PAPERBACK ISBN: 0-88258-064-7    $27.95

264 pages; 6 x 9 inches

Essays on African Literature

by Emmanuel Obiechina

Language and Theme: Essays on African Literature is a collection of essays by noted scholar and teacher Emmanuel Obiechina that examines problems in the development of contemporary African literature, including the transition from an oral tradition to written literature. This volume also investigates a broad range of themes addressed by such outstanding writers as Chinua Achebe, Ayi Kwei Armah, Wole Soyinka, Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Gabriel Okara, and others. Among the themes examined are: perceptions of colonialism, politics in the novel, post-independence disillusionment, and victimization. Obiechina discusses the problem of transitioning from a multilingual oral method of transmitting culture to a written one, the effort of African writers to create literature in a borrowed language and address it to both indigenous and overseas audiences, and the significant themes of major writers in African literature. This thoughtful book creates a prism through which readers can perceive the complex social and political reality of contemporary Africa.

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