Looking at the British (and indeed, international) literary world over the past half-century, it would be hard to find a more crucial or inspiring figure than publisher, critic, writer and activist Margaret Busby. As Britain’s first and youngest black woman publisher, she set up the publishing house Allison & Busby in 1967. It was the first literary press in Britain dedicated to writing by African authors, those of African descent, and writers of colour.
She has fought hard to publish, make visible and champion this canon ever since. More importantly, she has championed a doubly-under-sung community: African women writers and women writers of colour.
Part of the Story presents a broad-reaching selection of Busby’s criticism, essays, memoirs, speeches, obituaries and rarer short fiction pieces. As opposed to a random collection, it’s ordered chronologically, from when she struggled to break into a world that was almost exclusively white, male and privileged, to her current world-respected status. This gives the reader context and an appreciation of the literature, since it name-checks and references hundreds of writers from around the world, and shows how their visibility and worth has finally started to come into focus in recent years.
Once you get into the flow, you realise that Part of The Story is really a kind of extraordinary autobiography. Busby’s writing on others’ writing is personal, informed and generous. She gives us her heart within the pages, not to mention her wisdom and wit. She will discuss individual authors, literary movements and cultural developments within social, colonial and broader historical contexts, cross-referencing other arts, such as music or fine art.
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The author is perhaps best known to a mainstream audience for editing the ground-breaking 1992 anthology Daughters of Africa (and a second volume in 2019). Sub-titled “An international anthology of words and writings by women of African descent from the ancient Egyptian to the present,” it took in written and oral storytelling, drama and poetry, presenting 200 women writers in several languages.
If Daughters of Africa is, thus far, the achievement by which many people currently know Busby’s work, then Part of the Story is the perfect companion for any discerning reader. Her own voice is glorious, allowing her erudition and strength to shine through. An important and wonderful book.
Helena Mulkerns is a freelance reviewer and publisher
