Achebe, Chinua. “The African Writer and the English Language,” in Colonial Discourse and Post- Colonial Theory: A Reader, edited by Patrick Williams and Laura Chrisman, 428-434. Routledge, 1994.
“In June 1952, there was a writers' gathering at Makerere, impressively styled: 'A Conference of African Writers of English Expression'. Despite this sonorous and rather solemn title, it turned out to be a very lively affair and a very exciting and useful experience for many of us. But there was something which we tried to do and failed - that was to define 'African literature' satisfactorily. Was it literature produced in Africa or about Africa? Could African literature be on any subject, or must it have an African theme? Should it embrace the whole continent or south of the Sahara, or just Black Africa? And then the question of language. Should it be in indigenous African languages, or should it include Arabic, English, French, Portuguese, Afrikaans, et cetera?”
[Source: excerpt from chapter]
