African Literarture

• The continent of humanity's birth, Africa had produced a body of literature that resonates with human spirit at any point on the planet
• African literature deserves to be studied thoroughly by any student seeking to paint a full picture of the 21st century, as well as the historical periods that preceded it
• The continent of Africa, considered by scientists to be "The Cradle of Humankind," has a captivating oral tradition and a body of written literature shaped by colonial and postcolonial experiences
• Linguistic flavors of African literature


  • Local languages
  • English
  • Portuguese
  • French
• Oral literature of Africa


  Documented the exploits of communities' folk heroes, reminded the members of the community about their traditions, and entertained the youth while also educating them
• Genres of oral tradition

  • Myths
  • Stories
  • Riddles
  • Proverbs
  • Dramas
• Praise singers called griots


  Performed accompanying music to enhance narratives
• Oral tradition flourished in multiple cultures across the continent from ancient times, and well into the 15th century CE
• Interaction of African Empires with trade and cultural partners from Europe and Asia


  Key contributor to this literary growth
• Emergence of the slave trade shaped the collective African psyche indelibly


  1400s
• European countries competing for the acquisition of colonies in Africa (in order to gain political and economic edge)

  19th century
• The psychological and social impact of colonization strongly manifested in the literature of the time-and, indeed, of the centuries that followed
• Literature depicting the impact of colonization

  • The Interesting Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa, the African
  • On Liberty and Slavery by George Moses Horton
• The Interesting Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa, the African


  An intense depiction of a slave's suffering
• On Liberty and Slavery


  A strong piece by George Moses Horton, a man of African heritage who was born into slavery (and died in 1883)
• With the rise of resistance movements in the 19 century came literary works that expressed the African's desire to be freed from oppression
• In the early 1800s, newspapers came to be a vehicle of expression for the voices of audacious African writers
• Poetry continued to be an effective genre for this purpose as well
• The negritude movement came to prominence in the 1930s, with French-speaking poets like Léopold Senghor, Aimé Césaire, and Léon Damas
• Several narratives like Thomas Mofolo's Chaka drew inspiration from local figures to express reactions against colonial repression
• After the conclusion of World War II, the cry for independence reached a crescendo
• Though many African writers during this time wrote in European languages, they nevertheless embodied the spirit of nationalism
• Their works were so strong and effective that they gained worldwide acclaim
• African writers who gained worldwide acclaim


  • Chinua Achebe
  • Wole Soyinka
  • Kofi Awoonor
  • Ngugi wa Thiong'o
  • Dennis Crutus
  • Es kia Mphahlele
  • Nadine Gordimer
  • Jacques Rabémananjara
  • Okot p Bitek
• In the aftermath of the colonial experience, African writers have since chronicled new challenges that have emerged in their respective societies
• New, sovereign governments may have been installed, but their own problems caused writers to react
• Corruption in society, a longstanding theme of African writers in postcolonial times, was reflected in V.Y. Mudimbe's Before the Birth of the Moon (1989)
• Must-reads of contemporary African literature

  • The Cardinals by Bessie Head
  • Striving for the Wind by Meja Mwangi
  • The Famished Road by Ben Okri
  • Season of Migration to the North by Tayeb Salih
  • To Every Birth its Blood by Mongane Serote
  • The Palm-Wine Drinkard by Amos Tutuola
  • Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangaremoga
  • Mission to Kala by Mango Beti