enriches your writing but also broadens your perspective.

2. What is the one thing you wish someone had told you before you started your writing career?

I should have learned a trade and been a handyman. I should have joined a wrestling club when I came to the UK. I was a wrestler in Cameroon until I brought shame to the whole village. It is challenging to have a break and sustain yourself through writing. We compromise by selling ourselves cheaply to make ends meet.

3. Who has been an influential figure in your writing career?

I have had plenty. Dr George Ngwane taught me English Literature at a bilingual government grammar school in Molyko, Buea, Cameroon. His passion for literature ignited a spark in me. Dr Jon Gower tasked me with naming three trees in my language. His creative challenges pushed me. Now my favourite tree is the Gwangu. It is hollow and hides a terrible secret. During the rainy season, creepy crawlies, including scorpions and centipedes, hide in it. I laugh with my daughter, telling her, “If the French decide to recolonise us, we will give them the Bwangu tree to build their houses.” I don’t think she gets the joke. And most recently, Professor Ruth Padel, whose insightful feedback has shaped my writing.

4. What is the best advice you’ve ever received about your writing?

“Eric, this is crap,” were the words of my supervisor when she received the first draft of my novel. At first, it was disheartening, but then she deconstructed everything I had done wrong. It was an eye-opener. That was in 2022. I took her criticism onboard, and I think the novel is my best writing yet. Her feedback taught me the importance of revising and refining my work, and I am grateful for it.

5. What was the proudest moment of your writing career?

When my autobiography, I, Eric Ngalle, came out in 2019, a fellow writer reviewed it as ‘tokenistic.’ I had never heard that word before. At an event at the Wales Millennium Centre, the CEO of a portfolio literature organisation said, “Eric, I see your face everywhere,” I laughed. I had always been there; they didn’t notice.

6. What is your typical writing day like?

It starts at 6 am. I do routine exercises for half an hour, shower, have a coffee, and write between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. I cannot write beyond that. If I have an unfinished book, I read it. I enjoy learning craft and how other authors bring things alive. I read like a millipede putting on its shoes, always eager to learn from the masters of the craft.

7. What are you reading right now?

I’ve just finished Rachel Meller’s The Box With the Sunflower Clasp and Irenosen Okojie’s Curandera, which I reviewed for WritersMosaic. Two Bendigedig (fabulous in Welsh) books.

8. Bookmarker or page-folder?

I am a bookmarker. I also make notes on the markers. I love it when writers paint images resembling my grandmother with a basket on her back. My flat is filled with bookmarkers and little notes, which drives my daughter mad.

This article originally appeared on our Substack.

Photo by Billie Charity.

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