ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the interaction between writers and readers of Tanzanian serial fiction in Swahili, in comparison to practices of oral storytelling to which it bears some striking similarities. The essay pays special attention to the interaction between authors of serials on the web and their reading audiences in the narration of folk stories as practised by the Mwera in Tanzania. The chapter compares the oral storytelling as practised by the Mwera in Tanzania with modern practices of Tanzanian newspaper serial writing. The storytelling performance of the Mwera analysed by Reuster-Jahn (2002, 2005a, 2005b) is marked by substantial interaction between the narrator and one member of the audience who contributes to the story development. A similar pattern can be observed in the readers’ comments on serial novels in newspapers available on newspapers’ web sites. Those comments, as in the oral performance, are made from perspectives inside as well as outside the story. Writers for their part take the comments seriously and respond to them, sometimes communicating directly with readers via telephone, text message and email. The article argues that this behaviour rooted in oral storytelling performance, has been adapted to the conditions of modern communication technology and media.
