Contemporary African Literature : Edris Makward and Leslie Lacy [ Toni Morrison ]

Description

Scarce pioneering anthology of contemporary African literature intended for use in high schools and colleges, project edited by Toni Morrison

 

Lacy, Leslie. Makward, Edris. Contemporary African Literature. Random House : New York. 1972. First Edition.

 

A bold contribution to modern appreciation and understanding of African literary contributions, Contemporary African Literature was an early project of Toni Morrison stemming from the first portion of her career two years after the release of her first novel, The Bluest Eye in 1970.

Discussing the genesis of the project in her final book, 2019’s The Source of Self Regard, Morrison wrote:

In 1965, I began reading African literature, devouring it actually. It was a literature previously  unavailable to me, but by then I had discovered a New York bookstore called Africa House, which offered among other things back issues of Transition, Black Orpheus, and works by a host of African writers from all over the continent.  Amos Tutuola,   Ayi Kwei Armah, Ezekiel Mphahlele, James Ngugi , Bessie Head, Christina Ama Ata Aidoo, Mongo Beti, Leopold Senghor, Camara Laye, Ousmane Sembene, Wole Soyinka, John Pepper Clark: the jolt these writers gave me was explosive. The confirmation that African literature was not limited to Doris Lessing and Joseph Conrad was so stunning it led me to secure the aid of two academics who could help me anthologize this literature. At that time African literature was not a subject to be taught in American schools. Even in so-called world literature courses it had no reputation and no presence. But I was determined to funnel the delight, the significance, and the power of that literature into my work as an editor. The publication of Contemporary African Literature  in 1972 was the beginning of my love affair.

Beginning with the line “Africa was discovered by Africans”, this collection of poetry, prose, fiction, paintings and photography collects work from Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe, Léopold-Sédar Senghor, and Athol Fugard, including some of their first published work in America, and was deliberately designed by Morrison with an eye toward creating a beautiful book.

Explaining in a 2003 interview with the New Yorker, Morrison said, “What was I thinking? I thought if it was beautiful, people would buy it.” Despite the loving attention to detail and design the book did not sell well and failed in the ultimate goal of seeing wider adoption into US high school and college curricula. Complete with a “This Book Is The Property Of” school rubric at the front, no entries or apparent assignments were made with this copy.

 

8vo, 469pp, perfect bound purple printed wraps with wear to corners. Apparent worming with losses to front wrap at hinge and fore corners. Corners bumped. Spine ends worn. Some reading creasing. Minor wear to back wrap. Occasional toning and few spots to pages, otherwise very clean. Illustrated throughout with color photographs and paintings. Very good condition.

If you liked this book, you might also like this collection of Big Table literary magazine, issues two through four, including work by Allen Ginsberg and William Burroughs, or this collection of Egyptian essays following Naguib Mafouz’s Nobel Prize win.