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The Ordeal of the African Writer

Charles Larson

Only a small number of African writers have become known outside their own continent (Chinua Achebe, Ben Okri, Nuruddin Farah and Wole Soyinka). They also face enormous obstacles within Africa, and this book provides writers' own testimony, pen portraits, and factual investigations.
  • Overview
  • Author Bio
  • Table of Contents
  • Reviews
  • Details

Description

The literatures of the English language experienced an extraordinary transformation in the second half of the 20th century as a result of the creative energy released by decolonization. But as this book demonstrates, only a small number of African writers - Chinua Achebe, Ben Okri, Nuruddin Farah and Wole Soyinka - have become known outside their own continent. They also face enormous obstacles within Africa getting their work published, let alone supporting themselves financially from their writing.

Charles R. Larson has followed African literature for nearly 40 years. Here he combines writers' own testimony, pen portraits of their lives, and factual investigation in order to explore the dimensions of the problem. Who is the readership in Africa? In what language should an African writer write? What obstacles do African publishing houses face and how do they treat their authors? How does economic crisis and political repression make the situation more difficult? And, most importantly, can anything be done to build a more supportive environment in which the Continent's new writers can produce and publish their work?

This book takes the reader into the little-known human reality of what it is like to be an African writer.

Author Bio

Charles R. Larson is professor of literature at the American University, Washington D.C. In addition to several works of fiction of his own, he has specialized in the study of English language writing by authors who may be considered to be outside the mainstream of North American and British fiction. Over the past 30 years he has written a very large number of articles, reviews, essays and stories published in major magazines, as well as books including Under African Skies: Modern African Stories (1997).

Table of Contents

  • 1. The Example of Amos Tutuola: Accidental Artist or Really Writer
  • 2. Talking with Paper Is Only the Beginning
  • 3. African Writers and the Quest for Publication
  • 4. African Publishers, African Publishing
  • 5. The Horror, the Horror
  • 6. Conclusion: The Crisis in African Writing

Reviews

‘Conveys something of the literary treasures of a much misunderstood continent.’
Doris Lessing

‘Impeccably researched. Professor Charles Larson’s book is elegantly written and, in my opinion, a must for everyone interested in African literature.’
Nuruddin Farah

‘Undoubtedly an important book, packed with revealing surprises, and to be recommended to anyone concerned about the literary face of the African continent.’
Tijan M. Sallah

‘A bold and daring documentation of decades of gruesome experiences on the part of African writers trying to break into print.’
Ernest N. Emenyonu, St Augustine’s College, North Carolina

Details

Publication Date: 1 August 2001
176 pages

Product ISBNs: Paperback: 9781856499316
Library Edition: 9781856499309

Zed Scholar

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