Rebirth Of African Literature and Its Wise Midwives

In the words of Louise Umutoni, “As always, African writing is in flux. We are no closer to defining what African literature is, and that can only be a good thing.” Unlike other literary cultures, such as French literature or British literature, Africa’s literature did not have time to organically evolve in forms of vocation, as seen in Ernest Hemingway’s “Old Man and the Sea,” or love, exemplified by Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet.” It was born from a political perspective or the conflicts present at the time, leaving little room for personal stories devoid of political leanings or a continuous negotiation with reality.

In this context, Africa’s literary renaissance arises from the continual conveyance of African perspectives as an ever-evolving zeitgeist. Whether through written texts, art, poetry, or songs that traditionally represent African literature, this article focuses on figures who have heavily influenced the literary landscape of Africa. They are not just authors but also those who took the realities of old African civilisations and transmuted them into a new world paradigm.

1 . Wole Soyinka

Wole Soyinka

Wole Soyinka is a literary figure respected for his literary pieces and his activist and ideological contributions to Africa’s literature and political landscape. He has written several plays, novels, non-fiction pieces, and collections of poetry. He is regarded as one of the greatest figures of Africa’s literature. According to the Nobel Prize organisation, the Nobel Prize in Literature 1986 was awarded to Wole Soyinka, "who in a wide cultural perspective and with poetic overtones fashions the drama of existence." 

Before becoming a full-fledged author, he grew up in Ake, Ogun State. His father was an Anglican minister and headmaster at St Peter's Primary School, and his mother was a shoe keeper and an activist.  He studied at the University of Ibadan before pursuing a degree in English Literature at the University of Leeds. He made broadcast records in Britain and wrote short stories, and proceeded into theatrical literature and extending his literary prowess in other genres. He wrote satirical plays, including Trials Of Brother Jero, The Mad Men, and Specialists, and plays with political or historical leanings such as King Baabu, Death and the King's Horseman. He explored his biographies such as You Must Set Forth at Dawn, Ake, and Ibadan: The Penkelemes Years: a Memoir 1946-1965. And also essays that include The Intervention, Myth and African Literature, etc. 

In his literary career, he spent so much of his time in exile and activism against African despots like Gen. Sani Abacha, Mugabe, etc. In general, he is a writer who, in his virtuoso mastery of language, aimed to largely correct the ills of society with satire while maintaining a balance of personal introspection and mystery of a traditional mind wielding the language as a conduit of truth in his essays and autobiographies. 

2. Chinua Achebe

Chinua Achebe

Chinua Achebe(late) is a novelist, poet, and literary critic. He is a legendary literary figure who, with his use of oral narratives, proverbs, and acute use of the English language, influenced the course of African literature. His widely acclaimed novel Things Fall Apart is regarded as one of the finest pieces of African Literature and one of the most translated works of African literature.

Chinua grew up in Ogidi, Anambra State. His father was a teacher and evangelist, while his mother functioned as a leader of women in the local community. This background exposed him to the scholarship of the missionaries and books like The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan and other literary classics. He studied English and Literary Studies at the University of Ibadan, and later worked as a broadcaster for the Nigeria Broadcasting Corporation before he wrote his first and most popular piece, Things Fall Apart, as a response to Joseph Conrad’s narrative that belittled the African race. His other books, such as A Man of the People, were deemed prophetic on the literary upheavals of corruption and a later military coup of the Nigerian Government. 

In other books he wrote, he continued his literary pieces with a thematic preoccupation of the epic frailties and traditional settings that help shape and present his terse narratives. He also participated in the emancipatory efforts of the annulled Biafra Government and helped them develop an educational curriculum during the civil war period, and disengaged himself from politics after the war was lost, as the Nigerian political scene was characterised by corruption and elitism. In general, he was a man who weaved his words in traditional language, where reading English felt so African and original in the contexts of storytelling and the consequences of societal struggles and epic extrapolations.  

3. Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o

 Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o

 Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o is regarded as the greatest literary figure from East Africa. He is a novelist and playwright known for his Marxist-African literature that, although comprising originality, his works are a perpetual protest against the imposition of imperial cultures and the economic inequalities of modern Kenya. Weep Not Child was his first book that exemplified this discourse on the clash of cultures and the need for autonomous African people. He has won several literary awards, such as the 2001 International Nonino Prize in Italy, and in 2000, his book Wizard of the Crow was one of The Economist's best books of the year. 

Ngugi grew up in Kenya and studied English and literature at the University of Makerere in Uganda. As a result of his revolutionary mind and the depth of his works that revolted against the modern Kenyan government did not meet his expectations, he was imprisoned for about a year and left the country once freed. His works particularly on “decolonising the mind”, where neo-colonialism or colonialism was a question of power and purging of age-long traditions rather than a mission to develop a vassal state. He explored more of this in his book Decolonising the Mind,  where he talked about how the 16th-century colonisation of Ireland was unsuccessful because the people resisted the abolition of their cultures. 

In some way, he saw language as a way to preserve traditional artefacts of the Kenyan people or the African heritage in general. He began writing in English and later switched primarily to Gĩgĩkũyũ language, brooding upon the questions of identity of African Literature and Marxist values as economic anchors for the post-colonial Kenya. It is not just the depth of his narratives that cemented his legend, but also the richness of his works in historical transitions from the Petals of Blood to the revolutionary spirit in The Trial of Dedan Kimathi. 

In addition to these literary giants,  several others such as Kofi Awoonor who sang Ewe dirges through his poems, or Okot p'Bitek, whose invocations in his book Song of Lawino brought traditions and created a world where his words were experienced as they mirrored the tribal collectiveness and the desire preservation of the African cultures as sacred totems. These all speak to the rebirth and the contemplations of the African literature that not only responds to colonialism but negotiates with political and cultural reality, writing on the chaos of these times while setting in motion a chain of tradition and poetry we have come to experience and savour. The works of these authors extend to global discourses, grounded in the context of identity and resistance.