This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jul/10/life-competition-caine-prize-winner-namwali-serpell

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
When life is a competition, we all lose When life is a competition, we all lose
(2 days later)
Rather than keep her £10,000 award, the winner of this year’s Caine prize for African writing, Namwali Serpell, decided to share her prize money with the four other shortlisted authors. Serpell won for a curious, looping story about two men who have loved the same woman, their rivalry lasting into old age. Her images linger long after you have read the last sentence. A gecko’s eyes are “a black colon punched in its face”. A woman’s eyelids are “like smooth stones”. Knives in a drawer “wait like a flat bouquet: their thick wooden stems, their large silver petals”.Rather than keep her £10,000 award, the winner of this year’s Caine prize for African writing, Namwali Serpell, decided to share her prize money with the four other shortlisted authors. Serpell won for a curious, looping story about two men who have loved the same woman, their rivalry lasting into old age. Her images linger long after you have read the last sentence. A gecko’s eyes are “a black colon punched in its face”. A woman’s eyelids are “like smooth stones”. Knives in a drawer “wait like a flat bouquet: their thick wooden stems, their large silver petals”.
Explaining her decision, Serpell said: “It is very awkward to be placed into this position of competition with other writers you respect immensely and you feel yourself put into a sort of American Idol or racehorse situation when, actually, you all want to support each other.”Explaining her decision, Serpell said: “It is very awkward to be placed into this position of competition with other writers you respect immensely and you feel yourself put into a sort of American Idol or racehorse situation when, actually, you all want to support each other.”
Related: Caine prize goes to Zambian Namwali SerpellRelated: Caine prize goes to Zambian Namwali Serpell
It is the age-long truism that works of art cannot compete. Each time the Booker or the Turner prize comes round, someone makes the point that the appraisal of art is subjective and thus the selection of the “best” book or best painting or best dishevelled bedroom as “the winner’ is an exercise in futility. Most of us agree in principle, and yet winners emerge because winners must emerge. Our desire for exceptionalism will not allow more than one person on the podium. It is the age-long truism that works of art cannot compete. Each time the Booker or the Turner prize comes round, someone makes the point that the appraisal of art is subjective and thus the selection of the “best” book or best painting or best dishevelled bedroom as “the winner’ is an exercise in futility. Most of us agree in principle, and yet winners emerge because winners must emerge. Our desire for exceptionalism will not allow more than one person on the podium.
There is an increasing appetite for winner-takes-all prizes in the arts. The media mostly ignore more collaborative awards that share prize money with many winners, such as the various grants given by the Society of Authors. This is not to needlessly berate the prize-giving industry. No matter the prize structure, all financial support for the arts is appreciated (especially in such austere times), but these zero-sum accolades could be detrimental to creative life. For in the creative landscape there can be no real losers because each work is uniquely successful; and there can be no real winners, for each work is distinctively flawed. Both winners and losers strive, not against each other, but with themselves, always aspiring to produce something more profound and more innovative than their last work. So I congratulate the five winners of the 2015 Caine prize still on this never-ending journey of creativity: Masande Ntshanga, FT Kola, Elnathan John, Segun Afolabi and Namwali Serpell.There is an increasing appetite for winner-takes-all prizes in the arts. The media mostly ignore more collaborative awards that share prize money with many winners, such as the various grants given by the Society of Authors. This is not to needlessly berate the prize-giving industry. No matter the prize structure, all financial support for the arts is appreciated (especially in such austere times), but these zero-sum accolades could be detrimental to creative life. For in the creative landscape there can be no real losers because each work is uniquely successful; and there can be no real winners, for each work is distinctively flawed. Both winners and losers strive, not against each other, but with themselves, always aspiring to produce something more profound and more innovative than their last work. So I congratulate the five winners of the 2015 Caine prize still on this never-ending journey of creativity: Masande Ntshanga, FT Kola, Elnathan John, Segun Afolabi and Namwali Serpell.
Yet, even more than art, Serpell’s decision points to an arena where it is even more futile to compete: life. Increasingly our existence on this planet is framed as a struggle – for jobs, resources: for oil, water, land.Yet, even more than art, Serpell’s decision points to an arena where it is even more futile to compete: life. Increasingly our existence on this planet is framed as a struggle – for jobs, resources: for oil, water, land.
Our desire for exceptionalism will not allow more than one person on the podiumOur desire for exceptionalism will not allow more than one person on the podium
This Darwinian narrative of strife continues at an individual level. I am not yet halfway through my twenties, and already I am fatigued by the way the world is determined to frame my life. Someone always has more money, a better job, more vibrant social life, more attractive postcode. I am forever to be in competition with this ever elusive someone who is always a stride ahead, their shadow darkening my progress. This Darwinian narrative of strife continues at an individual level. I am not yet halfway through my twenties, and already I am fatigued by the way the world is determined to frame my life. Someone always has more money, a better job, more vibrant social life, more attractive postcode. I am forever to be in competition with this ever elusive someone who is always a stride ahead, their shadow darkening my progress.
At a concert I attended recently, the MC asked who was dissatisfied with their life. More than half of the audience put up their hands. We live in perpetual fear that we have missed out, that just across the road from us, someone is getting more out of life. I watch my friends and family go through the rigmarole of finding school places, assiduously comparing which Ofsted report is more outstanding than the other. No matter how good the school, someone’s child is always in one that is better. Extracurricular clubs and classes thrive, not because of any love for dance or drama, but because one’s children must not fall behind, one’s toddler must begin to make their way through the jungle gym of life. Slowly but steadily, we are banishing contentment from the world. At a concert I attended recently, the MC asked who was dissatisfied with their life. More than half of the audience put up their hands. We live in perpetual fear that we have missed out, that just across the road from us, someone is getting more out of life. I watch my friends and family go through the rigmarole of finding school places, assiduously comparing which Ofsted report is more outstanding than the other. No matter how good the school, someone’s child is always in one that is better. Extracurricular clubs and classes thrive, not because of any love for dance or drama, but because one’s children must not fall behind, one’s toddler must begin to make their way through the jungle gym of life. Slowly but steadily, we are banishing contentment from the world.
As individuals respond to this meta-story of competition, we become discontent in a world where there is enough space for everyone to go at their own pace. Serpell said in her acceptance speech: “We don’t want to compete. We all want to be honoured.” There can be no winners as long as life continues to be depicted as a competition. We will all lose. As individuals respond to this meta-story of competition, we become discontent in a world where there is enough space for everyone to go at their own pace. Serpell said in her acceptance speech: “We don’t want to compete. We all want to be honoured.” There can be no winners as long as life continues to be depicted as a competition. We will all lose.
It is not a syrupy platitude to say everyone is a winner. It is an acknowledgment of the fact that everyone is running their own race, in their own lane, in their own gear, with their own supporters. Contentment is no longer a virtue, it is a necessity in a world determined to tell us that all we have, all we are and all we have achieved will never be enough. It is not a syrupy platitude to say everyone is a winner. It is an acknowledgment of the fact that everyone is running their own race, in their own lane, in their own gear, with their own supporters. Contentment is no longer a virtue, it is a necessity in a world determined to tell us that all we have, all we are and all we have achieved will never be enough.