CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN LITERATURE

MODERN AFRICAN CULTURE

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

“DISPLACED AFRICANS”

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”

Olaudah Equiano – “Gustavus Vassa”

NATIVE LANGUAGES TO AFRICA

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

NÉGRITUDE MOVEMENT

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

THEMES IN CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN LITERATURE

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

CHINUA ACHEBE (B. 1930)

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?