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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Modern African Literature and Cultural Identity
Author:Ojaide, TanureISNI
Year:1992
Periodical:African Studies Review
Volume:35
Issue:3
Period:December
Pages:43-57
Language:English
Geographic terms:Subsaharan Africa
Africa
Subjects:African identity
literature
English language
Literature, Mass Media and the Press
External link:https://www.jstor.org/stable/525127
Abstract:This paper considers the cultural distinctiveness of modern African literature in English. It deals with the following distinctive features: the traditionally didactic nature of African literature, the utilitarian function of literary works, the importance of the theme of social cohesion, the defence by African writers of their native culture, the role of the supernatural, the explanation by African writers of African as opposed to Western concepts of order and justice, land and the alienation of land as a major theme, the influence of folktales, proverbs, myths and legends, which infuse modern African literature with motifs, themes, characters, and techniques, the impact of African concepts of time and space on literary form and vision, the influence of African languages, and attempts by African writers to universalize the cultural experience. Bibliogr.
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