1

JUNIO
R
HIGH
SCHO
GRADE 8 – English
OL
2nd QUARTER
Notable Literary Works Contributed by African
LEARNING
Writers
MODULE 1
Prepared By:
Mae Ann M.
Piorque, LPT

THE LEARNING MODULE IS PREPARED AND

PRODUCED FOR THE LIGHT CHRISTIAN ACADEMY
OF ABC’S CHILDREN AID PHILIPPINES-
BINALBAGAN STUDENTS’ USE ONLY
NOT FOR SALE

THIS MODULE IS FOR TLCA LEARNERS USE ONLY! (NOT FOR SALE!)
2

I. Gaining in your end

I will be able to:
 Describe different notable literary genres contributed by African writers

II. As you Move

o Do you have any idea what is African Literature?
_______________________________________
o Give at least 2 (two) African writers that you know.
1.______________________
2. ______________________

III. Matter in Hand

Africa is a big continent that got its name from the Romans. Africa has a great variety of climate, people,
culture, languages and land. Their life is full of emotional stories touched by slavery, humiliation, poverty, hard work
and struggle. They are known to be resilient as they went on in life.

Notable Literary Genres of African Writers

Exploration and colonization of Africa by the Europeans began in the 15 th century. It reached its height in
the 19th century; so that by 1900, the continent was almost completely divided up among the European colonial
powers.
The mid-20th century saw the rapid rise of African nationalism which caused independence among many
colonies. The colonial domination also caused a rapid social change
In literature, there was breakthrough. The early writings were all about tribe, nature, and the gods. When
white men came in, many writers extolled the Christian way of life and the virtues that the missionaries preached.

Some of the first African writings to gain attention in the West were the poignant slave narratives, such as
The Interesting Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa, the African (1789),
which described vividly the horrors of slavery and the slave trade. As Africans became literate in their own
languages, they often reacted against colonial repression in their writings.
During the 19th century, writers from western Africa used newspapers to air their views. Several founded
newspapers that served as vehicles for expressing nascent nationalist feelings. French-speaking Africans in
France, led by Léopold Senghor, were active in the négritude movement from the 1930s, along with Léon Damas
and Aimé Césaire, French speakers from French Guiana and Martinique. Their poetry not only denounced
colonialism, it proudly asserted the validity of the cultures that the colonials had tried to crush.
After World War II, as Africans began demanding their independence, more African writers were published.
Such writers as, in western Africa, Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe, Ousmane Sembene, Kofi Awooner, Agostinho
Neto , Tchicaya u tam'si, Camera Laye, Mongo Beti, Ben Okri, and Ferdinand Oyono and, in eastern Africa, Ngugi
wa Thiong'o , Okot p'Bitek , and Jacques Rabémananjara produced poetry, short stories, novels, essays, and plays.
All were writing in European languages, and often they shared the same themes: the clash between
indigenous and colonial cultures, condemnation of European subjugation, pride in the African past, and hope for the
continent's independent future.Africa is known to the world as the motherland because it is the second largest
continent in the world that is gifted with the 4 th biggest island in the world, the Madagascar Island, the longest river
in the world, the Nile river, the biggest, Lake Victoria, among other nature superlatives.
There are 54 nations which make up Africa. Each of these separate countries have their own history,
culture, tribes, and traditions. That being said, there are some commonalities shared by literature which comes from
the continent as a whole.
Defining African literature can be complicated. There are some authors who believe African literature can
only be composed in African languages. Others believe African literature can be composed in any language so long
as it is composed by authors from Africa.
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A Nigerian novelist, poet, professor, and critic. His first novel

Things Fall Apart, often considered his masterpiece, is the most
widely read book in modern African literature.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinua_Achebe)
Akinwande Oluwole Babatunde Soyinka, known as Wole Soyinka, is
Chinua Achebe a Nigerian playwright, poet and essayist. He was awarded the 1986
Nobel Prize in Literature, the first African to be honored in that category.
(https://www.google.com/searc
Soyinka was born into a Yoruba family in Abeokuta.
h?q=Chinua+Achebe&sa) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wole_Soyinka)

Wole Soyinka
(https://www.google.com/
search?
q=Wole+Soyinka&sa)
Though African literature's history is as long as it is rich, most of the popular works have come out since
1950, especially the noteworthy Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe.

Diop was a French West African poet known for his contribution to
the Négritude literary movement. His work reflects his anti-colonial
stance. 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Diop)

David Diop
http
s://www.google.com/sear
ch?
q=david+diop&tbm=isch& He was born in 1942 in Lourenço Marques (actually Maputo),
source Mozambique. He studied
Christopher Ifekandulaw in Portugal.
Okigbo Back in 1964
was a Nigerian poet,he became
teacher, a
and
militant to liberate Mozambique from Portuguese colonial rule. He was
librarian, who died fighting for the independence of Biafra. He is today
incarcerated for three years.
widely acknowledged as an outstanding postcolonial English-
(https://www.revuenoire.com/en/luis-bernardo-honwana-
language African poet and one of the major modernist writers of the
Luís Bernardo Honwana mozambique/)
20th century. 
(https://www.revuenoire.com/e (https://www.google.com/search?sa=X&q=
Christopher Ifekandu Okigbo
n/luis-bernardo-honwana- Christopher+Okigbo&stick=)
mozambique/)
https://www.google.com/searc
h?
q=Christopher+Okigbo&sa=X&s
tick=
IV. KEY POINTS
Africa is a big continent that got its name from the Romans. Africa has a great variety of
climate, people, culture, languages and land. Their life is full of emotional stories touched by
slavery, humiliation, poverty, hard work and struggle. They are known to be resilient as they went
on in life.

Notable Literary Genres of African Writers

Chinua Achebe
A Nigerian novelist, poet, professor, and critic. His first novel Things Fall Apart, often considered his masterpiece, is
the most widely read book in modern African literature.
THIS MODULE IS FOR TLCA LEARNERS USE ONLY! (NOT FOR SALE!)
4

Wole Soyinka
Akinwande Oluwole Babatunde Soyinka, known as Wole Soyinka, is a Nigerian playwright, poet and essayist. He
was awarded the 1986 Nobel Prize in Literature, the first African to be honored in that category. Soyinka was born
into a Yoruba family in Abeokuta.
David Diop
Diop was a French West African poet known for his contribution to the Négritude literary movement. His work
reflects his anti-colonial stance.
 
Luís Bernardo Honwana
He was born in 1942 in Lourenço Marques (actually Maputo), Mozambique. He studied law in Portugal. Back in
1964 he became a militant to liberate Mozambique from Portuguese colonial rule. He was incarcerated for three
years.

Christopher Ifekandu Okigbo

Christopher Ifekandu Okigbo was a Nigerian poet, teacher, and librarian, who died fighting for the
independence of Biafra. He is today widely acknowledged as an outstanding postcolonial English-language African
poet and one of the major modernist writers of the 20th century.

V. Think Through
OC Module 2.1Worksheet
Name: Grade Level & Section:
Date: Score: Parent/Guardian’s Signature:

Directions: Describe the following African writers.

1. Chinua Achebe
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________

2. Christopher Ifekandu Okigbo

_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________

3. Wole Soyinka
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________

4. David Diop
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________

5. Luis Bernardo Honwana

__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
THIS MODULE IS FOR TLCA LEARNERS USE ONLY! (NOT FOR SALE!)
5

VI. RESOURCE/S
 (Language in Literature: Afro-Asian Literature, p. 436)
 (https://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/arts/world-lit/misc/african-
literature
 (https://www.kids-world-travel-guide.com/africa-facts.html
 (https://study.com/academy/lesson/african-literature-history-
characteristics.html#:~:text=Sub%2DSaharan%20Africa%20developed
%20a,nineteenth%20and%20early%20twentieth%20centuries.&text=Though
%20African%20literature's%20history%20is,Fall%20Apart%20by%20Chinua
%20Achebe.)

THIS MODULE IS FOR TLCA LEARNERS USE ONLY! (NOT FOR SALE!)