[The Heroic End of Babemba, King of Sikasso] (1980) by C.O.Diong, or accounts of every
day life (Moussa et Amina au village [Moussa and Amina in the Village] (1985) by
J.H.Kihm. More scientific books are still very rare, but a new, simple and cheap
encyclopedia, which covers scientific themes in a well-organised manner, has appeared:
the Encyclopedia Afrique Jeunes. Some books are on the borderline, using traditional
tales to convey, for example, a message about health.
Comics are read widely; African comics have asserted themselves and are very diverse
—from the life story of a great person to police adventures (L’ombre de Boy Melakh [The
Shadow of Boy Melakh] (1989) by S.Fall). In a style sometimes reminiscent of the West,
but with an inspiration and a humour which is entirely African, writers such as
B.Baruti in Zaïre, S.Fall or G.Lorofi in Senegal have been very successful.
Many writers, such as J. de Cavally, F.Ndiaye Sow, Th. Ndiaye, J.M. Adiaffi and
T.Boni, come from the world of teaching: more knowledge about children’s wants, needs,
interests and difficulties has allowed entertaining books to be written. Recent books are
more realistic and simpler, and make more use of dialogue. This new generation of
writers is without doubt closer to the public (for example, V.Tadjo, S.Njami and N.Thiam);
similarly, the illustrators have broken away from tradition, and have used more
personal styles (M. Seka Seka, J.Daïkou). Many important writers for adults have
written for this new public —L.S.Senghor, A.Hampâte Bâ, J.M.Adiaffi, W.Sassine,
B.Dadié, G. Menga, P.Ngandu Nkashama, F.Bebey, although usually in a single piece of
work.
Reading networks have evolved, the ‘non-school’ book has entered the school
(sometimes thanks to national programmes); children’s books are acquiring recognition
and are written by ‘real’ writers for children. Professionalisation, courses in creative
writing, international exchanges, book exhibitions, visits by writers to schools, the
creation of bilingual works or books in national languages, competitions and literary
prizes are all indicators of the vitality—against all odds— of this literature. New editions,
often less ‘luxurious’ than before, but produced locally, open new perspectives. The two
objectives—education and entertainment —although still linked, are becoming more
distinct.
It is the cost and the poor distribution of the books both inside and outside their
countries of origin which remain the main impediment to development.
ReferencesAmadi, A. (1981) ‘The emergence of a library tradition in pre- and post-colonial Africa’, in
International Library Review 13:68–69.
Chakava, H. (1984) ‘Reading in Africa: some obstacles’, in IFLA Journal 10, 4:348–356.
Dillsworth, G. (1988) ‘Children’s and Youth Literature in Sierra Leone’, in African Youth Literature
Today and Tomorrow, Bonn: Deutsch UNESCO-Kommission.
Heale, J. (1993) SACBIP 93: South African Children’s Books in Print (Supplement), Grabouw:
Bookchat.
Kotei, S.I.A. (1982) Le livre aujourd’hui en Afrique [African Books Today], Paris: Les Presses de l’
Unesco.
Lawal, O.O. (1989) ‘Children in fiction: the Nigerian perspective’, in Bookbird 27, 2:9–12.
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