African Authors Opening Up Cultural Doors to the Continent

Huge misconception exists about Africa and her people before the arrival of European colonists. According to this misconception, Africans were nothing more than savages at that point of time. The savages were gradually converted into civilized creatures by the inhuman effort of those colonists. However, these misconceptions could not have been more distorted from the truth. The history and the culture of ancient Africa are as interesting as sophisticated. Ages before the advent of European traders, kingdoms had come into existence in the continent.

Oral literature flourished and existed for several centuries. It has taken various forms including folk tales, myths, heroic exploits of the past, funeral dirges and many more. However, there are some serious obstacles for popularity of written or printed literature across the country. More than 50 per cent of African population is still illiterate. There is scarcity of publishing houses as well as scarcity of books across the continent. At top of these impediments, costing of books is high and thus, those are affordable only to a handful of people. In spite of these challenges, a number of West African authors have gained insurmountable prominence these days.

The fraternity of authors has gifted some timeless classics in African languages as well as in English. The majority of these literary geniuses are now based in the US and engaged with different renowned North American universities. However, what a foreigner will recognize as an African novel in English may be totally different from the popular novels written in indigenous languages by local authors based in Africa.

The fraternity of authors from West Africa writes extensively on socio-political conditions of the continent. As human individuals, these gifted geniuses seem to be sensitive as well as dedicated. Their works are proving helpful to represent Africa before the global community under a different light. The literary geniuses are dedicated to introduce the rich culture and the history of their land and people to the larger world outside the continent.