| Writer | Works & Details |
|---|---|
| Chinua Achebe (1930-2013) | "Father of African Literature" Things Fall Apart (1958): Most widely read African novel Protagonist: Okonkwo (tragic hero), Umuofia village, Igbo society 3 Parts: (1) Pre-colonial (2) Arrival of missionaries (3) Colonial aftermath Title from: W.B. Yeats's "The Second Coming" - "Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold" Okonkwo's tragic flaw: Fear of weakness, kills Ikemefuna, accidentally kills boy, exiled 7 years, kills messenger, commits suicide Characters: Nwoye (son, converts), Ezinma (daughter), Obierika (friend), Mr. Brown (missionary), Reverend James Smith (harsh missionary), District Commissioner Final irony: DC plans book "The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes" - Okonkwo reduced to paragraph No Longer at Ease (1960): Sequel, Obi Okonkwo (grandson), modern Nigeria, corruption Arrow of God (1964): Ezeulu (chief priest), Igbo vs. British A Man of the People (1966): Political satire, Chief Nanga Anthills of the Savannah (1987): Military dictatorship, Booker Prize shortlist African Trilogy: Things Fall Apart, No Longer at Ease, Arrow of God Essays: "The Novelist as Teacher" (1965), "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness" (1975) - controversial critique Home and Exile (2000) There Was a Country (2012): Memoir about Biafran War Language debate: Defended writing in English (vs. Ngugi's position) |
| Wole Soyinka (1934-present) | Nobel Prize: 1986 (first African to win Literature Nobel) Citation: "in a wide cultural perspective and with poetic overtones fashions the drama of existence" A Dance of the Forests (1960): Play for Nigerian independence The Lion and the Jewel (1963): Comedy, Sidi (beautiful village girl), Lakunle (teacher), Baroka (Bale/chief) Kongi's Harvest (1965): Political satire Death and the King's Horseman (1975): Based on 1946 real incident, Elesin (horseman must commit ritual suicide), British intervention, Olunde (son) The Road (1965) Madmen and Specialists (1970) Poetry: Idanre and Other Poems (1967), A Shuttle in the Crypt (1972 - prison poems) Prose: The Interpreters (1965 - novel), Season of Anomy (1973 - novel) Autobiography: Aké: The Years of Childhood (1981), Ìsarà: A Voyage Around Essay (1989), Ibadan: The Penkelemes Years (1994) The Man Died (1972): Prison notes (detained during Biafran War 1967-69) Myth, Literature and the African World (1976): Literary criticism Political activism: Opposed dictatorships, exiled multiple times |
| Ben Okri (1959-present) | The Famished Road (1991): Booker Prize Protagonist: Azaro (abiku - spirit child), magical realism Abiku: Child destined to die and return repeatedly Sequel trilogy: Songs of Enchantment (1993), Infinite Riches (1998) The Landscapes Within (1981): First novel Flowers and Shadows (1980) Magical realist style |
| Buchi Emecheta (1944-2017) | The Joys of Motherhood (1979): Nnu Ego, Lagos, ironic title Second-Class Citizen (1974): Adah in London, semi-autobiographical The Bride Price (1976) The Slave Girl (1977) In the Ditch (1972): First novel Feminist perspective, women's experiences Born Nigeria, moved to UK |
| Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (1977-present) | Purple Hibiscus (2003): First novel, Kambili, religious father Eugene, Commonwealth Writers' Prize Half of a Yellow Sun (2006): Biafran War (1967-70), Olanna, Ugwu, Orange Prize (Women's Prize) Title: Biafran flag (half of yellow sun) Americanah (2013): Ifemelu (blogger), Obinze, Nigeria/USA, race/immigration, National Book Critics Circle Award "We Should All Be Feminists" (2014): Essay/TED talk, adapted from 2012 talk The Thing Around Your Neck (2009): Short stories "The Danger of a Single Story" (2009): TED talk MacArthur Fellowship: 2008 |
| Amos Tutuola (1920-1997) | The Palm-Wine Drinkard (1952): First novel, quest narrative, Yoruba folklore Subtitle: "and His Dead Palm-Wine Tapster in the Deads' Town" Style: Non-standard English, oral tradition influence Dylan Thomas praised it My Life in the Bush of Ghosts (1954) Simbi and the Satyr of the Dark Jungle (1955) |
| Cyprian Ekwensi (1921-2007) | People of the City (1954) Jagua Nana (1961): Prostitute protagonist, Lagos Burning Grass (1962) Pioneer of West African popular fiction |
| Flora Nwapa (1931-1993) | Efuru (1966): First novel by African woman published internationally Idu (1970) Women-centered narratives, Igbo culture |
| Writer | Works & Details |
|---|---|
| Ayi Kwei Armah (1939-present) | The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born (1968): Post-independence disillusionment, "the man" (unnamed protagonist), Ghana, corruption Title: From bus inscription Imagery: Decay, excrement, rot Fragments (1970) Two Thousand Seasons (1973): Epic, African history The Healers (1978) |
| Ama Ata Aidoo (1942-present) | Our Sister Killjoy (1977): Novel, Sissie in Europe Changes: A Love Story (1991): Commonwealth Writers' Prize The Dilemma of a Ghost (1965): Play Anowa (1970): Play No Sweetness Here (1970): Short stories Feminist writer, poet, playwright |
| Kofi Awoonor (1935-2013) | This Earth, My Brother (1971): Novel Rediscovery and Other Poems (1964) Night of My Blood (1971): Poetry The House by the Sea (1978): Poetry Poet, novelist, diplomat Killed: Westgate shopping mall attack, Nairobi, 2013 |
| Writer | Works & Details |
|---|---|
| Ngugi wa Thiong'o (1938-present) | Born: James Ngugi, changed name to Ngugi wa Thiong'o (1970s) Weep Not, Child (1964): First novel, Njoroge, Mau Mau rebellion, first East African novel in English The River Between (1965): Waiyaki, Honia River, circumcision controversy, pre-colonial/colonial clash A Grain of Wheat (1967): Mau Mau, independence (Uhuru), multiple perspectives, Mugo (traitor), set 1963 Petals of Blood (1977): Neo-colonialism, Ilmorog village, murder mystery Devil on the Cross (1980): First novel in Gikuyu language, allegorical Original Gikuyu title: Caitaani mũtharaba-Inĩ Detained: A Writer's Prison Diary (1981): Imprisoned 1977-78 without trial Decolonising the Mind (1986): Essays, farewell to English Famous statement: "I will write in Gikuyu from now on" - stopped writing fiction in English The Wizard of the Crow (2006): In Gikuyu, translated to English Plays: The Black Hermit (1962), The Trial of Dedan Kimathi (1976, with Micere Mugo) Exiled: 1982 (assassination attempt), lived in USA Distinguished Professor: UC Irvine |
| Grace Ogot (1930-2015) | The Promised Land (1966) Land Without Thunder (1968): Short stories The Other Woman (1976) First Anglophone female Kenyan writer published Luo tradition featured |
| Meja Mwangi (1948-present) | Kill Me Quick (1973) Going Down River Road (1976) The Cockroach Dance (1979) Urban poverty, Nairobi slums |
| Writer | Works & Details |
|---|---|
| Nadine Gordimer (1923-2014) | Nobel Prize: 1991 White South African anti-apartheid activist The Conservationist (1974): Booker Prize (joint winner) Burger's Daughter (1979): Rosa Burger, banned in South Africa initially July's People (1981): Post-apocalyptic, race reversal, Maureen Smales family sheltered by Black servant July A Guest of Honour (1970) The Pickup (2001) My Son's Story (1990) Short stories: "The Soft Voice of the Serpent" (1952), "Six Feet of the Country" ANC ally, Nelson Mandela friend |
| J.M. Coetzee (1940-present) | Nobel Prize: 2003 2 Booker Prizes: Life & Times of Michael K (1983), Disgrace (1999) Disgrace (1999): David Lurie (professor), sexual harassment dismissal, Lucy (daughter), farm attack, post-apartheid Waiting for the Barbarians (1980): Allegorical, unnamed Magistrate, Empire Life & Times of Michael K (1983): Michael K (gardener, harelip), civil war In the Heart of the Country (1977) Foe (1986): Rewriting of Robinson Crusoe, Susan Barton The Master of Petersburg (1994): Fictionalized Dostoevsky Elizabeth Costello (2003) Boyhood (1997), Youth (2002), Summertime (2009): Autobiographical trilogy White South African, later Australian citizen Sparse, allegorical style |
| Alan Paton (1903-1988) | Cry, the Beloved Country (1948): Most famous Characters: Reverend Stephen Kumalo (Zulu priest), Absalom Kumalo (son, murderer), James Jarvis (white farmer, victim's father), Arthur Jarvis (murdered liberal) Setting: Ndotsheni (rural) + Johannesburg Structure: 3 books Refrain: "Cry, the beloved country..." Published: Before apartheid officially began (1948), prophetic Too Late the Phalarope (1953) Ah, But Your Land Is Beautiful (1981) Founded: Liberal Party of South Africa |
| Athol Fugard (1932-2021) | Master Harold...and the Boys (1982): Semi-autobiographical play, Hally (white boy), Sam and Willie (Black servants), spitting incident The Blood Knot (1961): Two brothers (light/dark skinned) Sizwe Banzi Is Dead (1972): Collaborative, identity passbook The Island (1973): Robben Island prisoners, collaborative A Lesson from Aloes (1978) Boesman and Lena (1969) Playwright, anti-apartheid themes |
| Bessie Head (1937-1986) | Born: South Africa, moved to Botswana (refugee/exile) When Rain Clouds Gather (1968): First novel, Botswana Maru (1971): Racial prejudice, Basarwa people A Question of Power (1973): Mental illness, Elizabeth (protagonist), autobiographical elements The Collector of Treasures (1977): Short stories Serowe: Village of the Rain Wind (1981): Oral history Mixed race, institutionalized as child, struggled with mental health |
| Peter Abrahams (1919-2017) | Mine Boy (1946): Johannesburg mines, Xuma The Path of Thunder (1948) Tell Freedom (1954): Autobiography A Wreath for Udomo (1956) Pioneer Black South African novelist in English |
| Alex La Guma (1925-1985) | A Walk in the Night (1962): Novella, Cape Town, Michael Adonis And a Threefold Cord (1964) In the Fog of the Season's End (1972) Time of the Butcherbird (1979) Communist, anti-apartheid activist, exiled |
| Writer | Works & Details |
|---|---|
| Doris Lessing (1919-2013) | Nobel Prize: 2007 Born: Iran (Persia), raised in Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) The Grass Is Singing (1950): First novel, Mary Turner murdered by Black servant Moses The Golden Notebook (1962): Anna Wulf, 4 colored notebooks + golden, feminist classic Structure: "Free Women" sections + 4 notebooks (black, red, yellow, blue) + golden notebook Children of Violence series (5 novels, 1952-69): Martha Quest protagonist The Good Terrorist (1985) The Fifth Child (1988) Canopus in Argos: Archives (5 sci-fi novels) Memoirs of a Survivor (1974) Communist Party: Member then left (1950s) Feminist icon (though she rejected label) |
| Tsitsi Dangarembga (1959-present) | Nervous Conditions (1988): First novel by Black Zimbabwean woman in English Protagonist: Tambudzai (Tambu), Rhodesia 1960s-70s Opening: "I was not sorry when my brother died" Title from: Jean-Paul Sartre - "condition of native is a nervous condition" Sequel: The Book of Not (2006) This Mournable Body (2018): Booker Prize shortlist Trilogy follows Tambu into adulthood |
| Chenjerai Hove (1956-2015) | Bones (1988): Commonwealth Writers' Prize Shadows (1991) Ancestors (1996) Poet and novelist |
| Writer | Works & Details |
|---|---|
| Léopold Sédar Senghor (1906-2001) | Senegalese poet, first President of Senegal (1960-80) Négritude co-founder with Aimé Césaire Chants d'ombre (1945): Shadow Songs Hosties noires (1948): Black Hosts Ethiopiques (1956) Nocturnes (1961) French language (Francophone) Académie française: First African elected (1983) Definition: "Négritude is the sum total of the cultural values of the black world" |
| Aimé Césaire (1913-2008) | Martinican poet Négritude co-founder Cahier d'un retour au pays natal (1939): Notebook of a Return to the Native Land - epic poem Une Tempête (1969): A Tempest - adaptation of Shakespeare's Tempest, postcolonial Discourse on Colonialism (1950): Essay French language (Francophone) |
| Négritude Movement | Founded: 1930s Paris by Black Francophone intellectuals Key figures: Senghor, Césaire, Léon Damas (French Guiana) Affirmed: Black cultural identity, African values Influenced: African independence movements, Black consciousness Critics: Wole Soyinka - "A tiger does not proclaim his tigritude, he pounces" |
| Writer | Works & Details |
|---|---|
| Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o | [See Kenyan Writers section above] |
| Nuruddin Farah (1945-present) | Somali novelist From a Crooked Rib (1970): First novel, woman protagonist Blood in the Sun trilogy: Sweet and Sour Milk (1979), Sardines (1981), Close Sesame (1983) Maps (1986) Gifts (1993) Neustadt International Prize for Literature (1998) Exiled since 1976 |
| Dambudzo Marechera (1952-1987) | Zimbabwean The House of Hunger (1978): Short stories, Guardian Fiction Prize Black Sunlight (1980): Novel Experimental, surrealist style Controversial, iconoclastic |
| Festus Iyayi (1947-2013) | Nigerian Violence (1979): Commonwealth Writers' Prize The Contract (1982) Heroes (1986) Marxist perspective |
| Mariama Bâ (1929-1981) | Senegalese So Long a Letter (1979): Epistolary, Ramatoulaye, polygamy critique Original: Une si longue lettre (French) Scarlet Song (1981) Feminist, women's issues |
| Sembène Ousmane (1923-2007) | Senegalese God's Bits of Wood (1960): Novel about 1947-48 railway strike Original: Les Bouts de bois de Dieu (French) The Black Docker (1956) Xala (1973): Novel "Father of African Cinema" - primarily filmmaker |
| Theme | Key Works & Writers |
|---|---|
| Colonialism & Its Impact | Things Fall Apart (Achebe), Weep Not, Child (Ngugi), The River Between (Ngugi), Cry, the Beloved Country (Paton) |
| Post-Independence Disillusionment | The Beautyful Ones (Armah), A Man of the People (Achebe), No Longer at Ease (Achebe) |
| Apartheid | Cry, the Beloved Country (Paton), July's People (Gordimer), Disgrace (Coetzee), Master Harold (Fugard) |
| Women's Experiences | The Joys of Motherhood (Emecheta), Efuru (Nwapa), So Long a Letter (Bâ), Nervous Conditions (Dangarembga) |
| Cultural Conflict (Tradition vs. Modernity) | Things Fall Apart (Achebe), The River Between (Ngugi), Death and King's Horseman (Soyinka) |
| Civil War | Half of a Yellow Sun (Adichie - Biafra), A Grain of Wheat (Ngugi - Mau Mau) |
| Magical Realism | The Famished Road (Okri), The Palm-Wine Drinkard (Tutuola) |
| Exile & Diaspora | Americanah (Adichie), works by Ngugi, Nuruddin Farah, Bessie Head |