The Future of African Literature

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Darian Greenbaum Professor Zak Af. Amer. Lit. Final 10 December 2012 The Future of African Literature 1. What is the future of African Literature? What will the Africans write about in the future? African Literature started out orally. A designated person in the village was labeled as a griot, or storyteller. It was their job to learn the stories from their elders and when they passed, to take over. The stories consisted of mythology and history. Some were song, poems were written, and sometimes they would sing songs to praise the Gods above. African Literature honored and respected the Gods. Once the Europeans came over, they began to write their stories. Since they were slaves, they began to write in the language they heard. The African works were best known during the period of colonization and slave trade. That is because this was when written literature was first established among the African people. The novel “Weep Not Child” was the first English written book published by an East African. I think there is much to be told about Africa. The future for African Literature is bright because the country is constantly improving and changing. People are excited to have their voices heard. I do believe however, that just like in any country, history will repeat itself. I do not think there will be a reoccurrence of anything like “Things Fall Apart” where their land was taken over and people were forced to convert, but it could happen. I do believe that there could be a similar situation of “Kaffir Boy” that occurs. Africa probably won’t revert back to being controlled by whites but there could be for example a natural catastrophe, or a food shortage. It could happen that families became poor and could only afford either food or school, not both. It would put children in the same position as Mark. Sometimes his mother, instead of buying food,

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