CAMEROONPRIDE: I don't engage fool ^^ Senghor playing in a lower grade, are u all right? Someone who has been inducted in the French academy?


You are funny dude go read about senghor and his negritude movement , you are either too young or simply poorly educated

rhymz: You are the Fool here, you brainless Bimbo that thinks she's got it all figured out. Senghor was no doubt a notable figure more because of his political career than his contribution to African Literature. Till this day, there is still controversy about whether he met the standard of contributing "a lifetime record of outstanding scholarship in African studies and service to the Africanist community"
There is nothing you can tell me about Senghor that will be news, He was a damn good Poet, no doubt but he was more of a politician and gained recognition largely on the basis of his political career being a President and all. 4ck off if you do not know how to debate like an adult, you douche.

Son-Of-El:


o boy think for once. Being english or european does not necessarily make one imperialist, however, we know how politically twisted the nobel club is, imperialism reigns supreme in european politics. I hope you've learnt something.

TheBookWorm:

Leopold Senghor will always be known as an independence leader first and foremost and not as a poet.

Being the first president of Senegal is an achievement in itself.

Ola Johnson:
I've been observing you for sometimes now, you call yourself Bookworm, but you don't know anything. Leopold Senghor, even before he got into the politics of Senegal had been a poet, who together with two other Carribbeans, Aimé Césaire (I've forgotten the name of the other) formed the Negritude Movement in Paris. At a time Wole Soyinka nominated Aimé Césaire for the Nobel Laureate.

Ola Johnson: Those that always cite Nadine Gordimer's statement, not even speech, that Chinua Achebe was the father of African literature when the latter won the Booker Prize in 2007, should ask themselves why didn't she make the same statement earlier in 1991 when she won the Nobel Prize in Literature. Is it not obvious it was a human error which we are all susceptible to as pointed out by Wole Soyinka? What was the basis of calling CA that when it was obvious that his last known book, Anthills Of The Savannah (1989), was published two years before Nadine Gordimer won the Nobel Prize in 1991? He later published There Was A Country in 2012, less than a year before he died.

Could it be that Nadine Gordimer was trying to compensate him because she knew CA would never win it. While the reason why a winner of the Prize is made public, the reason why other nominees lose is not. Gordimer, and by extension, Wole Soyinka, being past winners and possibly, possessing the power to nominate, probably knew why CA could not win it even more than twenty years before his death. It could be a thing which past winners keep secret to themselves. Of all his books only three are translated in Swedish. The number of his books which includes five novels, one list of short stories, one poetry and some children's book, could have also had an adverse effect on him not winning the Nobel Prize.

TheBookWorm:

I already mentioned the other Negritude founders if you just look above your post. And yes, I am a bookworm or bibliophile.

No one is taking anything away from Leopold Senghor. But he was an independence leader first and foremost.

TheBookWorm: I still have not seen anyone provide an author who should be given the title, "Father of Modern African Literature."

Chinua Achebe novels will still be taught as a necessary reading all across the world, just like Shakespeare and Mark Twain.

And that is why he was given the title, "Father of Modern African Literature.' One of the first novels to be from an African perspective.

Ola Johnson:
And what point are you trying to make? What correlation does this have with your post that I quoted?

Ola Johnson:
So, Wole Soyinka won the prize because he is a "European", and Chinua Achebe not? If u no know wetin u go talk make u dey wistle.

Son-Of-El:


God, is this guy teachable or is he just being stubborn? Okay, let me try this instance. WS likes similarizing african (yoruba) myths to european (greek) myth which on the surface, is not bad. However, his pursuit in desperately wanting to sound, feel, and think european in african shades has made him a nobel sweetheart, but an african oddity. As an atheist, he thinks he is enlightened, very unafrican.

TheBookWorm:

Let us not forget that many Africanist think of him as a "peau noire, masques blancs." His second wife was a French woman...

TheBookWorm:

I am still trying to see the point you have been trying to make for at least 30 pages.

Chinua Achebe must be giving you sleepless nights, since he was give the title "Father of Modern African Literature.

It is funny and pathetic at the same time, that you cannot just deal with it.

Ola Johnson:
Your dream of being like the Israeli Jews who have things come to them easily, hence your calling yourselves 'Jews', is a mirage. Until you realize this you will remain where you are even in the politics of Nigeria. It was that same mirage that made you feel Things Fall Apart which is not rich in literary skills could fetch CA the Nobel Prize. For me, its being used in the United States is more of an anthropology/sociology for people to see the culture of the Igbo. All his books put together could not fetch him anything. Nadine Gordimer only compensated him with a mere verbal statement.

Son-Of-El:


you wish. You really wish.

Son-Of-El:


God, is this guy teachable or is he just being stubborn? Okay, let me try this instance. WS likes similarizing african (yoruba) myths to european (greek) myth which on the surface, is not bad. However, his pursuit in desperately wanting to sound, feel, and think european in african shades has made him a nobel sweetheart, but an african oddity. As an atheist, he thinks he is enlightened, very unafrican.

TheBookWorm:

I am still trying to see the point you have been trying to make for at least 30 pages.

Chinua Achebe must be giving you sleepless nights, since he was give the title "Father of Modern African Literature.

It is funny and pathetic at the same time, that you cannot just deal with it.

Son-Of-El:


God, is this guy teachable or is he just being stubborn? Okay, let me try this instance. WS likes similarizing african (yoruba) myths to european (greek) myth which on the surface, is not bad. However, his pursuit in desperately wanting to sound, feel, and think european in african shades has made him a nobel sweetheart, but an african oddity. As an atheist, he thinks he is enlightened, very unafrican.

rhymz: Let me engage you a bit.
Yes, I will. Prior to Chinua's TFA, can you mention any african novel that was internationally acclaimed? I mean, today it is easier fore an African writer to write and get the desired and universal audience that his/her work deserves. Many of the African books and authors that have gained world wide acclaim did so through the publishing reach of Henneman African Writers' Series which was a collaborative effort Chinua, Christopher Okigbo and the guyz at henneman to put African literature outside of the local confines of Africa. The impetus for such effort was in the evidence of Achebe's TFA. Ask anyone that is very familiar with African literature to mention the first 10 african books and aithors of note, 100% of them will be authors' whose works were published from the African writers' Series, that is how powerful and influential the man's effort and those of his other coleagues in the publishing firm was. This is not about citing list of french speaking African writers who are good in their own write but play in lower league.

TheBookWorm: I still have not seen anyone provide an author who should be given the title, "Father of Modern African Literature."

Chinua Achebe novels will still be taught as a necessary reading all across the world, just like Shakespeare and Mark Twain.

And that is why he was given the title, "Father of Modern African Literature.' One of the first novels to be from an African perspective.

percipi1:

There is this saying that he who has not seen the Amazon shout at the top of his voice that River Niger is the biggest river in the world. If you have read Peter Abraham's book ' Mine boy' published in 1946, and 'Tell Freedom' 1954, then you will understand that Achebe only introduced the world to the impact of civilization on a tribal clan whereas Peter Abraham introduced the world to the impact of Apartheid in Africa . Achebe's work was predominantly on Igbos and to look at the effect of colonization on Africa through the perspective of a tribal group that had no system of government is a great insult to organized societies that have been existing in Africa from time immemorial.

Achebe did not, therefore, introduce the world to Africa. He only introduced the world to the Igbos. It will be nice, however, to call him “FATHER OF LITERATURE WRITTEN IN ENGLISH BY THE IGBOS” of Eastern Nigeria. I will accept that. But if we want to award the title, father of modern African literature to any writer, Peter Abraham deserved it because he was the first to introduce the world to Africa in the real sense

ACM10:

Who told you that Igbos have no system no system of government before the advent of the colonialists? Or was it that the system of government we had was what the colonialist previously thought to be complex and unworkable. Dude, Government can either be centralized or decentralized. Most of the world tribes and races adopted centralized form of government, while Igbos chose decentralized government. Tell me any race that has survived with anything-goes form of government? Why was the resistance to colonialist organised and stubborn if there was no system of government. Have heard of Ekumeku war against the colonialists?

My problem with folks like you is that they often enter a debate by with "I'm not Igbo nor Yoruba" label, while the direction of their bias is unmistakeable. Frankly, you should do yourself a favour by not introducing culture clash to this debate. You have been playing subtle tribal card all long pretending to be objective. Just stay on the topic. Don't take any shot at Igbos way of life, because you wont like our response.

percipi1:


I know that if one’s argument is tilted towards an angle that is parallel to the prevailing notion of an ethnic group, it is assumed that the person is bias in favor of another ethnic group. That is Nairaland’s problem and I don’t buy into it.
Regarding culture clash, If I come across as trying to disparage your ethnic group, I apologize. I cannot do that because I have Igbo relations too. However, I was only analyzing Achebe’s work ‘Things fall apart’ as compared to Peter Abraham’s ‘Mine boy’ and in so doing I have literary liberty to write without constraint.

And if I chose to take a swipe at Igbo as a group, I will have to do that with regard to real life people and situations not to people I can’t see on Nairaland.

By the way, I have read a lot about the Igbo resistance to the Royal Niger company-Ekumeku war. I do not, however, see how this relate to the topic or my take on 'Things fall apart'

ACM10:

How did people that had no system of government manage to organise themselves to resist colonialists?

percipi1:

Good question. You do not need a system of government to organize guerilla warfare. The Ekumeku war was more of guerrilla warfare. Assuming that the Igbo had a system of government, they would have probably defeated the colonist-my opinion

Ola Johnson: Those that always cite Nadine Gordimer's statement, not even speech, that Chinua Achebe was the father of African literature when the latter won the Booker Prize in 2007, should ask themselves why didn't she make the same statement earlier in 1991 when she won the Nobel Prize in Literature. Is it not obvious it was a human error which we are all susceptible to as pointed out by Wole Soyinka? What was the basis of calling CA that when it was obvious that his last known book, Anthills Of The Savannah (1989), was published two years before Nadine Gordimer won the Nobel Prize in 1991? He later published There Was A Country in 2012, less than a year before he died.

Could it be that Nadine Gordimer was trying to compensate him because she knew CA would never win it. While the reason why a winner of the Prize is made public, the reason why other nominees lose is not. Gordimer, and by extension, Wole Soyinka, being past winners and possibly, possessing the power to nominate, probably knew why CA could not win it even more than twenty years before his death. It could be a thing which past winners keep secret to themselves. Of all his books only three are translated in Swedish. The number of his books which includes five novels, one list of short stories, one poetry and some children's book, could have also had an adverse effect on him not winning the Nobel Prize.

ACM10:

In other words, you don't need any form of organisation to launch a guerilla war. Let's pretend that you are right. Mention any guerilla group without a clear-cut leadership structure? In the same comment, you shot yourself at the foot by stating that Igbos would have succeeded if they had a centralized government, tell me why Edo, Fulani, Nupe and Egba resistance crumble under the firepower of the colonialists?

TheBookWorm: I still have not seen anyone provide an author who should be given the title, "Father of Modern African Literature."

Chinua Achebe novels will still be taught as a necessary reading all across the world, just like Shakespeare and Mark Twain.

And that is why he was given the title, "Father of Modern African Literature.' One of the first novels to be from an African perspective.

percipi1:

Of course every guerilla group will have a form of leadership structure; however that does not translate to a system of government that is acceptable within civilized climes.
I assumed that if the Igbo had a system of government like say Benin Kingdom, they probably could have succeeded to some extent, though not for long. They had the passion to drive the colonist away but the lack of proper coordination thwarted the uprising.
Take for instance, the Osogbo war of 1844. If the Yoruba had not mended fences and put a stop to their intra-ethnic wars, the Fulani would have won the war and nothing would have stopped Mohammed’s expansion to the Atlantic. Coordination staved off the Fulani back to Ilorin