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This book looks at the trends in the development of the Igbo novel from its antecedents in oral performance, through the emergence of the first published novel, Omenuko, in 1933 by Pita Nwana, to the contemporary Igbo novel.
Defining "Igbo literature" as literature in Igbo language, and "Igbo novel" as a novel written in Igbo language, the author argues that oral and written literature in African indigenous languages hold an important foundational position in the history of African literature. Focusing on the contributions of Igbo writers to the development of African literature in African languages, the book examines the evolution, themes, and distinctive features of the Igbo novel, the historical circumstances of the rise of the African novel in the pre-colonial, era and their impact on the contemporary Igbo novel.
This book will be of interest to scholars of African literature, literary history, and Igbo studies.
List of contents
1. The Need for a Literary History 2. Igbo Literary Origins 3. Minstrelsy in Traditional Igbo Society: Remembering a Pioneer Legend-Israel Nwa ba Njemanze (Alias Israel Nwa ba) 4. From Voice to Text: Missionary Influence on the Development of Igbo Orthography and Written Igbo Literature 5. Early Fiction in Igbo-The Pioneers 6. The Crisis of Standardization of Written (Literary) Igbo Language: Pioneer Efforts of F.C. Ogbalu: Founder and Architect, Society for Promoting Igbo Language and Culture (SPILC) 7. On the Threshold of Another Blackout: A New Controversy over the Standardization of Written (Literary) Igbo 8. Chinua Achebe and the Problematics of Writing in Indigenous Nigerian Languages: Towards a Resolution of the Igbo Language Predicament 9. The Female Voice-Rebuttal and Response to Patriarchy: Julie Onwuchekwa's Chinaag r m (1983) 10. Tony Uchenna Ubesie: The Quintessential Igbo Novelist 11. Interviews with Two Major Igbo Novelists: J.U.T Nzeako and Chinedu Ofomata
About the author
Ernest N. Emenyonu is Professor of Africana Studies at the University of Michigan–Flint, USA.
Summary
This book looks at the trends in the development of the Igbo Novel from its antecedents in oral and performance, through the emergence of the first published novel, Omenuko, in 1933 by Pita Nwana, to the contemporary Igbo novel.
