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Contemporary African Literature

Contemporary African Literature. Consists of ancient tribal practices Religious rituals “living dead” ancestors Folk tales Talking drums Also consists of Western influences Christianity Recorded music Cinemas Automated transportation. Modern African Culture.

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Contemporary African Literature

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  1. Contemporary African Literature

  2. Consists of ancient tribal practices • Religious rituals • “living dead” ancestors • Folk tales • Talking drums • Also consists of Western influences • Christianity • Recorded music • Cinemas • Automated transportation Modern African Culture

  3. The first Africans to write poetry, plays, personal narratives and literature were those displaced by the trans-Atlantic slave trade in the 1600’s • Phyllis Wheatley – “On Being Brought from Africa to America” • OlaudahEquiano – “GustavusVassa” “Displaced Africans”

  4. Ashanti – Central Ghana (Western Africa) Douala – Cameroon Ewe – Togo, Ghana, & Dahomey Kikuyu – Bantu people of Kenya (Swahili & Zulu) Hausa – Sudan and northern Nigeria Igbo - Nigeria Sotho – Southern Africa Swahili – Eastern and Central Africa Xhosa – Cape of Good Hope (South Africa) Yoruba – Southwestern Nigeria Zulu – Southeastern Africa Native Languages to Africa

  5. Developed in the 1930’s by a small group of French-speaking blacks who were studying in Paris • Sought to fight against the French colonial racism • Inspired by the Harlem Renaissance • Claude McKay & Langston Hughes laid the groundwork • The writing that emerged from this told of the frustration and loss of their motherland Négritude Movement

  6. Central theme is typically related to the reclamation of African ancestry and an African view of humanity and its relationship to nature Black African Women writers are typically concerned with the changing role of women as they emerge from traditional tribal positions to assume new places in society Themes in Contemporary African Literature

  7. Nigerian native – Igbo region • Widely known for Things Fall Apart (1958) • He received international acclaim with this story • He writes in English but transforms the language to reflect the African oral tradition • He uses many Igbo proverbs to deliver the flavor of his country • Dead Men’s Path is a conflict • External conflict – between a character and a natural force • Internal conflict – occurs within a character’s mind • While reading this story focus on these questions: • Does Achebe force you to choose sides? • Does he give you a balanced picture of both sides? Chinua Achebe (b. 1930)

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