Two days ago, January 31st, 2015, one of the last things I did for the evening was to catch up with news. In the process of doing that, I read an article written by Chimamanda Adichie and published on the Guardian UK. The article was very bold and courageous. In it, Adichie revealed that she struggled with depression. She explained symptoms that sounded more like a very bad case of premenstrual cycle and said even her doctor acknowledged her symptoms could be or was related to her premenstrual cycle; but took it a step further with the depression diagnosis.
Several things stood out to me about that article.
1. It had an old archived picture of Chimamanda Adichie with a playmate from when she was a child. The picture really struck me because I felt this writer truly wanted to tell her story, so much so she would dig way deep into her picture crates to share such a picture.
2. She discussed the attitude of her very intellectual family in dealing with her “creativeness,” if you will. It also seemed like they were not very supportive or understanding of the realities of the creative types like Adichie.
3. She chronicled a history where her fellow writer colleagues diagnosed her, from her conduct, as suffering from depression the way other respected writers/authors/artists had suffered depression. It was almost like she knew, based on how she told her story, but the doctor just validated what she has always known.
4. The article never mentioned anything about what triggered her bout with depression. Was there any childhood trauma? Adult trauma? Interpersonal and ongoing issues? What was the trigger, if any? How much did lifestyle also contribute to depression? Chimamanda is a very successful and extremely busy writer. Her life involves lots of travels, juggling speaking engagements on numerous continents and again being very busy. With that kind of schedule she has and from a health and nutrition standpoint, does that exacerbate the issue of depression? I had more questions than answers from the article.
5. Either way, I was very proud of her. I felt she had such guts and courage and I shared the story with someone I felt would truly appreciate it; and made a decision to share it at large with my audience once I had the chance.
February 1st, 2015, it is a super busy day for me. I mean Grammy week is fast approaching, I am fighting off a flu but I still have the chance to follow up with the article to see what the public’s reaction has been. I note several surprising things:
a) the article has been removed from the Guardian UK’s website;
b) the Guardian UK claims it is a “technical error” and they did not have consent to publish the article from the author;
c) BellaNaija.com who published excerpts of the article takes it down.
d) Later that evening, I see that even Linda Ikeji has taken the article down.
e) I note mainstream media is yet to pick up the story.
I am left wondering, “how can you publish such an article of such magnitude by such a writer and not have consent?” Really, a publication of such a caliber would risk huge legal liability just to publish a work of an author without consent?
What was the query process and submission by the author to the publication? I am honestly baffled that the Guardian UK would take such a step and think an “apology” was enough. The damage has already been done and there are many websites now carrying the full written story, albeit they are no powerhouses like the aforementioned ; and again Western media hasn’t really picked up the story.
I also wonder about the print newspapers in Nigeria and other countries that may pick up the story and publish on their own accord representing themselves to have consent to publish when they don’t.
Today, there is a statement from Chimamanda’s publicist addressing and giving the big picture about the Guardian UK’s lack of consent.
Overall, I don’t like how this has been handled from both camps. First, from Adichie’s camp, given how much attention they say they wanted the work to have in the statement below, should they have waited till after her book tour/release of ‘Americanah?’ Second, was it even necessary to go through all that trouble to complete an article with thousands of words, and shop the work to numerous publishers given she is in the middle of marketing and promotions of her book?
On the Guardian UK camp’s end, something doesn’t sit right with me. I know big companies make some big “mistakes” sometimes, but common?! This was a “technical error?” How do you “technical error” this?
Based on Adichie’s version of the facts and the Guardian UK’s actions, copyright infringement seems to have occurred here.
Independent of the conclusion that an infringement claim may be available to Adichie, I must say I appreciate Adichie’s statement below, via her Publicist, that is clear they are not shying away from discussing the topic of depression and emphasizing the need for such a discussion in the African community.
This is all interesting. Let’s see what happens in the days and weeks ahead.
See story/Adichie’s publicist explanation below.
-Uduak
“When a writer of Chimamanda Adichie’s status writes an essay, many publications are interested in publishing it. Her agent sends the essay to a few publications. The publications indicate their interest and make various offers and proposals including how they will feature it and what they would like to accompany it (e.g. a photo shoot, an additional interview), how much they will pay for it, when they will publish it and in what section of the publication. Chimamanda then makes a decision about which publication she prefers(.)
Chimamanda wrote the essay about depression last year. Depression is a very important subject for her. She wanted to make sure the essay was very honest. She wanted to use the essay as a way to help people, to start a conversation about depression, particularly among Africans. Many people suffer in silence. Breaking the silence around the subject of depression can be the first step to getting better.
Many magazines and publications were interested in the essay. One of them was the Guardian. Chimamanda considered their offer and then decided she didn’t want it to be published there. She felt that the Guardian was not the right place for the essay. She declined their offer, and they acknowledged in writing that she had declined.
She planned to publish the essay later this year, when she would have finished other engagements, to give her time to deliver a talk in Nigeria about depression.
She had still not finally decided which publication she would go with when she discovered on Sunday that the essay had been published in the Guardian, with no notice, no permission, nothing. She was shocked.
The Guardian claims it was a technical error. It is not clear how something could have been published, with photographs, due to a technical error. It is possible that The Guardian deliberately published it even though they had been turned down. That way, The Guardian could claim to have been first to publish Africa’s most-internationally recognized novelist writing for the first time on the very personal subject of depression. The Guardian’s action was unethical and possibly illegal. The Guardian has apologized and removed the essay.
The essay will be republished properly later this year. Chimamanda thanks all the people who have already shared their own stories of depression. She hopes that knowing you are not alone will be a source of comfort. She will speak more on the subject in the coming months.”