Date :      Sun, 24 Feb 2002
From:      Joseph Caruso
            <jc93@columbia.edu>

[Editor's note: cross-posted from
H-SAFRICA@H-NET.MSU.EDU]


AFRICA'S 100 BEST BOOKS OF THE 20TH CENTURY


To view the complete press release and the final list, see:
        http://zibf.org/newsreleaseac.html

Excerpts from "Announcement" by the Chairman of the
Jury, Africa's 100 Best Books of the 20th Century,
Professor Njabulo Ndebele, Tuesday, 18 February 2002,
Golden Tulip Hotel, Accra, Ghana

The Jury to select Africa's 100 best books of the
twentieth century met in Accra, Ghana and have
completed their task. They considered over five hundred
nominations, from the original one thousand five
hundred and twenty-one nominations proposed from many
sources all round the world. Prior to the meeting in
Accra, members of the Jury had already reduced this
list, via electronic discussion, to a more manageable
number. An initial meeting to set the guidelines for
the process of selection was held in Harare Zimbabwe in
August 2001.

The idea of a list of Africa's 100 best books of the
twentieth century came from the celebrated author Ali
Mazrui at the Zimbabwe International Book Fair in 1998.
His vision was to find a way to direct the spotlight of
the world on the achievements of African writers who
have had their works published in the twentieth
century.

The Jury, whose names are appended below, comes from
thirteen countries representing all the regions of
Africa as well as other continents. Each member has
expertise in African writing and publishing generally
and specifically in the areas of the different
categories demanded of this project.

The books considered were in three categories:
children's writing, non-fiction/scholarship and
creative writing, which further divides into short
stories, novels, poetry and drama. Books were
considered in Afrikaans, Arabic, English, French,
Gikuyu, Portuguese, Sesotho, Shona, Swahili, IsiXhosa,
Yoruba and IsiZulu.  All the nominated books were
subjected to rigorous criteria and had to meet some, if
not all, of these. Criteria included assessment of
quality, ability of a book to provide new information
or new insight, continuing contribution to debate,
extent to which a book breaks boundaries, and impact
through such matters as popularity, sales and public
influence. The Jury was particularly concerned to
ensure in the final list a balance of regional
representation, gender, historical spread and genres of
writing.

For all the 15 members of the jury, their arguments,
their exchange of information and their final decisions
have been exhilarating as well as a learning process.
Decisions of the jury were largely arrived at through
unanimity after rigorous debate.  The process that
produced this list has not been an easy one and the
difficult options that the jury had to face cannot be
demonstrated in a short press statement as this. It was
a slow considered and demanding process that finally
led to the jury's choice of the best 100 titles of
African writing in the twentieth century.

From this list, the jury also decided on the best
twelve African books of the twentieth century.  We
believe it is time to celebrate a century of superb
achievement in African creative writing, scholarship
and children's literature. We believe that this list
will provoke debate and lead to republication,
translations and curriculum inclusion. We can look
forward to the next 100 years of an Africa brimming
with creative energy across the entire continent.

The top twelve best books selected are listed below:

Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart, 1958

Meshack Asare, Sosu's Call, 1999

Mariama Ba, Une si longue letter (So Long a Letter),
1979.

Mia Couto, Terra Sonambula 1992

Tsitsi Dangarembga, Nervous Conditions, 1988

Cheikh Anta Diop, The African Origins of Civilization:
Myth or Reality 1955

Assia Djebar, L'Armour, La fantasia, 1985

Naguib Mahfouz, The Cairo Trilogy, 1945

Thomas Mofolo, Chaka, 1925

Wole Soyinka, Ake: The Years of Childhood, 1981

Ngugi wa Thiongo, A Grain of Wheat 1967

Leopold Sedar Senghor, Oeuvre Poetique 1961


Special Commendation: UNESCO General History of Africa,
Vols. I-VIII.


*Here follows the list of the members of the Jury:

Professor Njabulo Ndebele (Chairperson)
Ms. Wangui wa Goro
Dr. Alastair Niven
Dr. Fatoumata Keita
Professor Fatima Mendonca
Dr. Ato Quayson
Dr. Zifikile Mguni-Gambahaya
Professor Ali Mazrui
Professor Helge Ronning
Professor Bankole Omotoso
Professor Eldred Jones
Mr. Bernard Magnier
Dr. Adotey Bing
Dr. Nana Wilson-Tagoe
Mr. Samir Saad Khalil
Professor Alois S. Mlambo (Ex-officio)

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