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Article: The Origins of a Species.(African literature)
- Article from:
- Black Issues Book Review
- Article date:
- January 1, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 Cox, Matthews & Associates. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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In the beginning of Africa's cultures was the word--the spoken word--and its traditions resonate even in today's written literature
Because of the association of literature with writing, the heritage of the oral tradition, whose expressive range and reflective depth have been chronicled in the first part of this series (May-June 2000), has not always been recognized as an integral part of African cultural and literary achievement. Due partly to this, and to western prejudices about African capacities, it has been assumed that imaginative expression could only have emerged in Africa with the arrival of Europeans and the introduction of writing. Rather, the ...