The rise to global prominence of African literature, and particularly of the African novel, has been seen by many as a vital development in contemporary world culture. Keith Booker examines are: Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart; Buchi Emecheta's The Joys of Motherhood; Ayi Kwei Armah's The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born; Ama Ata Aidoo's Our Sister Killjoy; Nadine Gordimer's Burger's Daughter; Alex la Guma's In the Fog of the Seasons' End; Ngugi wa Thiongo's Devil on the Cross and Tsitsi Dangarembga's Nervous Conditions. Booker uses these works to illustrate the scope and variety of the...

Ngugi has put together a new collection under an old title, rewriting most of the pieces that appeared in the original 1981 edition, and adding completely new essays, such as 'Freedom of Expression', written for the campaign to try to save Ken Saro-Wiwa and other Niger Delta activists and writers from execution in Nigeria. Kenya: EAEP

This interpretation of the work of Ngugi wa Thiong'o discusses his philosophy, writing style, social and political focus, and ultimate vision and aspirations. Each work of fiction is examined in depth, and there is an evaluation of Ngugi's standing as a writer and social figure. Separate chapters cover each of Ngugi's novels, from The River Between and Weep Not, Child to Matigari, as well as his drama and short stories. There is also an examination of his social commentaries in the popular press, to which the early formation of his ideological position can be traced. Kenya: EAEP

Ngugi describes this book as 'a summary of some of the issues in which I have been passionately involved for the last twenty years of my practice in fiction, theatre, criticism and in teaching of literature.' East Africa (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda): EAEP

This text offers introductory essays on eight major Caribbean novels and shorter essays on ten other Caribbean novels, as well as a brief historical survey of the development of the Caribbean novel.BR> North America: Heinemann; Caribbean: Ian Randle Publishers

This text is an exploration of how history has been perceived, constructed and used in the fiction, poetry and drama of the Caribbean. Nana Wilson-Tagoe shows how in turn the literature has broadened the definitions of history to include deeper currents and hidden influences. The book raises questions about gender and history and the ways in which women's experiences have mediated their portrayal of the past. The author also explores the complex role of Africa in the imagination of West Indian writers. North America: University Press of Florida; Caribbean: University of the West Indies Press

'This is an innovative and original study which offers a new perspective on a Nigerian literary tradition. Quayson takes issue with the prevalent use of oral tradition in the criticism of Europhone written literature as a kind of cultural matrix out of which the written text emerged, and the essence of which it embodies. He proposes instead a view of literary tradition as the outcome of numerous, and varied, strategic acts of positioning in relation to indigenous resources - which vary according to the individual writer's project but also according to the larger social and political context....