A friend is working on a research thesis, "Magical realism as a decolonizing tool in Ben Okri's narrative." He has asked me if I could refer him to books that cover or relate to this topic. His major question is, "where has oral tradition in Nigerian Literature gone?" So he is looking for nooks that cover oral tradition or use oral tradition in Nigerian narratives,
employ myths, riddles, aphorisms in telling stories... His argument is along these lines, I think... "Amos Tutuola's publication of The Palmwine Drinkard (1952) most Nigerian authors have abandoned African folkloric narrative style. The closest to that kind of narrative is Ben Okri's The Famished Road (1991) which was based on the African Abiku myth. Contemporary Nigerian authors like Chimamanda Adichie, Biyi Bandele-Thomas, Chris Abani and Nnedi Okoroafor swung back to what Ngugi Wa Thiongo termed, in his essay, "Afro-European Literature", that is, "literature written by Africans in European Languages." They have, in their novels, refused to blend "the factual and the fantastic, the traditional and the technological landscapes" present in a postcolonial setting (Peters, 1993:23)."
Anyway, any recommendation on books, I am sure he will greatly appreciate. I hope I hear from some of you folks..
Many thanks in advance!
- Ikhide
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