PETER ABRAHAMS

Peter Abrahams has had an astonishing impact on African literature, not only as a pioneer, but also as a writer who inspired so many talented writers from all over the continent and beyond to also try their hand at writing.    

Abrahams published Mine Boy in 1946, probably his most famous novel. Many pundits reckon that the work confirmed from a very early stage that Peters' was "a born writer" whose work would appeal very strongly to the mainstream reader. Yet Abrahams' had the most daunting of childhoods growing up in segregated South Africa.

He was born in Vrededorp (Gauteng) and his autobiography Tell Freedom chronicles the early part of his life movingly and brilliantly. He managed to leave South Africa when he was still a very young man, and whilst based overseas (England first) he began to write the novels he is famous for now.    

His early novels – and short stories - were based on South Africa. By the time he wrote The View from Coyaba he was being influenced strongly by other countries

and cultures', in this case Jamaica. The view from Coyaba chronicles four generations of a Jamaican family and their experiences with racism.

Settling in Jamaica, Abrahams edited the West Indian Economist, and was also proficient on air (radio). His works continue to be popular, and even seminal.     

It has been noted that Abrahams has inspired many African writers in particular over the decades, as can be gleaned from works containing interviews with assorted writers. Recently, Omoseyi Bolaji, a prolific African author himself, testified as to how he was inspired by Peter Abrahams when he was still "a kid":

“I count myself very lucky to have been introduced to Peter Abrahams' early novel, Mine Boy, when I was still a kid at school in west Africa. The simplicity of the work was haunting, complemented by the very fine writing skills of the author.

"It was only natural that as an impressionable youngster one would be prodded to try and get as many books of this particular author as possible - Tell Freedom, which was autobiographical, was easily available then, and another good read.

"In respect of Mine Boy, the story of the metamorphosis of Xuma, the pertinent mine boy, from "strong simpleton" to a thinking gentleman and possible catalyst of change during apartheid is an unforgettable one.

"One was forced to ponder dolefully: why couldn't all men be free and equal in this society? Why so many unfair crackdowns on the blacks by the powers that-be? Even Xuma's love affairs were frustrated and truncated by the state. His lovely 'Eliza was gone...' - what pain for poor Xuma!

"The impression one kept on getting from his works was that here was (Abrahams) a very decent man who just wanted to be treated as a human being and intermingle with others with facility…”

Works published by Peter Abrahams

Dark Testament (1942)

Song of the City (1945)

Mine Boy (1946)

The Path of Thunder (1948)

Wild Conquest (1950)

Return to Goli (1953)

Tell Freedom (1954)

A Wreath for Udomo (1956)

A Night of Their Own (1965)

This Island Now (1966)

The View from Coyaba (1985)

The Black Experience in the 20th Century: An Autobiography and Meditation (2000)

Studies:

The writing of Peter Abrahams. By Kolawole Ogungbesan

Peter Abrahams. By Michael Wade

The novels of Peter Abrahams and the rise of nationalism in Africa. By Robert Ensor

Art and politics in the novels of Peter Abrahams: a study of his three political novels. By Clive Philip Leeman

The death of African kings: the novels of Peter Abrahams. By Ngwarsungu Chiwengo

CAMARA LAYE

Camara Laye (January 1, 1928—February 4, 1980) was a Guinean writer. He was the author of The African Child (L'Enfant noir), a novel based loosely on his own childhood, and The Radiance of the King (Le Regard du roi). 

Both novels are among the earliest major works in Francophone African literature. Camara Laye later worked for the government of newly independent Guinea, but went into voluntary exile over political issues. Laye died in 1980 in Dakar of a kidney infection

Camara Laye was born in Kouroussa, a town in what was then the colony of French Guinea. His family were Malinke, and he was born into a caste that traditionally worked as blacksmiths and goldsmiths. His mother was from the village of Tindican, and his immediate childhood surroundings were not predominantly influenced by French culture.

He attended both Koranic and French elementary schools in Kouroussa. At age fifteen he went to Conakry, the colonial capital, to continue his education. He attended vocational studies in motor mechanics. In 1947, he travelled to Paris to continue studying mechanics. There he worked and took further courses in engineering and worked towards the baccalauret.

Camara Laye published his first novel in 1953, the autobiographical L'Enfant noir (The African Child, also published under the title The Dark Child). It follows his own journey from childhood in Kouroussa, his education in Conakry, and eventual departure for France. The book won the Prix Charles Veillon in 1954. L'Enfant noir was followed the next year by Le Regard du roi (The Radiance of the King). 

In 1956 Camara Laye returned to Africa, first to Dahomey, then the Gold Coast, and finally to newly independent Guinea, where he held several government posts. He left Guinea for Senegal in 1965 because of political issues, never returning to his home country. In 1966 Camara Laye's third novel, Dramouss (A Dream of Africa), was published. In 1978 his fourth and final work, Le Maître de la parole - Kouma Lafôlô Kouma (The Guardian of the Word), was published. (Information here essentially from Wikipedia)

Studies:

Camara Laye by Sonia Lee

The writings of Camara Laye by Adele King

Rereading Camara Laye by Adele King

The novels of Camara Laye : a study of selected themes by Richard
Cysle McCullough 

The function of characters in four works by Camara Laye by Paul R Bernard

Tradition and modernity in the fiction of Laye Camara by Alain David Fresco

The snake and the lion : spiritual and political commitment in the
works of Camara Laye by Brenda J Bertrand

Ideological development in the writings of Camara Laye by Sebagenzi wa Lulenga

DAMBUDZO MARECHERA

 

The literary profile of Zimbabwean writer, Dambudzo Marechera is somewhat tinged with tragedy as the wordsmith died so prematurely at the age of 35.  But what a scintillating literary talent!

There can be no doubt that his prowess belonged to the top drawer, and he remains one of the best talents Africa has ever produced, "maverick" or not. 

Marechera always wrote very well, whether in his novels, short stories, plays, or essays. He was also a brilliant reviewer/critic of diverse books and authors. He was a born writer, which adds a further patina of frustration and melancholy to his early demise.

The body of literary-critical work based on Marechera's writings is extraordinary, especially the efforts of Flora Weit-Wild who apart from publishing many comprehensive studies on the "maverick", also edited and published further works of Marechera posthumously. Of course in recent times it has emerged that Wild (a woman) and Marechera had been lovers in the past, but this is no way detracts from the stunning work Wild has done to promote his work over the decades.

Dambudzo Marechera,  (born 1952, Rusape, Southern Rhodesia [now Zimbabwe]—died Aug. 18, 1987)), Zimbabwean novelist who won critical acclaim for his collection of stories entitled The House of Hunger (1978), a powerful account of life in his country under white rule.

Marechera grew up in poverty. He reacted against his upbringing and adopted an increasingly self-destructive lifestyle. He studied at the University of Rhodesia but was expelled after participating in a demonstration over the wages of black staff members.

He obtained a scholarship to New College, Oxford, but he was expelled in 1977 for trying to set fire to the college building. While living in England, he wrote The House of Hunger, his name for his country. Despite critical and popular recognition brought by the publication of his book, Marechera remained disruptive and confrontational.

In 1980 his novel Black Sunlight was published; less acclaimed than his first work, it is an explosive and chaotic stream-of-consciousness account of a photojournalist’s involvement with a revolutionary organization. Marechera returned to Zimbabwe in 1981; his mental and physical condition deteriorated, and he was often homeless.


Mindblast, or the Definitive Buddy (1984), the last collection published during his lifetime, includes four plays, a prose narrative, poetry, and a section of his Harare journal. A novel, entitled “The Depths of Diamonds,” was rejected for publication reportedly because of its obscenity. Marechera’s health deteriorated, and he soon died of AIDS.

Posthumous publications of his works, compiled by Flora Veit-Wild, include The Black Insider (1990); Cemetery of Mind (1992), a powerful collection of his poetry; and Scrapiron Blues (1994), a collection of stories, plays, and a novella.

Studies:

Dambudzo Marechera : a source book on his life and work by Flora Veit-Wild 

Emerging perspectives on Dambudzo Marechera 

No room for cowardice : a view of the life and times of Dambudzo Marechera by David Pattison 

Marechera and the colonel : a Zimbabwean writer & the claims of the state by David Caute 

Language and alienation in the novels of Dambudzo Marechera by John F Hess 

'Dambudzo Marechera was bad" : discuss! Part 1 by Chigango Musandireve 

FLORA NWAPA

To be a pioneer obviously requires a lot of attributes - great talent, imagination, dedication, consuming confidence in one's self - Flora Nwapa had this in spades. She was the first woman in Nigeria to publish a novel; and novels subsequently. Her works show her skill and flair and a great deal of studies abound over her work.

Flora Nwapa,  (born Jan. 13, 1931, Oguta, Nigeria—died Oct. 16, 1993, Enugu), Nigerian novelist best known for re-creating Igbo (Ibo) life and customs from a woman’s viewpoint.


Nwapa was educated in Ogula, Port Harcourt, and Lagos before attending University College in Ibadan, Nigeria (1953–57), and the University of Edinburgh. She worked as a teacher and administrator in Nigeria from 1959 until the Biafran civil war erupted in 1967.

After the war she was commissioner for health and social welfare in East Central state before she formed Tana Press/Flora Nwapa Company to publish African books.
Efuru (1966), Nwapa’s first novel, is based on an old folktale of a woman chosen by the gods. Idu (1970) centres on a woman whose life is bound up with that of her husband to such an extent that when he dies she seeks him out in the land of the dead.

In This Is Lagos, and Other Stories (1971) and the later novels One Is Enough (1981) and Women Are Different (1986), Nwapa continued her compassionate portrayal of women in modern Nigerian society. The novel Never Again (1975) and Wives at War, and Other Stories (1980) deal with the Biafran conflict.
Nwapa’s sole volume of poetry is Cassava Song and Rice Song (1986).


Studies:

Emerging perspectives on Flora Nwapa : Critical and theoretical essays by Marie Umeh


Love, motherhood and the African heritage : the legacy of Flora Nwapa by Femi Nzegwu


Flora Nwapa : critical perspectives