Literature Of Africa (literature As Windows To World Cultures)

LITERATURE OF AFRICA Recent Titles in Literature as Windows to World Cultures Modern South Asian Literature in English Paul Brians Latino Literature in America Bridget Kevane Literature of Latin America Rafael Ocasio LITERATURE OF AFRICA Douglas Kill Literature as Windows to World Cultures GREENWOOD PRESS Westport, Connecticut • London Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Killam, G. D. Literature of Africa / Douglas Killam. p. cm. — (Literature as windows to world cultures, ISSN 1543-9968) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-313-31901-4 1. African literature—History and criticism. I. Title. II. Series. PL8010.K53 2004 809\896—dc22 2004013212 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available. Copyright © 2004 by Douglas Killam All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, by any process or technique, without the express written consent of the publisher. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2004013212 ISBN: 0-313-31901-4 ISSN: 1543-9968 First published in 2004 Greenwood Press, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881 An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. www. greenwood. com Printed in the United States of America The paper used in this book complies with the Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National Information Standards Organization (Z39.48-1984). 10 987654321 1 Contents Acknowledgments vii Introduction ix Africa and Europe PART I A SELECTED HISTORY OF WEST AFRICAN LITERATURE 1 Chinua Achebe: Things Pall Apart (1958), No Longer r at Ease (1960), Arrow of God (1963), A Man of the People (1966), and Anthills of the Savannah (1987) 19 xiii 1 19 2 Buchi Emecheta: The Bride Price (1976) and The Joys of Motherhood (1979) 37 3 Ayi Kwei Armah: The Beautyful Ones Are Not Tet Born (1968) 47 47 4 Miriama Ba: So Long a Letter (1981) 55 55 5 Sembene Ousmane: God's Bits of Wood (1962) 61 61 PART II 6 A SELECTED HISTORY OF EAST AFRICAN LITERATURE Ngugi wa Thiong'o: A Grain of Wheat (1967) Petals of Blood (1977), and Matagari (1989) 67 83 Contentsa VI PART III PART IV A SELECTED HISTORY OF SOUTHCENTRAL AFRICAN LITERATURE A SELECTED HISTORY OF SOUTH AFRICAN LITERATURE AND POLITICS 7 Nadine Gordimer: BurgeDaughter and The House Gun (1998) 8 9 10 99 105 143 Alex La Guma: In the Fog of the Season's End (1972) and Time of the Butcherbird (1979) 153 Alan Paton: Cry, the Beloved Country (1948) 163 Bessie Head: When Rain Clouds Gather (1968) 169 Biographies 175 Further Readings 193 Index 195 Acknowledgments I have shared the excitement of African literature with many people since I first read Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart in 1960. Eldred Jones, John Ramsaran, Ayo Banjo, Sam Asein, Wole Soyinka, J. P.Clark, Bruce King, Keith Sambrook, James Currey, Chinua Achebe, Margaret Laurence, Bernth Lindfors, John Reed, Stephen Arnold, Rowland Smith, Bernard Fonlon, and Johan van Wyk are colleagues and friends who have shared and shaped my interest and opinions on African literature over the years. To them I owe a special debt of gratitude and friendship. I also want to thank Marie M. Davis for her monumental help with this book. This page intentionally left blank Introduction B ecause the work of African writers is known and read throughout the English-speaking world and well beyond, this book, a guide to African literature, is also a guide to a part of world literature. Indeed, in virtually all countries of the wor