Africa and Trans-Atlantic Memories: Literary and Aesthetic Manifestations of Diaspora and History

by Naana Opoku-Agyemang (Editor), Paul E. Lovejoy (Editor), David V. Trotman (Editor)

The trans-Atlantic slave trade and the concomitant enslavement of Africans created an enduring connection between Africa and the scattered communities of peoples of African origins in the Americas and elsewhere. These tragic events of slavery have profoundly influenced the literary imagination, whether in Africa, Europe or the Americas. The authors in this collection explore the ways in which trans-Atlantic constructions of this historical experience find expression in the literary mode. The essays examine the ways that writers and performers have used a variety of literary traditions, including narrative, poetry, myth, legend, autobiography, and drama, as well as song and the cinema, to engage in the construction of imagined yet realistic perceptions of Africa through literary representation

496 pages, Paperback

First published June 3, 2008

About the author

Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang (born 22 November 1951 in Cape Coast, Ghana) is the current Minister for Education in Ghana. She was appointed in 2013 by President John Mahama after the 2012 Ghanaian general election. She is a member of the National Democratic Congress.

As the Vice-Chancellor of University of Cape Coast in Ghana, Professor Opoku-Agyemang, former was the first female Vice-Chancellor of a state University in Ghana. She assumed duty on 1 October 2008, succeeding Emmanuel Addow-Obeng.