If you have not read any of the fantastic novels of Amos Tutuola, you have not read the best of World Literature.

If you enjoy reading J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter, then you will enjoy reading the magical fables of this extra ordinary self-taught Nigerian writer and he was an associate of the University of Iowa International Writing Program (IWP).

1· The Palm-Wine Drinkard (1946, published 1952)
2· My Life in the Bush of Ghosts (1954)
3· Simbi and the Satyr of the Dark Jungle (1955)
4· The Brave African Huntress (1958)
5· The Feather Woman of the Jungle (1962)
6· Ajaiyi and his Inherited Poverty (1967)
7· The Witch-Herbalist of the Remote Town (1981)
8· The Wile Hunter in the Bush of Ghosts (1982)
9· Yoruba Folktales (1986)
10· Pauper, Brawler and Slanderer (1987)
11· The Village Witch Doctor and Other Stories (1990)

Please bring this discussion to the new Yorubaland web site at www.yorubaland.org

Akede-Oba:

Please bring this discussion to the new Yorubaland web site at www.yorubaland.org

Alright.

My goodness! I love Amos Tutuola!! I was hooked on the Palmwine Drinkard, read it loads of times! He is a great story-teller, I'm not so bothered about the semantics .

**where do they breed these posters people**

illiteracy has a new face and it aint pretty.

why are these visa officials just dashing out visas anyhow nah!!!!

What makes his books great is the fact that he took his time, as a worker, to write these stories with the little education he had. I appreciate the fact that he took his time to promote Yoruba culture.

When he was published in the late 40s, Nigerian students in the UK did not like his work. The fact that he was the first Nigerian author to get international recognition subsequently established him as the face of Nigerian literature back then. This did not sit well with these Nigerian students especially because of the broken English his books were written in.

For me, the lesson in all this is appreciation of context, willpower, and effort in the works of others.

n-guage:

When he was published in the late 40s, Nigerian students in the UK did not like his work. The fact that he was the first Nigerian author to get international recognition subsequently established him as the face of Nigerian literature back then. This did not sit well with these Nigerian students especially because of the broken English his books were written in.

I read the The Witch-Herbalist of the Remote Town some donkey years ago, and the Palm-Wine Drinkard a little after that. As little as i was then i still couldn't help thinking, da.mn i can string better tenses than this!
But what got me hooked on the half-cooked stories was the imagery described - so fantastic you couldn't help wondering where he got his ideas from. And my God, were they funny - some really, really bizarre monsters! All in all, it wasn't a bad read - the tenses not withstanding, you gotta admit the stories had originality - a very rare quality in today's literature.

If you love REAL folklore (and you don't mind bad english!), go for Pa Amos's works.

One of the best writers out there!

lagbaja20:

One of the best writers out there!

Seconded, thirded and fourthed!!!LOL

maedan:

Seconded, thirded and fourthed!!!LOL

some sense of humor u've got, gurl. . .

'palmwine drinkard' wierd book then but was a good read, real art, my first contact with metaphors of that magnitude