African Literature

Introduction

Chinua Achebe

Wole Soyinka

There are as many types of African literature as there are African nations—from Northern Africa to the Cape of Good Hope. However, the oral tradition, stories passed down verbally from one generation to another, is common to all of them. These stories include folktales and songs of praise for the nations’ ancestors, but in the late nineteenth century, a European scramble to conquer Africa radically changed its literature. “Trickster” tales characterize precolonial African literature, while colonial literature tends to deal with slavery and themes of independence. Postcolonial works often deal with conflicts between the past and the future and the difficulty of maintaining an African identity in the face of globalization. Today, some of the best-known African writers are Nigeria’s Chinua Achebe (Things Fall Apart) and South Africa’s Alan Paton (Cry, the Beloved Country).

Essential Facts

1. Anansi the spider is one of the most recognizable trickster figures in West African literature. Anansi is said to have created the sun, the stars, and the moon. He taught the people to farm. But he is not always a good guy. Some stories tell of how Anansi tried to hoard all of the world’s wisdom.
2. The first African novel written in English was Ethiopia Unbound by Joseph Ephraim Casely-Hayford (1911). The book combines fiction and political appeals.
3. Nigerian author Wole Soyinka was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1986.
4. Nigerian author Chinua Achebe’s best-selling novel Things Fall Apart is remarkable for its refusal to romanticize precolonial life in Africa.
5. Some of Africa’s most popular and respected poets include Lenrie Peters (Gambia), Kofi Anyidoho (Ghana), and Dennis Brutus (South Africa).