To start us off, allow me to pose this challenge to us-2 questions only;
One- ‘How well do we know our African Literature today?
Two- How well can we make ourselves enthusiastically aware about the world of African Literature today?
I want to believe that by the end of this episode, I would have sort of -challenged you enough, intrigued you enough , to be curious about African Literature, being an ennobling influence in our today’s world!
Ben Okri candidly puts it clear in the article ‘’The Future is African Literature’’ as posted by Brittle paper website on sept. 2020, I quote: “African literature is taking over the world. It has sprouted from Africa, but it has grown in all the corners of the globe. It is a literature of the native lands, but it is also a literature of sensibility, of exile, of migration, of travel, of home-leaving, home-staying, homecoming. It is a literature that can no longer be contained in a continent, or by a school, or a name, or a homogeneity. It is a literature of all schools, of new schools without a name, a re-invention of the past, a transmutation of the storytelling earth”. End quote.
The words herein emphasize the idea that African Literature from the lenses of our today’s world has purely evolved from being a ‘’sitting target’’ of confinement either of a locality or just a restrained idea. It is a kind of literature that has brought in prestige of thought, of action, of literacy and of identity , not only to those who live in Africa but also to the ones that have an awareness of its richness and its diversity. Simply saying, African Literature is an ennobling influence seen in many spectrums; as a call to action, a cautionary tale, or better yet a mouthpiece that creates a spark in diverse cultures.
Statistically speaking as briefly highlighted by (African Literature Today); as of the year 2021; many African writers won almost half of the major international prizes—the Nobel, the Booker, the International Booker, France’s Prix Goncourt, Portugal’s Cameos Award, PEN’s Pinter Prize just to.mention a few.. This is a clear signal of how far and beyond African Literature is encroaching into the unknown or unheard of from a global scale.
It is prudent to state that African is indeed an Ennobling Influence as it embeds in us the values of what a community should embody. I mean, who doesn't want to live in a community that is primarily like a home to them . A home signifies a sense of comfort and belonging . As Wole Soyinka’s Interpreters remarks : The African view of the community revolves around the idea of “I am, because we are; and since we are, therefore I am”.
In summation, if you are still in doubt about the Ennobling influence of African Literature,; let me point out the determinants that have led to this idea:
In the literary scholarly work and the world of publication: many African writers have opted to convey their message or authorial intrusions in their own local languages and it thus takes a serious passionate reader to literally Google up the meanings or translation , affirming the fact that African literature is rich and attractive and basically anyone can attune to it hence language barrier is not an issue to creativity.
2.
Being an Ennobling influence, African Literature heavily emphasises and embeds in its youth the love and respect for their motherland. As we all know, Africa’s history is incredibly deep and rich. This is to say that, it is very improbable that the respect and love for the continent that Africans so proudly hold will ever waver.
3.
African Literature has taken up different forms in its creative space. Highlighting the immensely dense writing pools that African writers have delved into for inspiration speaking of prose, novels, poems, screenplays henceforth.
