Author

Publication

1997 - J. Currey, Oxford, England

Language

English

Word Count

45,000 words, Guess

Page Count

180 pages

Identifiers

  • Open LibraryOL665338M
  • ISBN-100852555431
  • OCLC Control Number36549054
  • Library of Congress Control Number97010960
  • LibraryThing3101614
and 2 more
  • WikidataQ73365718
  • Goodreads944105

Classifications

  • DDC820.9/9669
  • LCCPR9387 .Q39 1997

Description

This is an innovative and original study which offers a new perspective on a Nigerian literary tradition. The author takes issue with the prevalent use of "oral tradition" in the criticism of Europhone written literature as a kind of cultural matrix out of which the written text emerged, and the essence of which it embodies. He proposes instead a view of literary tradition as the outcome of numerous, and varied, strategic acts of positioning in relation to indigenous resources — which vary according to the individual writer's project but also according to the larger social and political context. He constructs a historical framework in which to view these strategies as performed by Samuel Johnson in _The History of the Yorubas_ (1921 [1897]), Amos Tutuola (1950s), Soyinka (1960s and 70s) and Ben Okri (1980s and 90s).

Subjects

Topics

HistoryFolkloreKnowledge820.9/9669HistoriographyOral traditionNigeria, history

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