Orality in writing : its cultural and political function in a Anglophone African, African-Caribbean, and African-Canadian poetry

For years, critics have used Black writers' interweaving of African-derived oral textual features and European written forms to reject the concept of the Great Divide between orality and writing in literacy studies. These critics primarily see the hybridized texts of writers of African descent...

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Main Author: Adu-Gyamfi, Yaw
Other Authors: Morrell, Carol
Format: Others
Language:en
Published: University of Saskatchewan 1999
Subjects:
Online Access:http://library.usask.ca/theses/available/etd-10212004-001428
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spelling ndltd-USASK-oai-usask.ca-etd-10212004-0014282013-01-08T16:31:51Z Orality in writing : its cultural and political function in a Anglophone African, African-Caribbean, and African-Canadian poetry Adu-Gyamfi, Yaw African-Canadian poetry African-Caribbean poetry Anglophone African poetry oral poetry oral literature For years, critics have used Black writers' interweaving of African-derived oral textual features and European written forms to reject the concept of the Great Divide between orality and writing in literacy studies. These critics primarily see the hybridized texts of writers of African descent as a model that assists in the complex union of writing and orality. My argument is that the integrationist model is not the only way, perhaps not even the most fruitful way, to read the hybridized texts of writers of African descent. I develop a reading of Anglophone African, African-Caribbean, and African-Canadian literature that sees the synthesis of orality and writing as an emergent discourse, free of the dogmatisms of textuality and of colonial literary standards, that contributes to the cultural and political aspirations of writers of African descent. In transcribing African-derived orality into writing, Black writers emphasize the ethnic component of their African identity, thereby decolonizing their literature. Consequently, the literature functions as locus or epitome of community-created culture and counter-colonial discourse, portraying the Black writer as a self-assertive community agent with the potential for forging a new historically informed identity. My introduction identifies the scope of the study, defining what constitutes African-derived oral textual features and outlining the critical theories that will be instrumental to my analysis. I also explain why I selected the writers Wole Soyinka (African), Edward Kamau Brathwaite, Louise Bennett (African-Caribbean), Lillian Allen, Marlene Nourbese Philip, and Clifton Joseph (African-Canadian) as examples of writers who have utilized orality in writing as political and cultural expression. Chapter One provides a background to pre-colonial African oral discourse. Chapters Two, Three, and Four respectively focus on Anglophone African, African Caribbean, and African Canadian poets' uses of orality in writing to reflect an eclectic cultural heritage. A brief conclusion follows these chapters. It reaffirms my primary thesis that the dynamic union of orality and writing in Anglophone African, African-Caribbean, and African-Canadian written poetry functions as the expression of a new kind of cultural and political discourse, in search of a new audience and a critical approach that requires both Africanist and European critical perspectives. Morrell, Carol University of Saskatchewan 1999-01-01 text application/pdf http://library.usask.ca/theses/available/etd-10212004-001428 http://library.usask.ca/theses/available/etd-10212004-001428 en unrestricted I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University of Saskatchewan or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report.
collection NDLTD
language en
format Others
sources NDLTD
topic African-Canadian poetry
African-Caribbean poetry
Anglophone African poetry
oral poetry
oral literature
spellingShingle African-Canadian poetry
African-Caribbean poetry
Anglophone African poetry
oral poetry
oral literature
Adu-Gyamfi, Yaw
Orality in writing : its cultural and political function in a Anglophone African, African-Caribbean, and African-Canadian poetry
description For years, critics have used Black writers' interweaving of African-derived oral textual features and European written forms to reject the concept of the Great Divide between orality and writing in literacy studies. These critics primarily see the hybridized texts of writers of African descent as a model that assists in the complex union of writing and orality. My argument is that the integrationist model is not the only way, perhaps not even the most fruitful way, to read the hybridized texts of writers of African descent. I develop a reading of Anglophone African, African-Caribbean, and African-Canadian literature that sees the synthesis of orality and writing as an emergent discourse, free of the dogmatisms of textuality and of colonial literary standards, that contributes to the cultural and political aspirations of writers of African descent. In transcribing African-derived orality into writing, Black writers emphasize the ethnic component of their African identity, thereby decolonizing their literature. Consequently, the literature functions as locus or epitome of community-created culture and counter-colonial discourse, portraying the Black writer as a self-assertive community agent with the potential for forging a new historically informed identity. My introduction identifies the scope of the study, defining what constitutes African-derived oral textual features and outlining the critical theories that will be instrumental to my analysis. I also explain why I selected the writers Wole Soyinka (African), Edward Kamau Brathwaite, Louise Bennett (African-Caribbean), Lillian Allen, Marlene Nourbese Philip, and Clifton Joseph (African-Canadian) as examples of writers who have utilized orality in writing as political and cultural expression. Chapter One provides a background to pre-colonial African oral discourse. Chapters Two, Three, and Four respectively focus on Anglophone African, African Caribbean, and African Canadian poets' uses of orality in writing to reflect an eclectic cultural heritage. A brief conclusion follows these chapters. It reaffirms my primary thesis that the dynamic union of orality and writing in Anglophone African, African-Caribbean, and African-Canadian written poetry functions as the expression of a new kind of cultural and political discourse, in search of a new audience and a critical approach that requires both Africanist and European critical perspectives.
author2 Morrell, Carol
author_facet Morrell, Carol
Adu-Gyamfi, Yaw
author Adu-Gyamfi, Yaw
author_sort Adu-Gyamfi, Yaw
title Orality in writing : its cultural and political function in a Anglophone African, African-Caribbean, and African-Canadian poetry
title_short Orality in writing : its cultural and political function in a Anglophone African, African-Caribbean, and African-Canadian poetry
title_full Orality in writing : its cultural and political function in a Anglophone African, African-Caribbean, and African-Canadian poetry
title_fullStr Orality in writing : its cultural and political function in a Anglophone African, African-Caribbean, and African-Canadian poetry
title_full_unstemmed Orality in writing : its cultural and political function in a Anglophone African, African-Caribbean, and African-Canadian poetry
title_sort orality in writing : its cultural and political function in a anglophone african, african-caribbean, and african-canadian poetry
publisher University of Saskatchewan
publishDate 1999
url http://library.usask.ca/theses/available/etd-10212004-001428
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