The Breast of the Earth: A Survey of the History, Culture, and Literature of Africa South of the Sahara

by Kofi Awoonor

The essays contained in this volume cover a period of fourteen years of research, teaching, and the creative participation in the theater, movies, television and the arts in author's home country Ghana, as well in the United Kingdom and the United States

387 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

Kofi Awoonor was a Ghanaian poet and author whose work combined the poetic traditions of his native Ewe people and contemporary and religious symbolism to depict Africa during decolonization. He started writing under the name George Awoonor-Williams. Professor Kofi Awoonor was among those who were killed in the September 2013 attack at Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya, by the al-Shabaab militant group.

Reviews

[Raphael Mokoena · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is this intense satisfaction that comes (for me at least) with reading literary biographies, studies or general essays - focusing on African literature, culture, sociology etc. The late Kofi Awoonor, one of the early major African writers is at his best here as an essayist, historian and critic in this work. Among other things he examines literature generally in Africa by the 70's, critically touching on the writings of a variety of writers from across the continent. This is a major work and could have been the magnum opus of lesser writers, but we are talking of a giant of a writer who published many important collections of poetry, novels, other general essays etc. But this particular work remains very important.