One of the most common questions we’ve received since unveiling Untold International is about the significance of our logo. I’m pretty proud of it, and I’m not sorry to say that there is quite a bit of meaning behind it. Brady designed it himself, and the image you see is the first image he sketched out–but a lot of thought went into it.
The logo combines the Ghanaian adinkra symbol of the sankofa bird with the phoenix of Greek mythology, fusing the two together in an alliance of growth and rebirth.
Adinkra symbols are visual representations of aphorisms, proverbs, or traditional wisdom, encapsulated in these easily recognizable icons. They were created by the Akan of West Africa (before it was known as West Africa) to “[support] the transmission of a complex and nuanced body of practice and belief” in a pre-literate, oral society, according to cultural theorist Kwame Anthony Appiah. Some of them are more obvious in their metaphor (kete pa, for example, is a picture of a woven mat or bed, and symbolizes a good marriage), while others require some explanation (like the ubiquitous gye nyame, which symbolizes the supremacy of God).
The sankofa bird is a mythic bird in Akan culture, which flies forward (or stands with feet forward) with its head turned behind it, sometimes holding an egg in its mouth or on its back. The adinkra symbol of the sankofa bird corresponds to the proverb: “Se wo were fi na wosankofa a yenkyi,” which roughly translates to “There is no shame in returning to retrieve what you have forgotten.” There is also the added symbolism of the egg on its back, which, according to Wikipedia, suggests “one taking from the past what is good and bringing it to the present in order to make positive progress through the benevolent use of knowledge.”
This symbol seemed to me to be exactly what I wanted our logo and mission to be about: using the past and the experiences and even traumas of a culture that has been historically and socioeconomically oppressed, and, through storytelling, grow past them into a future full of possibility, unfettered by the “mind-forg’d manacles” of the past.
For Brady, the image of the phoenix symbolized the revival and rebirth he envisions for the Ghanaian people through renewed appreciation for literature. Rising from the ashes of the past, the phoenix suggests a sustained renewal, as well as a fiery passion. Combining the two seemed to make sense — most obviously, both were symbols of birds, which made the imagery work well together; however, the combination of the sankofa and the phoenix also makes sense symbolically. Part of rising from the ashes is recognizing that there are ashes in the first place. Whether fair or not, what we choose to make of our circumstances can be a defining factor in our lives. The sankofa bird reminds us that it is not wrong to bring pieces of your past with you, as long as you continue forward. The burning wings of the phoenix suggest the potential for rebirth with renewed passion and energy.
William Faulkner suggested that “the past is not dead; it’s not even past,”and I believe that, for better or worse, he’s right. Our past leaves echoes, ripples, into who we are today and tomorrow, and it can be a powerful tool for change. Remembering the traditions, histories, and memories of our cultures, and putting the past events of our own lives into the creative forges of literature produces compelling and poignant creations.
And that’s a beautiful thing.
