Author: Wole Soyinka Publisher: Cambridge University Press ISBN: 9780521398343 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 196
Book Description
Wole Soyinka, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, here analyses the interconnecting worlds of myth, ritual and literature in Africa.
Author: David Northrup Publisher: Hackett Publishing ISBN: 1624666418 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 190
Book Description
"Northrup's highly accessible book breaks through the most common barriers that readers encounter in studying African history. Each chapter takes on a common myth about Africa and explains both the sources of the myth and the research that debunks it. These provocative chapters will promote lively discussions among readers while deepening their understanding of African and world history. The book is strengthened by its incorporation of actors and issues representing the African diaspora and African Americans in particular." —Rebecca Shumway, College of Charleston
Author: Stephen Belcher Publisher: Penguin UK ISBN: 0141935316 Category : Fiction Languages : en Pages : 552
Book Description
Gathering a wide range of traditional African myths, this compelling new collection offers tales of heroes battling mighty serpents and monstrous birds, brutal family conflict and vengeance, and desperate migrations across vast and alien lands. From impassioned descriptions of animal-creators to dramatic stories of communities forced to flee monstrous crocodiles, all the narratives found here concern origins - whether of the universe, peoples or families. Together, they create a kaleidoscopic picture of the rich and varied oral traditions that have shaped the culture and society of successive generations of Africans for thousands of years, throughout the long struggle to survive and explore this massive and environmentally diverse continent.
Author: Harold Scheub Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA ISBN: 9780195124576 Category : Reference Languages : en Pages : 0
Book Description
This collection of fascinating and revealing tales captures the sprawling diversity of African mythology. Four hundred alphabetically arranged entries touch on virtually every aspect of African religious belief, from Africa's great epic themes (dualistic gods, divine tricksters, creator gods, and heroes) to descriptions of major mythic systems (the Dogon, the Asante, and the San) and beyond. Scheub covers the entire continent, from the mouth of the Nile to the shores of the Cape of Good Hope, including North African as well as sub-Saharan cultures. His retellings provide information about the respective belief system, the main characters, and related stories or variants. Perhaps most important, Scheub emphasizes the role of mythmaker as storyteller--as a performer for an audience. He studies various techniques, from the rhythmic movements of a Zulu mythmaker's hands to the way a storyteller will play on the familiar context of other myths within her cultural context. An invaluable bridge to the richly diverse oral cultures of Africa, this collection uncovers a place where story and storyteller, tradition and performance, all merge.
Author: J.K. Jackson Publisher: Simon and Schuster ISBN: 1787556344 Category : Fiction Languages : en Pages : 174
Book Description
Sub-Saharan Africa is a land of colourful contrasts and diverse cultures. Despite the destructive influences of colonialism and the slave trade and the lack of early written records, Africa has persevered with its powerful tradition of storytelling, with tales of its history passed down in songs and stories through the generations. Because of the huge diversity of lifestyles and traditions, no real unified mythology exists in Africa, but broadly speaking, a number of beliefs, ideas and themes are shared by African peoples. So this collection offers a selection of descriptions and tales, often those recorded faithfully by some of the first to put them to paper – tales of the gods, creation stories, trickster adventures, animal fables and stories which amuse and teach – from Olukun’s Revenge, from the Yoruba people of west Africa, to The Story of the Glutton, from the Bantu-speaking peoples of east Africa, all brought together with the aim of providing an insight into the boundless and vibrant world of African myth. FLAME TREE 451: From mystery to crime, supernatural to horror and myth, fantasy and science fiction, Flame Tree 451 offers a healthy diet of werewolves and mechanical men, blood-lusty vampires, dastardly villains, mad scientists, secret worlds, lost civilizations and escapist fantasies. Discover a storehouse of tales gathered specifically for the reader of the fantastic.
Author: Achmat Dangor Publisher: Pantheon ISBN: Category : Fiction Languages : en Pages : 248
Book Description
His unforgiving brother, a post-apartheid politician, tries to come to terms with Oscar's apostasy but will himself betray both his principles and his family when he falls in love with Amina, a beautiful and spirited psychotherapist.
Author: Isidore Okpewho Publisher: Indiana University Press ISBN: 9780253207104 Category : Literary Criticism Languages : en Pages : 412
Book Description
". . . its pages come alive with wonderful illustrative material coupled with sensitve and insightful commentary." —Reviews in Anthropology " . . . the scope, breadth, and lucidity of this excellent study confirm that Okpewho is undoubtedly the most important authority writing on African oral literature right now . . . " —Research in African Literatures "Truly a tour de force of individual scholarship . . . " —World Literature Today " . . . excellent . . . " —African Affairs " . . . a thorough synthesis of the main issues of oral literature criticism, as well as a grounding in experienced fieldwork, a wide-ranging theoretical base, and a clarity of argument rare among academics." —Multicultural Review "This is a breathtakingly ambitious project . . . " —Harold Scheub " . . . a definitive accounting of the evidence of living oral traditions in Africa today. Professor Okpewho's authority as an expert in this important new field is unrivaled." —Gregory Nagy "Isidore Okpewho's African Oral Literature is a marvelous piece of scholarship and wide-ranging research. It presents the most comprehensive survey of the field of oral literature in Africa." —Emmanuel Obiechina " . . . a tour de force of scholarship in which Okpewho casts his net across the African continent, searching for its verbal forms through voluminous recent writings and presents African oral literature in a new voice, proclaiming the literariness of African folklore." —Dan Ben-Amos "This is an outstanding book by a scholar whose work has already influenced how African literature should be conceived. . . . Professor Okpewho is a scholar with a special talent to nurture scholarship in others. After this work, African literature will never be the same." —Mazisi Kunene Isidore Okpewho, for many years Professor of English at the University of Ibadan, is one of the handful of African scholars who has facilitated the growth of African oral literature to its status today as a literary enterprise concerned with the artistic foundations of human culture. This comprehensive critical work firmly establishes oral literature as a landmark of high artistic achievement and situates it within the broader framework of contemporary African culture.
Author: J.K. Jackson Publisher: Simon and Schuster ISBN: 1839649488 Category : Fiction Languages : en Pages : 200
Book Description
From the rift valley come stories of gods, tricksters, cattle and ogres from the many peoples of East Africa. Traditional stories bring a deeper understanding of the movement of peoples across East Africa. Common roots and differences between ancient peoples create a lively portrait with their fragile, powerful gods. The modern nations of Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and more inherit the folk and mythic tales of the rift valley region. Here you'll find stories of ogres and tricksters, riddles and poems, figures such as the first man (Gikuyu) and woman (Mumbi), and great heroes of history such as Liongo. This new collection is created for the modern reader. FLAME TREE 451: From myth to mystery, the supernatural to horror, fantasy and science fiction, Flame Tree 451 offers a healthy diet of werewolves and mechanical men, blood-lusty vampires, dastardly villains, mad scientists, secret worlds, lost civilizations and escapist fantasies. Discover a storehouse of tales gathered specifically for the reader of the fantastic.
Author: Robert Alan Segal Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA ISBN: 0198724705 Category : Religion Languages : en Pages : 161
Book Description
This Very Short Introduction explores different approaches to myth from several disciplines, including science, religion, philosophy, literature, and psychology. In this new edition, Robert Segal considers both the future study of myth as well as the impact of areas such as cognitive science and the latest approaches to narrative theory.
Author: Biodun Jeyifo Publisher: Cambridge University Press ISBN: 1139439081 Category : Language Arts & Disciplines Languages : en Pages : 360
Book Description
Biodun Jeyifo examines the connections between the innovative and influential writings of Wole Soyinka and his radical political activism. Jeyifo carries out detailed analyses of Soyinka's most ambitious works, relating them to the controversies generated by Soyinka's use of literature and theatre for radical political purposes. He gives a fascinating account of the profound but paradoxical affinities and misgivings Soyinka has felt about the significance of the avant-garde movements of the twentieth century. Jeyifo also explores Soyinka's works with regard to the impact on his artistic sensibilities of the pervasiveness of representational ambiguity and linguistic exuberance in Yoruba culture. The analyses and evaluations of this study are presented in the context of Soyinka's sustained engagement with the violence of collective experience in post-independence, postcolonial Africa and the developing world. No existing study of Soyinka's works and career has attempted such a systematic investigation of their complex relationship to politics.
Proudly powered by WordPress |
Theme: Rits Blog by Crimson Themes.
Author: Wole Soyinka
Author: David Northrup
Author: Stephen Belcher
Author: Harold Scheub
Author: J.K. Jackson
Author: Achmat Dangor
Author: Isidore Okpewho
Author: J.K. Jackson
Author: Robert Alan Segal
Author: Biodun Jeyifo