ALT 18 Orature in African Literature Today

Among the best points about this issue of African Literature Today is the fact that a subject such as orature...has been discussed lucidly by critics concentrating on practicality and functionality.

• Myth and modernity - African writers and their roots, E.D. Jones; yearning for utopia - orality versus literacy in Mazisi Kunene's "Emperor Shaka the Great", W. Ogundele; oral tradition and modern African poetry - Okot p'Bitek's "Song of Lawino" and Okigbo's "Labyrinths", C.A. Bodunde; Kofi Awoonor as a poet, I. Elimimian; Niyi Osundare's poetry and the Yoruba oral artistic tradition, A. Bamikunle; plot and conflict in African folktales, S. Ukala; oral echoes in Armah's short stories, O.S. Ogede; "Two Thousand Seasons" a dissent, D. Wright; the folk roots of Flora Nwapa's early novels, C. Ikonne; oral literature and modern Nigerian drama - the example of Femi Osofisan, M.P. Awodiya; French-language African drama and the oral tradition - trends and issues, J. Conteh-Morgan.