Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: How Achebe Ruined African Literature

on further reflecting, is it easier for some people, some nationalities, to shed their original designation and become someone else, in terms of "africanness" or "asianness" etc?
for instance, is jamaica kincaid a caribbean writer, or an american, now; or is it even more accurate to call her, or teju cole, new york writers?
paule marshall is what? african-american? caribbean (not really); t.s. eliot, of course, or joseph conrad; samuel beckett?
all of these are so mixed, that ogugua's questions resonate deeply in each case. especially take beckett: writing godot in french and in english; living in paris. irish still?
mohammed dib starting to write from/in france, about french settings; or vassanji, relocated to canada, writing about life in toronto;
vs farah who writes novels set in somalia, where he has spent practically no time there for the last 40 yrs; dennis brutus, actually zimbabwean, writing out of diaspora for most his adult life. hardly s african, yet what is he?
how about bekolo's Aristotle's Plot? in no real way cameroonian. what is it? s african actors, in english; but also a french version. shot in zimbabwe. and even if j-p is undoubtedly cameroonian, his training and working in paris for many years shaped his work deeply.
ok, enough, but the last irony. for those who knew senghor, the great father of negritude. did he have a french passport all those years he was senegal's president? did he really share something we could call frenchness (after all, he not only wrote in french, but became a member of the academie francaise; and believed deeply in la francophonie, as does his successor diouf, but not wade).
where do we get a handle on this? or is it time to admit, national identities are only a superficial part of how he locate an author or his/her novels or films. and increasingly diminishing part.
versus the argument that nollywood makes, these are films meant for the local audience, and "speak" in a nigerian language that cannot be mistaken for anything else, are part of a real space. but what is that space, lagos or nigeria?
which is like also saying, is new york the same as american (answer, well, not really)
ken

On 4/1/14 10:56 AM, Anunoby, Ogugua wrote:

CAO's assertion below got me thinking.

What are "African ingredients"? When is Literature, African Literature and when is it not? Is African Literature always and inevitably defined by the writer, geography, history, the subject (African experience), or one or a combination of the above?  Is this the same for Asian, American. European, and South American Literature? Is West Indian Literature African literature? Would a literary work by and African (by origin) on European life/experience be African or European Literature? Basil Davidson was not African by origin but is acknowledged by many as a pioneer of African History.

What is English literature for example? Is it literature in the English language? Is it literature by an English writer? Is it literature on the English experience? Is literature by a Tunisian writer, Arab or African literature or both? Is everyone on the same page on what African Literature is, should be, or is believed to be?
If the writings of William Shakespeare are English first then European Literature as many English people believe them to be, are the books of the Bible and the Koran therefore  Hebrew/Jewish and Arab/Arabian Literature respectively? Shakespeare's subject/theme I remind us, was not always English. Was he therefore writing English literature as some characterize him? Would Shakespeare agree with this characterization? The Bible and Koran's purpose/themes are recognized as universal today but they were originally insular.

Achebe said himself that in writing "Things Fall Apart", he felt compelled to tell Africa's story from the African perspective. He chose to write in the English language because he sought to reach the widest possible audience. He was right we now know. Is Achebe's "Things Fall Apart" English literature or African Literature or both?  Some who wish to undermine the greatness of the man and his work say African Literature. I would say it is World Literature.

  

 

From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com [mailto:usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Chidi Anthony Opara
Sent: Tuesday, April 01, 2014 4:27 AM
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Cc: USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: How Achebe Ruined African Literature

 

Literary productions without adequate African ingredients cannot be called African Literature, even if the producers are of African descent.

 

CAO.

On Monday, 31 March 2014 15:50:07 UTC+1, funmiara wrote:

Ladies and Gentlemen:

 

I detest the so-called experts not versed in African Literature and are shunning out ideas on the issue.  African lit encompasses Oral literature, writers from all over the CONTINENT, etc. 

 

African Literature is not ONLY about Teju Cole, Taiye Selasi, NoViolet Bulawayo, Chimamanda Adichie, etc, African literature includes Helen Oyeyemi, Aminatta Forna, Dinah Mengestu, Alain Mabackou, Assia Djebar, Mariama Ba, Oyono, Ngugi Wa Thiong''o, and more from all over the CONTINENT. 

 

We should avoid living in a bowl. 

 

 

 

Funmi Tofowomo Okelola

-In the absence of greatness, mediocrity thrives. 

http://www.cafeafricana.com

http://www.indigokafe.com

 

 

 

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--   kenneth w. harrow   faculty excellence advocate  professor of english  michigan state university  department of english  619 red cedar road  room C-614 wells hall  east lansing, mi 48824  ph. 517 803 8839  harrow@msu.edu