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Africa’s New Nigeria. She spoke four languages and was an early
African feminist. And she is just one example, of

Daughters important African women writers.

We need to read African writers. We need to

Who is your favourite African author? Is it a man or a understand African women’s experience abroad
woman? Does he or she live in West Africa or in Europe and at home. We need to appreciate the things that
or the US? The most popular African authors are influenced them and helped them write. Above all, we
usually men. You probably know the names of Leopold need to respect the power of Africa though its women
Sedar Senghor and Aime Cesaire and, of course, writers – not just the men.
Chinua Achebe (Nigeria) and Ngugi wa Thyong’o
(Kenya) but can you name a famous woman writer from New words for this article
Africa?
World famous Famous all over the world
There are many older and younger writers and all Published Edited
are writing about their experience of living in Africa Novel A book of fiction
and other countries. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a Lecturer A person who teaches at a
Nigerian novelist. She is world famous and she is also a university
feminist. Her most famous novel is ‘Half of a Yellow Sun’ Brought up in Educated and lived in a particular
(l’Autre Moitie du Soleil), published in 2007. Her latest place
novel is about being an African in America. Its title is Crow A large black bird
‘Amerikanah’ published in 2016. She has published Boarding school A school where the students live
over 10 books, including ‘We should all be Feminists’ and study
(Nous Sommes Tous des Feministes), published in Above all Most important
2016.

Two famous Francophone women writers are Fatou Comprehension Questions

Diome from Senegal and Veronique Tadjo from Cote
d’Ivoire. Fatou Diome was born in Niodor, a small island
in Senegal. She lived with her grandmother when she
was young and went with her French husband to live
in France. She studied at the university of Strasbourg
and published her first novel, ’Le Ventre de l’Atlantique’
(The Belly of the Atlantic) in 2003. She is an important
author and also a university lecturer.
1 Where does Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie come
from?
2 What is the title of her most famous novel?
3 What Amerikanah about?
4 How many books has she published?

Veronique Tadjo is also a writer and teacher. She

was born in Paris but brought up in Abidjan, in Cote
d’Ivoire. She studied in Abidjan but did her doctorate
at the Sorbonne in Paris. She writes novels, poems and
children’s books. She draws and paints the pictures for
her children’s books as well. Her most famous novel?
I think it’s ‘L’ombre d’Imana’ (The Shadow of Imana).
This is her novel about Rwanda. She visited Rwanda in
1998. Her latest novel is ‘Far from my Father’ (Loin de
Mon Pere) published in 2010. What about her poetry?
Try ‘Wangui wa Goro’ (As the Crow Flies).

Margaret Busby is a publisher. She was born in

Zimbabwe, brought up in Ghana and educated in
England in a boarding school in Sussex. She was the
Director of Alison and Busby, a publisher in London.
4 Over 10 books.
She specialised in African writers. In 1992 she
3 It’s about living in America.
published a book on African Women writers called,
2 It’s “Half of a Yellow Sun”.
‘Daughters of Africa.’ Now she has published a new
1 She comes from Nigeria
book, ‘New daughters of Africa’, with 200 contributions
Comprehension questions
from writers in over 50 countries. Did you know about
Nana Asma’u (1793-1863)? She was from Northern
Answers

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