African Myths of Origin
10 best books like African Myths of Origin (Anonymous): African Folktales, Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folktales, The Penguin Book of Modern African Poetry, The Handbook of Yoruba Religious Concepts, The Beggars' Strike, Chinese Fairy Tales and Fantasies, Hopes and Impediments: Selected Essays, Latin American Folktales, Arab Folktales, Gods and Soldiers: The Penguin Anthology of Contemporary African Writing
Just like the others, I really enjoyed the tales, but not the commentary, which seemed excessive, superficial and a justification for the white scientist to have his name on the cover. Also, the grouping was weird (I would prefer by tribe), and the pictures of art objects seemed to be attached to fairy...
Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folktales
| Author | Nelson Mandela |
| ISBN | 0393052125 |
In these beloved stories we meet a Kenyan lion named Simba, a snake with seven heads, and tricksters from Zulu folklore; we hear the voices of the scheming hyena, and we learn from a Khoi fable how animals acquired their tails and horns. Creation myths tell us how the land, its animals, and its people all...
| Author | Gerald Moore |
| ISBN | 0141181001 |
I remember finding Noémia de Sousa online and then in a looseleaf literary piece while in Portugal. I had nothing but time in Portugal, so I sat at a cafe and slowly tried to translate her verse, using a portable Portuguese translator.
Canção fraterna
Irmão negro de voz quente
o...
The Handbook of Yoruba Religious Concepts
| Author | Baba Ifa Karade |
| ISBN | 0877287899 |
In this introductory volume, Baba Ifa Karade provides an easily understandable overview of the Yoruba religion. He describes 16 orisha and shows us how to work with divination, to use the chakras to internalize the teachings of Yoruba, and describes howto create a sacred place of worship. Includes...
| Author | Aminata Sow Fall |
| ISBN | 0582002435 |
The sight of disease-ridden beggars in the streets is giving the town a bad name, and the tourists are starting to stay away. If the Director of Public Health and Hygiene can get rid of them he will have done a great service to the health and economy of the nation - not to mention his own promotion prospects....
Quite a treasury. I liked the numerous short fables even better than the stories. And the introduction, that gives just a bit of historical context, esp. re the rivalry between the Confucians and the Taoists, is helpful.
My favorite is one of the very shortest:
"The Missing Axe
"A...
Hopes and Impediments: Selected Essays
One of the most provocative and original voices in contemporary literature, Chinua Achebe here considers the place of literature and art in our society in a collection of essays spanning his best writing and lectures from the last twenty-three years. For Achebe, overcoming Eurocentrism goes hand...
The wisdom and artistry of Latin America's storytellers preserve one of the world's richest folktale traditions—combining the lore of medieval Europe, the ancient Near East, and pre-Columbian America. Among the essential characters are the quiet man's wife who knew the Devil's secrets, the...
| Author | Inea Bushnaq |
| ISBN | 0394751795 |
While containing a broad sampling of folktales from the Arab people, there are a few problems that consistently bothered me about this book. The author, in her commentary, claims that "the true Arab is the desert nomad," an idea which folklorist Dwight Reynolds has said is culturally inaccurate and...
| Author | Rob Spillman |
| ISBN | 0143114735 |
A one-of-a-kind collection showcasing the energy of new African literature
Coming at a time when Africa and African writers are in the midst of a remarkable renaissance, Gods and Soldiers captures the vitality and urgency of African writing today. With stories from northern Arabic-speaking...
| Author | Publius Papinius Statius |
| ISBN | 0801886368 |
A classical epic of fratricide and war, the Thebaid retells the legendary conflict between the sons of Oedipus Polynices and Eteocles for control of the city of Thebes. The Latin poet Statius reworks a familiar story from Greek myth, dramatized long before by Aeschylus in his tragedy Seven against...
The Writer's Digest Sourcebook for Building Believable Characters
| Author | Marc Mucutcheon |
| ISBN | 1582970270 |
Using this reference, readers can create characters who think, hope, love, cry, cause or feel pain, save the day - and seize readers by emotion. Mark McCutcheon eases the process of building convincing characters for stories and novels. He starts by conducting an inspiring and informative roundtable...
African Presence in Early Asia
| Author | Runoko Rashidi |
| ISBN | 0887387179 |
The contributors to this volume argue that blacks were a formative civilizing influence on Asian societies. Presenting their case with persuasive eloquence and research, the authors examine cultural forms, art motifs, weapons, scripts, and skeletal evidence to link Asian civilizations to Africa's...
| Author | Mir Amman |
| ISBN | 0140455183 |
Originally composed in the fourteenth century by Amir Khusrau and made popular in 1803 by Mir Amman's colloquial retelling, this wonderfully entertaining story paints a portrait of a distant and colorful time and place.
In despair at having no son to succeed him, the king of Turkey leaves his palace...
Little Boys Come from the Stars
| Author | Emmanuel Dongala |
| ISBN | 0385721226 |
Sardonic, subtle, and sweetly scathing, Little Boys Come from the Stars is satire at its best.
Set in an unnamed country in equatorial Africa, it tells the story of Michel, a precocious teen dubbed Matapari (“trouble”) because of his extraordinary birth. Though his father is a reclusive...
How to Write about Africa
| Author | Binyavanga Wainaina |
This trio of sharp-witted essays takes irony to a new level. In 'How to Write About Africa', Wainaina dissects the cliché of Africa and the preconceptions dear to western writers and readers with ruthless precision. In the same fashion, ‘My Clan KC’ undresses the layers of meaning shrouding the...
| Author | damali ayo |
| ISBN | 1556525737 |
A hilarious and satirical look at race relations that is almost too close for comfort, this pseudo-guidebook gives both renters and rentals "much-needed" advice and tips on technique. Reframing actual stories, techniques, requests, and responses gathered from the author's more than 30 years of...
Unhooked Generation: The Truth About Why We're Still Single
| Author | Jillian Straus |
| ISBN | 1401301320 |
"If every man and woman under 40 who is not in a happy, committed relationship reads Jillian Straus's shocking, heartbreaking, and persuasive exploration of love among the Unhooked Generation, far fewer romances will end in tears. This book will give readers the aha! of recognition they have been...
The Sculptors of Mapungubwe
In the timeless kingdom of Mapungubwe, the royal sculptor had two sons, Chata and Rendani. As they grew, so grew their rivalry—and their extraordinary talents. But while Rendani became a master carver of the animals that run in the wild hills and lush valleys of the land, Chata learned to carve fantastic...
| Author | Kwame Nkrumah |
| ISBN | 0717802965 |
This book, by a great PanAfricanist leader, sets out the case for the total liberation and unification of Africa. It is essential reading for all interested in world socio-economic developmental processes. Those who might have considered in 1963, when Africa Must Unite was first published, that...
The Way of Orisa: Empowering Your Life Through the Ancient African Religion of Ifa
| Author | Philip J. Neimark |
| ISBN | 0062505572 |
Carried to the Americas by slaves, the 8,000-year-old philosophy of Ifa originated with the Yoruba peoples of West Africa. Ifa's enduring message of strength and inner peace, one that offers a way to harmonize our spiritual and worldly aims, is enjoying a resurgence of popularity in the West. Written...
Ethics: Theory and Practice
| Author | Jacques P. Thiroux |
| ISBN | 0205672361 |
With a clear presentation, Ethics: Theory and Practice educates readers about ethical theory and has them apply what they learn to specific classic and contemporary moral problems (lying, cheating, establishing ethical business practices, honoring ethical obligations in medicine, etc.).Jacques...
The West and the Rest of Us: White Predators, Black Slavers and the African Elite
| Author | Chinweizu |
| ISBN | 0394715225 |
I don't think I'll finish this book. In a way that is unfortunate, as I truly appreciate the alternate history it provides. Important and rare is the book, like this one, which shows the reader another side of history, one not told by European victors or misinformed by their perceptions and myths. Chinweizu...
