A Companion To African Literature

Preface

African literature attracts global readers and researchers as it is very rich in both oral and written forms. Today it is influential in entire academic world due to its variety and veracity. It is no more ‘voiceless and the marginalized. It has emerged out of the ‘racial perceptions’ and ‘the dynamics of “European imperialism’ that often become its subjects of interest to the global audience. The works produced after post-colonial eras are well received by the readers and critics in which resistance for uncompromised cultural identity proves to be of vital importance. Most of the African nations have not found themselves at a position they aspired to be after colonial crises that has given rise to social and political unrest. All these subjects become significant in literature besides many others.

A Companion to African Literature covers a good number of authors and literary texts of broader significance. It offers an inclusive overview and interpretation of the works of African authors both less well-known and widely acclaimed ones. They are Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo, Ama Ata Aidoo, Amos Tutuola, Benjamin Kwakye, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Chinua Achebe, Femi Osofisan, Festus lyayi, Fikre Marcos Desta, Ngugi wa Thiong’o, M. G. Vassanji, Tanure Ojaide, and Tony Afejuku.

The Companion consists of eighteen chapters on myth, spirituality, aesthetics, gender issues, social and cultural identity, psychological undercurrents, war, terrorism, political leadership, national insecurity, environmental pollution, human trafficking, prostitution, postcolonialism, ecocriticism, comparative literature, children’s literature, etc. An attempt has been made to discuss most of the issues that are sought after by the students and researchers of African literature.

It provides an essential guide to the texts and contexts including cultural and ideological ones. Most of the chapters have been contributed by African scholars which is the hallmark of the book.

University of Allahabad

26 November 2023