African Literature

Concentrating on issues of power and change, Annie Gagiano's close reading of literary texts by Chinua Achebe, Bessie Head, and Dambudzo Marechera teases out each author's view of    More >

Albert Memmi published the first anthology of francophone Maghrebian literature, he expressed his unhappy belief that francophone writing would quickly be eclipsed by Arabic. To the    More >

Ngoza, in KwaZulu-Natal—South Africa's most turbulent province—is transformed when clan leader Baba Joshua dies and his headstrong daughter tackles the age-old shibboleths    More >

Though Sahelian culture likely dates back more than five thousand years—encompassing Africa's greatest empires—the Sahel remains little known in the English-speaking world.    More >

Tawfiq al-Hakim (1898-1987) dedicated much of his long life to a fruitful attempt to advance the fortunes of twentieth century Arabic literature by writing it. This guide to his work    More >

ForeWord Magazine's Reference Book of the Year, 2007! Ranging from ancient cultures to the present century, from Africa's rich oral traditions to its contemporary fiction,    More >

African Lives, a pioneering anthology of memoirs and autobiographical writings, lets the people of Africa speak for themselves—telling stories of struggle and achievement that have the    More >

This anthology of never-before-published poems showcases a new generation of African women poets, some familiar, some just beginning their literary careers. Their rich voices belie popular    More >

Dennis Brutus (1924-2009) is perhaps best known for his powerful poems chronicling the suffering of apartheid in South Africa. But he was also a political activist whose voice helped to    More >

When Lauretta Ngcobo died in 2015, Africa lost a significant literary talent, freedom fighter, and feminist voice. Ngcobo was one of the pioneering writers who first published novels in    More >

Seismic shifts in Zimbabwe's politics since the 2017 demise of Robert Mugabe have generated renewed interest in Ndabaningi Sithole, the first president of the Zimbabwe African National    More >

Ntongela Masilela (1948–2020) is perhaps best known for collecting, archiving, and expounding on the works of South African and other African intellectuals—most notably members    More >

As a leader of the South African Coloured People's Organisation and a communist, Alex La Guma was charged with treason, banned, lived under house arrest, and ultimately forced into    More >