The Growth Of The African Novel

Engaging questions of language, identity, and reception to restore South African and diaspora writing to the African literary tradition

This Third Edition of Approaches to the African Novel is a child of necessity. Because of the unfortunate death of the publisher of Saros International who issued the First Edition and high demand this third, enlarged edition has become imperative. Three new essays (all previously published) are added, two expectedly on Achebe (the father of the African novel) and one on Mongp Betiís Mission to Kala which was partially anthologised in Contemporary Literary Criticism (Volume 27, 1984). Achebeís Things Fall Apart as an Igbo national epic has evoked a spate of reactions from critics of African literature especially the troika Chinweizu et al. in Toward the Decolonization of African Literature. It was also anthologised in Modern Black Literature edited by S. Okechukwu Menu (1971). The essay on Arrow of God whose structure and meaning has been largely avoided by other critics is included here for further airing. For gender balance, as the previous volume contained no essays on women writers, an essay on Flora Nwapa has been added. Since the novels discussed in this volume exclusively are on the African literature south of the Sahara, the last essay on Peter Abrahams comes in to round out this collection of essays with a study of a south African writer, for geographical balance.

This collection of papers results from the 15th annual meeting of the African Literature Association which was held in Dakar, Senegal, and was the first such meeting to be held in Africa. Topics covered include approaches and literary theory, language and history, thematic analysis, and literature in the African Diaspora.

This volume of the historic journal African Literature Today provides an overview of the position of African literature at the end of the 20th century and an examination of the directions that African literature is now taking with new and emerging writers and the growth of writing by African women. Contributors examine the influence of new concerns such as globalization and the view from the diaspora and anticipate where this might lead the next generation of African writers. Contents: Editorial Article: New Directions in African Literature: Building on the Legacies of the 20th Century by Ernest N. Emenyonu- Articles: African Literature in the 21st Century: Challenges for Writers & Critics by Charles Nnolim-Bursting at the Seams: New Dimensions for African Literature in the 21st Century by Thomas Hale- New Trends in the Sierra Leonean Novel by Eustace Palmer- Transcultural Identity in African Narrative of Childhood by Richard Priebe-The Marks Left on the Surface; Zoe Wicomb's David's Story by Kenneth W. Harrow- Mothering Daughters: The Other Side of the Story by Monica Bungaro-Transcending the Margins: New Trends in Female Writings in Africa by Iniobong I. Uko-Rethinking Nation and Narrative in a Global Era: Recent African Writing by Nana Wilson-Tagoe-A Last Shot at the 20th Century Canon by Bernth Lindfors-Reviews.

A supplement to Palmer's earlier works on the African novel, An Introduction to the African Novel and The Growth of the African Novel. Here, Palmer undertakes a detailed critical assessment of key novels he feels are typical of the main trends within the genre.