World Literature and Its Times: Vol. 2 African Literature and Its Times PDF
Preview World Literature and Its Times: Vol. 2 African Literature and Its Times
2 V O L U ME African Literature and Its Times World Literature and Its Times Profiles of Notable Literary Works and the Historical Events That Influenced Them Joyce Moss • Lorraine Valestuk GALE GROUP Detroit Hew York San Francisco London Boston Woodbridge, CT World Literature and Its Times 2 V O L U ME African Literature and Its Times World Literature and Its Times Profiles of Notable Literary Works and the Historical Events That Influenced Them Joyce Moss • Lorraine Valestuk GALE GROUP Detroit Hew York San Francisco London Boston Woodbridge, CT World STAFF Lawrence J. Trudeau, Production Editor Literature Maria Franklin, Permissions Manager and Its Times Edna Hedblad, Permissions Specialist Profiles of Notable Literary Dorothy Maki, Manufacturing Manager Works and the Historical Wendy Blurton, Senior Buyer Events That Influenced Them Mary Beth Trim per, Manager, Composition and Electronic Prepress Evi Seoud, Assistant Manager, Composition Purchasing and VOLUME Z. Electronic Prepress African Literature Cynthia Baldwin, Art Director and Its Times Pamela Gal breath, Cover and Page Designer JOYCE MOSS • LORRAINE VALESTUK Michael Logusz, Graphic Artist Randy Bassett, Image Database Supervisor Robert Duncan, Imaging Specialist Pamela A. Reed, Imaging Coordinator Dean Dauphinais, Senior Image Editor Robyn V. Young, Senior Image Editor Kelly A. Quin, Image Editor [ooFMThe paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984. This publication is a creative work fully protected by all applicable copyright laws, as well as by misappropriation, trade secret, unfair competition, and other applicable laws. The authors and editors of this work have added value to the underlying factual material here- in through one or more of the following: unique and original selection, coordination, expression, arrangement, and classification of the information. All rights to this publication will be vigorously defended. Copyright © 2000 Joyce Moss All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. ISBN 0-7876-3727-0 Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 32 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Moss, Joyce, 1951- African literature and its times: profiles of notable literary works and the historical events that influenced them / Joyce Moss, Lorraine Valestuk. p. cm. — (World literature and its times; v.2) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-7876-3727-0 (hardcover: alk. paper) 1. African literature—History and criticism. 2. Literature and history— Africa. 3. Africa—History—Miscellanea. I. Valestuk, Lorraine, 1963- II. Title. III. Series. PL8010 .M65 2000 809'.896—dc21 00-024488 CIP Rev. Contents Preface vii Acknowledgments xi Introduction xiii Chronology of Relevant Events xvii Contents by Title xxxix Contents by Author xli Photo Credits xliii Entries 1 Index 527 v General Preface T he world at the turn of the twenty-first World Literature and Its Times regards both fic- century is a shrinking sphere. Innovative tion and nonfiction as rich mediums for under- modes of transmission make communica- standing the differences, as well as the similari- tion from one continent to another almost in- ties, among people and societies. In its view, full stantaneous, encouraging the development of an understanding of a literary work demands atten- increasingly global society, heightening the ur- tion to events and attitudes of the periods in gency of the need for mutual understanding. At which the work takes place and the one in which the foundation of World Literature and Its Times it is written. The series therefore examines a wide is the belief that within a people's literature are range of novels, short stories, biographies, keys to their perspectives, their emotions, and speeches, poems, and plays by contextualizing a the formative events that have brought them to work in these two periods. Each volume covers the present point. some 50 literary works that span a mix of cen- As manifested in their literary works, societies turies and genres. Invariably the literary work experience phenomena that are in some instances takes center stage, with its contents determining universal and in other instances tied to time and which issues—social, political, psychological, place. T. S. Eliot's poem The Wasteland, for ex- economic, or cultural—are covered in a given ample, is set in Europe in the early 1920s, when entry. Every entry discusses the relevant issues the region was rife with the disenchantment of the apart from the literary work, making connections post-World War I era. Coincidentally, Juan Rulfo's to it when merited and allowing for comparisons novel Pedro Paramo, set in Latin America over a between the literary and the historical realities. spread of decades that includes the 1920s, features Close attention is also given to the literary work a protagonist whose last name means "bleak plain" itself in the interest of gleaning historical under- or "wasteland." The two literary works, though standings from it. written oceans apart, conjure a remarkably simi- Of course, the function of literature is not nec- lar atmosphere. Likewise Andre Brink's novel A essarily to represent history accurately. Never- Dry White Season concerns the torture of political theless the images promoted by a powerful liter- prisoners in South Africa in the 1970s while Is- ary work—be it Jose Hernandez's poem The abelle Allende's House of the Spirits portrays such Gaucho Martin Fierro (set in Argentina), Isak Di- torture in Chile during the same decade. A close nesen's memoir Out of Africa (Kenya), or William look at the two instances, however—and the two Shakespeare's play Macbeth (Scotland)—leave wastelands referred to above—exposes illuminat- impressions that are commonly taken to be his- ing differences, which are tied to the times and torical. In taking literature as fact, one risks ac- places in which the respective works are set. quiring mistaken notions of history. In the vii I process of describing life in Africa, for example, World Literature and Its Times unscrambles the various European novels of the early to mid- plot, providing a linear rendering of events and twentieth century evoked an image of its people associated historical information. In the case of Preface as generally barbarous and simple- minded. Suc- the epics, the series profiles customs particular ceeding these novels were works that showed this to the respective cultures, arming the reader with image to be false, such as Chinua Achebe's Things details that inform the heroes' adventures. The Fall Apart, which reveals the ethnic richness of approach sheds light on the relationship between life among the Igbo of Nigeria, evoking a so- fact and fiction, both of which are shown to pro- phistication that belies stereotypes in the earlier, vide insight into the people who generated the European fiction. In fact, many of the works cov- epic. As always, the series takes this approach ered in this series upset longstanding stereotypes, with appreciation for the beauty of the literary from Bartolome de Las Casas's A Short Account of work independent of historical facts, but also in the Destruction of the Indies (mid-1500s Latin the belief that ultimate regard is shown for the America) to Ferdinand Oyono's Houseboy (mid- work by placing it in the context of pertinent 1900s French Cameroon). events. Beyond upsetting stereotypic images, literary Beyond this underlying belief, the series is works broaden our understanding of history. founded on the notion that a command of world They are able to convey more than the cut-and- literature bolsters knowledge of the writings pro- dried record by portraying events in a way that duced by one's own society. Long before the pre- captures the fears and challenges of a period, or sent century, fiction and nonfiction writers from by drawing attention to groups of people who different locations influenced one another are generally left out of standard histories. This through trends and strategies in their literatures. is well illustrated with writings about women in In our postcolonial age, such cross-fertilization different societies—from Rosario Ferre's short has quickened. Latin American literature, influ- story "The Youngest Doll" (Puerto Rico), to Flora enced by French and Spanish trends, in turn in- Nwapa's novel Efuru (Nigeria), to Mary Woll- fluences African writers of today. This is well il- stonecraft's essay A Vindication of the Rights of lustrated by the Moroccan novel The Sand Child, Woman (England). Taken together, the entries one of whose characters resembles Argentine au- present a cross-section of perspectives and ex- thor Jorge Luis Borges. Likewise, Africa's literary periences of women and others in the societies tradition has affected and been affected by of a region in a manner that begins to do justice France's, and the same relationship holds true for to their complexity. the traditions of India and Great Britain. The de- Nonfiction too must be anchored in its place gree of such literary intermixture promises only and times to derive its full value. Octavio Paz's to multiply in our increasingly global society. In essay The Labyrinth of Solitude explains the char- the process, world literature and its landmark acter of contemporary Mexicans as a product of texts gain even greater significance, attaining the historical experience; the entry on the essay am- potential to promote understanding not only of plifies this experience. Another entry, on Albert others, but also of ourselves. Memmi's The Pillar of Salt, uses the less direct genre of biography to depict the life of an Arab The Selection of Literary Works Jew during the Nazi occupation of North Africa. A third entry, on Frantz Fanon's essays in The The works chosen for African Literature and Its Wretched of the Earth, considers the merits of vi- Times have been carefully selected by professors olence in view of the ravages inflicted on the col- at the universities detailed in "Acknowledg- onized in places such as Algeria. ments." Keeping the literature-history connec- The task of reconstructing the historical con- tion in mind, the team made its selections based text of a literary work can be problematic. An au- on a combination of factors: how frequently a lit- thor may present events out of chronological or- erary work is studied, how closely it is tied to der, as Carlos Fuentes does in The Death of pivotal events in the past or present, and how Artemio Cruz (Mexico), or may feature legendary strong and enduring its appeal has been to read- heroes who defy attempts to fit them neatly into ers in and out of the society that produced it. At- an exact time slot (such as the warrior Beowulf tention has been paid to all regions of the con- of Denmark, glorified in England's epic poetry; tinent. There has also been a careful effort to or the Manding hero Sunjata, who founds the represent female as well as male authors, to cover empire of Mali). In the case of Fuentes's novel, a mix of genres, and to include a number of pre- viii colonial works available in English, though they erature that illuminates our understanding are far scarcer than the current century's offer- of events or attitudes of the period. This ing. Also for colonial and postcolonial works, the subsection takes an inductive approach, Preface I selection was limited to those that are presently starting with the literary work, and broad- available in English. However, recognizing that ening outward to events in history. It is fol- much of Africa's finest literature was written in lowed by a third subsection specifying other languages, a careful effort has been made sources that inspired elements of the work to include translations of works that first ap- and discussing its literary context, or rela- peared in Arabic, French, Portuguese, or a local tion to other works. African language as well as those that first ap- 4. Events in History at the Time the Liter- peared in English. ary Work Was Written—describes social, political, and/or literary events in the au- Format and Arrangement of Entries thor's lifetime that relate to the plot or con- tents of a work. Also discussed in this sec- The volumes in World Literature and Its Times are tion are the reviews or reception accorded arranged geographically. Within each volume, the literary work. entries are arranged alphabetically by title of the literary work. The time period in which the work 5. For More Information—provides a list of is set appears at the beginning of an entry. all sources that have been cited in the en- Each entry is organized as follows: try as well as sources for further reading about the different issues or personalities 1. Introduction—identifying information in featured in the entry. three parts: If the literary work is set and written in the The literary work—specifies the genre, the same time period, sections 2 and 4 of the entry place and time in which the work is set, on that work ("Events in History at the Time the the year it was first published, and, if ap- Literary Work Takes Place" and "Events in His- plicable, the year in which it was first tory at the Time the Literary Work Was Writ- translated; also provided, for translations, ten") are combined into the single section "Events is the title of the literary work in its orig- in History at the Time of the Literary Work." inal language. Synopsis—summarizes the storyline or contents of the work. Additional Features Introductory paragraph—introduces the Whenever possible, primary source material is literary work in relation to the author's life. provided through quotations in the text and ma- terial in sidebars. The sidebars include historical 2. Events in History at the Time the Liter- details that amplify issues raised in the text, and ary Work Takes Place—describes social anecdotes that provide a fuller understanding of and political events that relate to the plot the temporal context. Every effort has been made or contents of the literary work. The sec- in both the sidebars and the text to define in con- tion may discuss background information text unusual or locally nuanced terms. There are as well as relevant events during the period timelines in various entries to summarize intri- in which the work is set. Subsections vary cate series of events. Finally, historically relevant depending on the literary work. Taking a illustrations enrich and further clarify the infor- deductive approach, the section starts with mation. events in history and telescopes inward to events in the literary work. Comments and Suggestions 3. The Literary Work in Focus—summa- rizes in detail the plot or contents of the Your comments on this series and suggestions for work, describes how it illuminates history, future editions are welcome. Please write: Edi- and identifies sources used by the author. tors, World Literature and Its Times, Gale Group, After the summary of the work comes a 27500 Drake Road, Farmington Hills, Michigan subsection focusing on an aspect of the lit- 48331-3535. ix Acknowledgments A frican Literature and Its Times is a collab- Mona Mikhail, New York University, orative effort that evolved through several Department of Middle Eastern Studies stages of development, each of which was Emmanuel Obiechina, University of Nigeria, monitored by experts in North, South, East, and Department of English West African literatures. A special thank you goes Olakunle George, University of Oregon, to Emmanuel Obiechina of the University of Department of English Nigeria, Roger Beck of Eastern Illinois Univer- sity, Julia Clancy-Smith of the University of Ari- The following professors carefully reviewed zona, Chris Ehret of the University of California, the entries to insure accuracy and completeness and Ernest N. Emenyonu of Southern Connecti- of information. Sincere gratitude is extended to cut University for their enthusiastic guidance at these professors: every stage in the process. Hedi Abdel-Jaouad, Skidmore College, For their incisive participation in selecting the Department of Foreign Language and literary works covered in the volume, the edi- Literatures tors extend deep appreciation to the following F. Odun Balogun, Delaware State University, professors: Department of English/Communications Ned Alpers, University of California at Los Roger Beck, Eastern Illinois University, Angeles, Department of History Department of History Roger Beck, Eastern Illinois University, Ali Behdad, University of California at Los Department of History Angeles, Department of English Ali Behdad, University of California at Los Elleke Boehmer, University of Leeds, School Angeles, Department of English of English Julia Clancy-Smith, University of Arizona, Donald Cosentino, University of California Department of History at Los Angeles, Department of World Donald Cosentino, University of California Arts and Cultures at Los Angeles, Department of World Ross Dunn, San Diego State University, Arts and Culture Department of History Chris Ehret, University of California at Los Chris Ehret, University of California at Los Angeles, Department of History Angeles, Department of History Ernest N. Emenyonu, Southern Connecticut Ernest N. Emenyonu, Southern Connecticut State University, Department of English State University, Department of English xi
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