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).
 

Recommended Resources

  1. African Long Fiction
  2. Death and the King's Horseman Study Guide (eNotes) - Wole Soyinka
  3. Post-Apartheid Literature
  4. Postcolonial African Literature
  5. Things Fall Apart Study Guide (eNotes) - Chinua Achebe

All Resources

Display as: Categories, List
  1. African Long Fiction
  2. African Poetry
  3. African Short Fiction
  4. Alan Paton
  5. Ama Ata Aidoo (Contemporary Literary Criticism)
  6. Amos Tutuola (Critical Survey of Long Fiction)
  7. Anowa Study Guide (eNotes) - Ama Ata Aidoo
  8. Ayi Kwei Armah (Contemporary Literary Criticism: Vol. 136)
  9. Ayi Kwei Armah (Contemporary Literary Criticism: Vol. 5)
  10. Ayi Kwei Armah (Critical Survey of Long Fiction)
  11. Ayi Kwei Armah (Cyclopedia of World Authors)
  12. Chinua Achebe
  13. Chinua Achebe (Contemporary Literary Criticism: Vol. 127)
  14. Chinua Achebe (Cyclopedia of World Authors)
  15. Chinua Achebe (Dictionary of World Biography: The 20th Century)
  16. Cry, the Beloved Country Study Guide (eNotes) - Alan Paton
  17. Death and the King's Horseman Study Guide (eNotes) - Wole Soyinka
  18. Dennis Brutus (Poetry Criticism)
  19. Disgrace Study Guide (quickNotes) - J. M. Coetzee
  20. Dusklands Study Guide (eNotes) - J. M. Coetzee
  21. English-Language African Drama
  22. Ezekiel Mphahlele (Critical Survey of Short Fiction)
  23. French-Language African Drama
  24. July's People Study Guide (eNotes) - Nadine Gordimer
  25. Kofi Awoonor (Critical Survey of Poetry)
  26. Léopold Sédar Senghor (Contemporary Literary Criticism)
  27. Léopold Sédar Senghor (Critical Survey of Poetry)
  28. Léopold Sédar Senghor (Cyclopedia of World Authors)
  29. Modern African Literature
  30. Mongo Beti (Contemporary Literary Criticism)
  31. Mongo Beti (Cyclopedia of World Authors)
  32. Nadine Gordimer
  33. Ngugi wa Thiong'o (Contemporary Literary Criticism)
  34. Ngugi wa Thiong’o (Critical Survey of Long Fiction)
  35. Ngugi wa Thiong’o (Cyclopedia of World Authors)
  36. No Sweetness Here Study Guide (eNotes) - Ama Ata Aidoo
  37. Olaudah Equiano (Cyclopedia of World Authors)
  38. Ousmane Sembène (Critical Survey of Long Fiction)
  39. Petals of Blood Study Guide (eNotes)- Ngugi wa Thiong'o
  40. Post-Apartheid Literature
  41. Postcolonial African Literature
  42. Postcolonialism Study Guide (eNotes)
  43. Prayer to the Masks Study Guide (eNotes) - Leopold Sedar Senghor
  44. The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African (Masterplots II: African American Literature Series) - Olaudah Equiano
  45. The Martyr Study Guide (eNotes) - Ngugi wa Thiong'o
  46. Things Fall Apart Study Guide (eNotes) - Chinua Achebe
  47. Wole Soyinka
  48. Wole Soyinka (Dictionary of World Biography: The 20th Century)
  49. Zora Neale Hurston (Short Story Criticism)