Speaking for the Generations: An Anthology of Contemporary African Short Stories

I just receieved my contributor's copy of this new collection of short stories by African writers. Published in the United States by Africa World Press (Trenton, NJ), the collection contains works by writers from 15 African countries. Going down the Contents pages, I see three writers from Zimbabwe, three from Cameroon, thirteen from Nigeria, four from South Africa, five from Morocco, and so on. I recognize some of the names, and a few are my friends: Eresina Hwede (Zimbabwe), Prince Mensah (Ghana), and Temitayo Olofinlua (Nigeria). In all, there are forty-eight (48) writers in the anthology. Basically, this a collection of African flash fiction since the stories are around 800-900 words long.

The book was edited by Dike Okoro, professor of English and World Literature at Olive-Harvey College, Chicago.

My story is an excerpt from one of my Mukoma stories entitled "A Long Night". The range of issues covered by the stories is wide, but what's more impressive is how the anthology covers both North Afican and Sub-Saharan writing, and the inclusion of both emerging and established authors.

Below are some more details about the book:

This anthology aims to represent the best of contemporary African short stories written in English. Familiar names such as Benjamin Kwakye, Tijan Sallah, Zahra Ramij, Freddy Macha, Arja Salafranca, Odun Balogun, Tanure Ojaide, Jackee Budesta Batanda, Lola Shoneyin, Mohamed Said Raihani and Omar Akikli are present along with the new talent of younger generation which includes Kondwani Kamiyala, Ayobami Adebayo, Prince Mensah, Dipita Kwa, Khadija El Younossi. This book will introduce readers to finely crafted stories or human conditions comparable to those captured in narratives from other parts of the world.

In forty-eight stories that showcase the rich narratives, cultures, and customs of the continent, the reader will become acquainted with both established and emerging African male and female writers. Themes include love, family, relationships, death, politics, exile, childhood, gender, struggle (personal and communal), rage and hope.


“This anthology boasts two major strengths. First, it brings North Africa into a conversation with sub-Saharan Africa as very few such anthologies of African literature have so far done. Second, there is an invigorating freshness about the new talents brought to our attention here as well as an urgency in their reflections on contemporary African and global issues. Dike Okoro should be commended for the imagination he has shown in putting together a collection of stories anyone--student, teacher, or general reader--would love to possess and share with others.”

--Isidore Okpewho, State University of New York Distinguished Professor of Africana Studies, English, & Comparative Literature at Binghamton University


“The stories in this collection clearly capture the changing face of contemporary African societies as they reveal the fears and dreams, the confusion and clarity of the cultures they reflect. While depicted situations in the narratives are often precarious at best, the constant, a hope for a better tomorrow or a better existence, pulses at the heart of these stories.”



--Walter P. Collins, III, Ph.D., Associate Professor of French & English, University of South Carolina at Lancaster


ABOUT THE EDITOR

Dike Okoro, poet, short story writer, editor, essayist and critic, has published widely. His creative work and non-fiction have appeared in major journals/magazines/books, including Yellow Medicine Review, Witness Magazine, Botsotso, Farafina, African Writing Online, JALA: Journal of African Literature Association, IRCAL: International Research in Contemporary African Literature, Dictionary of Literary Biography: African Writers Series and Emerging Voices of Post Colonial African Literature. Okoro is the recipient of a Sam Walton Fellowship (2004) and the US/South Africa Education/Research Grant (2003). His major publications include the poetry collection Dance of the Heart and two anthologies of poetry: Songs for Wonodi and Echoes from the Mountain: New and Selected Poems by Mazisi Kunene. He is an assistant professor of English and World Literature at Olive-Harvey College, Chicago.