Women Writing Africa: West Africa and the Sahel

by Esi Sutherland-Addy (Editor), Aminata Diaw (Editor)

The acclaimed Women Writing Africa Project continues with the second volume of Women Writing West Africa and the Sahel . Drawing upon more than a decade of research, West Africa and the Sahel covers the territory where most African Americans find their roots.

The collection encompasses an epic cultural history through the voices of women represented in twenty languages spoken in an area encompassing twelve countries. Beginning with African kingdoms dating six centuries or more before colonialism and independence, the volume gathers 132 texts—stories, songs, letters, drama, oral history, diaries, and historical documents—each with a readable authoritative headnote explaining its cultural and historical contexts. A general introduction provides an overview of West African cultural and literary history, including the brilliant and diverse traditions of women’s oral literatures.

Genres: Africa, Politics, The World, Western Africa

560 pages, Library Binding

First published August 1, 2005

Reviews

[Friederike Knabe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Opening this substantial volume - the second of four in the series " Women Writing Africa", a project conceives in 1990 by members of the Modern Language Association, the reader immediately realizes that this is not a book to read from page 1 to the end. Instead, browsing, picking up and getting absorbed in a story or a poem, is the most likely reaction. It is a companion book for any interested reader curious or knowledgeable about West African writing. Its great value lies in this being a very rare, rich reference collection of West African women's writing, going back to the eighteen hundreds and covering any form of writing, from poetry and songs to letters to stories. It took years to bring the material together and the editors and many contributors deserve praise for having achieved this rich compilation of thought, experience and - in short - glimpses into life, of a great diversity of peoples and cultures. The book's index is very well structured and easy to use, first by broad time-lines and within those, by themes. The themes cover the domestic life from rituals to love songs to lullabies, the various work situations for women, political issues with the rise of nationalism in countries to "Negotiating New Social Identities" and more. A comprehensive list of sources and bibliographic references assists those who want to pursue one or the other author's writing or theme in substantive ways.

In their highly informative preface the editors place the collection into the wider historical and cultural contexts and address the question a reader might have, why concentrating on "women writing"? They also stress that the selection was difficult, given "the intense richness and complexity of the West African Region... a mosaic of ethnic groups, languages, cultures, histories, and countries". Twelve "nations" were eventually chosen to be featured by their writers, poets and thinkers: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Conakry, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone. Especially helpful are theme-focused introductions, especially relating to more historical themes that add to the understanding of meaning and context. For example, the brief poem "Bamako" - then the capital cit of French Sudan and now of Mali, expresses the wailing of the women as their lovers depart for Bamako; for them the "city was close to hell":

Bamako!
I do not bemoan my mother. I do not bemoan my father. I bemoan my lover who has no clothes To go to Bamako And that is tough!

[Friederike Knabe]

[Philippa Namutebi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not a book that one reads all in one go. I have been dipping in and out for quite a while... I am not sure I will finish it... but I think I will often refer to bits of it.