Rediscover the diversity of modern African literatures with this authoritative resource edited by a leader in the fieldHow have African literatures unfolded in their rich diversity in our modern era of decolonization, nationalisms, and extensive transnational movement of peoples? How have African writers engaged urgent questions regarding race, nation, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality? And how do African literary genres interrelate with traditional oral forms or audio-visual and digital media? A Companion to African Literatures addresses these issues and many more.Consisting of essays by distinguished scholars and emerging leaders in the field, this book offers rigorous, deeply engaging discussions of African literatures on the continent and in diaspora. It covers the four main geographical regions (East and Central Africa, North Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa), presenting ample material to learn from and think with.A Companion To African Literatures is divided into five parts. The first four cover different regions of the continent, while the fifth part considers conceptual issues and newer directions of inquiry. Chapters focus on literatures in European languages officially used in Africa -- English, French, and Portuguese -- as well as homegrown African languages: Afrikaans, Amharic, Arabic, Swahili, and Yoruba. With its lineup of lucid and authoritative analyses, readers will find in A Companion to African Literatures a distinctive, rewarding academic resource.Perfect for undergraduate and graduate students in literary studies programs with an African focus, A Companion to African Literatures will also earn a place in the libraries of teachers, researchers, and professors who wish to strengthen their background in the study of African literatures.

Notes on Contributors ixPreface xvPart I East and Central Africa 11 East and Central Africa: An Introduction 3Grace A. Musila2 Rereading East African Literature Through a Human Rights Lens: The Example of Ngugi wa Thiong'o's Weep Not, Child 19Katwiwa Mule3 Of Authenticity and Engagement in Francophone African Cultural Production 29Brian Valente-Quinn4 Literature and Hybridity in Mauritius and Réunion 45Anjali Prabhu5 The Representation of Nation and National Identity in Modern Amharic Literature 61Tewodros Gebre6 Swahili Literature (Fasihi ya Kiswahili) 79Evan Maina MwangiPart II North Africa 1017 North Africa: An Introduction 103Mohamed-Salah Omri8 Nation and Identity in Modern Arabic Literature in Egypt 117Ahmed Idrissi Alami9 Hyphens & Hymens: francoarab Literature of the Maghreb 133yasser elhariry10 Translation and North African Letters 151Tahia Abdel Nasser11 Cross-Pollination and Interweavings between the Maghreb and Sub-Saharan Africa Through Art, Cinema, and Music 165Hélène Tissières12 France and North Africa: A Cinematic Retrospective of Centuries of Entangled Relations 181Fazia AïtelPart III Southern Africa 19513 Southern Africa: An Introduction 197Stefan Helgesson14 Anglophone Literature of South Africa 213Peter Blair15 The Machinery of Life-Writing Under Zimbabwe's Third Chimurenga 235Josiah Nyanda16 The Afrikaans Cultural Expressions of the Powerless and Subjugated 251Hein Willemse17 Lusophone Southern African Literature (Angola, Mozambique) 267Luís Madureira18 A Socio-Critical Survey of Black South African English Poetry, 1900-2000 283Thengani H. NgwenyaPart IV West Africa 30319 West Africa: An Introduction 305Olakunle George20 West African Literature in English 319Neil ten Kortenaar21 Migration, Literary Imagination, and Mirages in the Francophone Text: Paths to Anthropological Mutilation 333Cilas Kemedjio22 Reading Yorùbá Literature 351Adélékè AdeekoPart V Redoublings and Reconstellations 36523 Post-Hybrid Conjunctive Consciousness in the Literature of the New African Diaspora 367Lokangaka Losambe24 Outing Africa: On Sexualities, Gender, and Transgender in African Literatures 381Chantal Zabus25 African Literature and the European Canon: From Past to Present and Back Again 399Jeanne-Marie Jackson26 War, Human Rights, and Historical Representation: Torture as Synecdoche 411Eleni Coundouriotis27 African Literature's Other Media: Art Film, Nollywood 425Noah Tsika28 Navigating Digital Worlds: African Literary Forms in the Digital Age 439Stephanie Bosch SantanaIndex 455