Nsah Mala (born Kenneth Toah Nsah) is a Cameroonian poet, writer, author of children's books and literary researcher. He writes in English, French, and Iteanghe-a-Mbesa ( Mbesa language).

Biography

Early life and education

Born in Mbesa (also Mbessa), Nsah Mala did his primary education in CBC School Mbesa. He wrote his first play in Form Two in Government Secondary School (GSS) Mbessa, and obtained his General Certificate of Education (GCE) Ordinary Level in 2007. He did high school education in CCAST Bambili where he obtained his

GCE Advanced Level The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...

in 2009, emerging as the national overall best candidate in Literature in English which earned him an award from the Cameroon Association of English-Speaking Journalists (CAMASEJ). In 2012 he graduated from École Normale Supérieure (ENS) de

Yaoundé Yaoundé (; , ) is the capital of Cameroon and, with a population of more than 2.8 million, the second-largest city in the country after the port city Douala. It lies in the Centre Region of the nation at an elevation of about 750 metres (2,50 ...

and

University of Yaoundé I The University of Yaoundé I ( French: ''Université de Yaoundé I'') is a public university in Cameroon, located in the capital Yaoundé. It was formed in 1993 following a university reform that split the country's oldest university, the Universi ...

. From 2016 to 2018, with an Erasmus Mundus Scholarship, he studied for the Erasmus Mundus Masters Crossways in Cultural Narratives at the

University of Perpignan The University of Perpignan (french: Université de Perpignan; ca, Universitat de Perpinyà Via Domitia) is a French university, located in Perpignan. History The first university of Perpignan was established in 1349 by King Peter IV of Arago ...

Via Domitia (France),

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

(UK), and

Universidad de Santiago de Compostela , established = , type = Public , budget = €228 million (2011) , rector = Prof. Dr. Antonio López Díaz , city = Santiago de Compostela , state = Galicia , country = Spain , undergrad = 23,835 , postgrad = 1,716 , doctoral = 2,697 , ...

(Spain). In September 2018, he enrolled in a PhD programme in Comparative Literature at

Aarhus University Aarhus University ( da, Aarhus Universitet, abbreviated AU) is a public research university with its main campus located in Aarhus, Denmark. It is the second largest and second oldest university in Denmark. The university is part of the Coimbra Gr ...

(Denmark). He earned the PhD degree on 11 March 2022 after a successful public defence of a doctoral dissertation entitled: "Can

Literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

Save the

Congo Basin The Congo Basin (french: Bassin du Congo) is the sedimentary basin of the Congo River. The Congo Basin is located in Central Africa, in a region known as west equatorial Africa. The Congo Basin region is sometimes known simply as the Congo. It con ...

Postcolonial Postcolonialism is the critical academic study of the cultural, political and economic legacy of colonialism and imperialism, focusing on the impact of human control and exploitation of colonized people and their lands. More specifically, it is a ...

Ecocriticism Ecocriticism is the study of literature and ecology from an interdisciplinary point of view, where literature scholars analyze texts that illustrate environmental concerns and examine the various ways literature treats the subject of nature. It wa ...

and

Environmental A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...

Literary Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to ...

Activism Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in Social change, social, Political campaign, political, economic or Natural environment, environmental reform with the desire to make Social change, changes i ...

." His dissertation had been co-supervised by

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

Mads Rosendahl Thomsen,

Comparative Literature Comparative literature is an academic field dealing with the study of literature and cultural expression across linguistic, national, geographic, and disciplinary boundaries. Comparative literature "performs a role similar to that of the study ...

Department, and Associate Professor Peter Mortensen,

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Department, both at

. Nsah's doctoral assessment committee consisted of Professor Scott Slovic, English Department,

University of Idaho The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho. It is the state's land-grant and primary research university,, and the lead university in the Idaho Space Grant Consortium. The Universit ...

(USA),

Associate Professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. Overview In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a ...

Étienne-Marie Lassi, French Department,

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.Aarhus University Aarhus University ( da, Aarhus Universitet, abbreviated AU) is a public research university with its main campus located in Aarhus, Denmark. It is the second largest and second oldest university in Denmark. The university is part of the Coimbra Gr ...

(Committee Chair). His doctoral thesis won the Prix de thèses francophones en Prospective 2022 (Prize for Francophone Theses in Foresight and Futures Studies) from la Fondation 2100 and l'Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF).

Writing career

Nsah Mala wrote his first play in the second year (Form Two) of secondary education at GSS Mbessa. He published his first poetry collection entitled ''Chaining Freedom'' in 2012 and has gone on to publish three other poetry collections in English and one in French. He has published three picture books in Cameroon and France while his poems and stories appear in magazines and anthologies. ''Constimocrazy: Malafricanising Democracy'' (2017), his fourth poetry collection, received reviews. Nelson Mlambo described it in Tuck Magazine as "a profound expression of Afro-talent and the personification of an Afropolitan voice." Global Arts and Politics Alliance (GAPA) observed that Nsah Mala "reminds despots that they are a minority and they thrive on using the masses to gain popularity and benefit from power". In 2016, Nsah Mala's short story "Christmas Disappointment" was one of the ten winners of a competition organised by the Cameroonian Ministry of Arts and Culture. In December 2016, his short story "Fanta from America" received a special mention in a competition organised by Bakwa Magazine in Cameroon. His French poem "Servants de l'État" received a "mention spéciale du concours littéraire Malraux" (France) in December 2017. He attended the Caine Prize Writers' Workshop in Gisenyi, Rwanda, in March 2018. In summer 2020, POW! Kids Books acquired world rights (excluding Africa) to Nsah Mala's North American debut picture book entitled ''What the Moon Cooks'' to be published in spring 2021.

Publications

Poetry collections

* (fr) ''Les Pleurs du mal'', 2019, * (en) ''Constimocrazy: Malafricanising Democracy'', 2017, * (en) ''If You Must Fall Bush'', 2016, * (en) ''Bites of Insanity'', 2015, * (en) ''Chaining Freedom'', 2012,

Children's books

* (en) ''Andolo: the Talented Albino'', 2020, * (fr) ''Andolo: l'albinos talentueux'', 2020, * (fr) ''Le petit Gabriel commence à lire'', 2020, *(en) ''Little Gabriel Starts to Read'', 2020, ISBN 978-1-942876-71-7

Edited books

* (co-edited with Mbizo Chirasha) ''Corpses of Unity – Cadavres de l'unité'', 2020, * (co-edited with Tendai Rinos Mwanaka) ''Best New African Poets 2019 Anthology'', 2020, * (co-edited with Tendai Rinos Mwanaka) ''Best New African Poets 2018 Anthology'', 2018,

Short fiction

* "Departure," ''Redemption Song and Other Stories'', Caine Prize Anthology, 2018, * "America at Midnight," ''Kalahari Review'', 2017 * "Stubborn Miniskirt," ''PAROUSIA Magazine'', 2017

Essays

* "Literature from the Congo Basin offers ways to address the climate crisis," The Conversation, 202

* "The virality of letters: the Covid-19 literary archive keeps growing," ''Corona Times'', 202

* "Alleged corruption in academic appointments highlights Cameroon's PhD glut," ''Times Higher Education'', 202

* "Comment expliquer la timide mobilisation de la jeunesse africaine pour le climat ?" ''The Conversation'', 201

Peer-reviewed articles and book chapters

* Nsah, Kenneth Toah. 2021. "The Ecopolitics of Water Pollution and Disorderly Urbanization in Congo-Basin Plays." Orbis Litteraru

* Nsah, Kenneth Toah. 2021. "The Return of Bush Fallers: Cameroon Anglophone Fiction Responds to Clandestine Immigration." ''Postcolonial Text'', vol. 16 no. 1, pp. 1–2

* Nsah, Kenneth Toah. 2020. "Of Dogs, Horses and Buffalos in Cameroon: Companion Animals in Cameroonian Fiction." In ''Reading Cats and Dogs: Companion Animals in World Literature'', eds. F. Besson et al. Lanham: Lexington Books, pp. 169–188.

* Nsah, Kenneth Toah. 2020. "When Trees Scream." ''DRAMA – Nordic Drama Pedagogical Journal'

* Nsah, Kenneth Toah: 2019. "The Screaming Forest: An Ecocritical Assessment of Le Cri de la forêt." ''Ecological In(ter)ventions in the Francophone World'', eds. Anne-Rachel Hermetet and Stephanie Posthumus, special issue of ''Ecozon@: European Journal of Literature, Culture and Environment'', vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 58–7

* Nsah, Kenneth Toah. 2018. "'No Forest, No Water. No Forest, No Animals': An Ecocritical Reading of Ekpe Inyang's The Hill Barbers." ''Ecozon@: European Journal of Literature, Culture and Environment'', vol. 9 no. 1, pp. 94–11

* Nsah, Kenneth Toah. 2017. "Triple Marginality in Cameroon Anglophone Literature." In ''Rewriting Pasts, Imagining Futures: Critical Explorations of Contemporary African Fiction and Theatre'', eds. Victor Gomia and Gilbert Ndi. Colorado: Spears Media Press, pp. 96–110.

* Nsah, Kenneth Toah. 2016. "Cameroon Professors Publish: A Reply to Nwanatifu Nwaco's 'Cameroon: Professors without Publications.'" ''Voice of Research'', vol. 5 no. 2, pp. 53–5

* Nsah, Kenneth Toah. 2016. "La métamorphose chez Kafka et Darriussecq: Une étude compare." ''Cahiers ivoiriens d’études comparées'', vol. 7, pp. 33–52. * Nsah, Kenneth Toah. 2015. "Eco-cultural Sensitivity in John Nkengasong's Njogobi Festival and Nol Alembong's Forest Echoes." ''Journal of English Language, Literature and Culture (JELLiC)'', vol. 4 no. 1, pp. 37–58.

* Nsah, Kenneth Toah. 2015. "Black Prophesies on White Soils and Ears: A Reading of Joyce Ashuntantang's 'The Clairvoyant.'" ''Modern Research Studies'', vol. 2 no. 3, pp. 502–514.