February 6, 2025
Colloquium

The surge of interest, popularity of African literature in global narratives

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  • January 29, 2025
  • 3 min read
The surge of interest, popularity of African literature in global narratives

By Chris Anyokwu

THE framing of the poser seems to adopt a fait accompli stance in relation to the subject matter. It could have been more intriguing if the poser had been open-ended, admitting of any possibility. But since the poser has come with built-in answers, it makes our task much easier and straightforward. That African literature is on the up and up is a no-brainer,given the inclusive and diverse climate of culture in the world today. You realize that in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s only few writers of African descent were active on the world stage, notably Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Sembene Ousmane, Ayo Kwei Armah, etc. At the turn of the century, we witnessed a deluge of writers, especially novelists storming the Western world with their masterpieces.

Ben Okri, Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo, Sefi Atta, Helon Habila, Chimamanda Adichie, Chika Unigwe, Uwem Akpan, Abubakar Adam Ibrahim, Obioma Chigozie, Chibundu Onuzo, as well as African writers are all over the place, stomping their authority. Professors Abiola Irele, Abiodun Jeyifo, Isidore Okpewho, Godini Darah, Niyi Osundare and even Soyinka (see Introduction to Myth, Literature and the African World) had bemoaned the fringe existence of African letters in the West, judging by the exiling of African voices from mainstream English departments to ancillary depts such as regional studies, cultural studies, anthropology, and the like. It’s also worth noting that the award of the Nobel prize to Soyinka in 1986 as well as Okri’s Booker prize win in 1991 with The Famished Road, Adichie’s world-conquering strides, inter alia, has helped cement the blackface in the white, white world.

In a word, the sheer multiplicity of writers from Africa strutting their stuff abroad and catching the eye, and accruing accolades along the way, are compelling factors responsible for the rise and rise of African literature. What’s more, Africans in all walks of life are punching above their weight, a feat piquantly captured in Nollywood which universalises these achievements. Is it any surprise Adichie dramatizes the role of Nollywood in this regard in her novel, Americanah? Although when you visit any bookshop in England or the US, you might not see African texts displayed in the most conspicuous places but tucked away in obscure shelves, but slowly and steadily African writers are getting noticed, read and studied.

Africa itself is coming into her own in global geopolitics with her youth taking the world by storm. And the world is taking notice as well. Whether in prose fiction, creative nonfiction (memoir, biography, art criticism, etc), drama and poetry, important work from Africa and by Africans is seizing the world by the scruff of the neck. There is, therefore, an important sense in which landmarks in popular culture (sport, music, stand-up comedy, social media activism, etc) intersect with high culture (literature). As a result, African literature has a way of mirroring this and forcing the rest of the world to take notice. Truth be told, the production and reception of African literature are carried out outside of the continent. Yet, there’s a restless tintinnabulation of emergent voices singing their dappled songs to a global audience.

Yes, it’s morning yet on creation day in Africa. And, our children are coming (apologies to Chukwuemeka Ike for his novel with same title)!

* Professor Anyokwu teaches literature at the University of Lagos

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