West Africa
Subtitle: word, symbol, song
By: edited by Gus Casely-Hayford, Janet Topp Fargion and Marion Wallace
Contributors: British Library
Publisher: British Library
Published: 2015
Place of publication: London
Language: eng
Number of pages: 160
ISBN-13: 9780712309899
Subjects: Exhibitions; African literature; History and criticism; Oral tradition; Songs and music; Civilization; Songs; British Library
Description: "This bold, challenging and celebratory new book accompanies a major exhibition at the British Library - the first in the UK to explore in such detail the vibrant cultural history of this complex and compelling region. The authors explain how West Africans have profoundly shaped their own histories, focusing in particular on their profound and engaging literary culture, exploring the region's centuries-old written heritage alongside its even older oral traditions. The book ranges across a millennium of history, from the great empires of the middle ages through colonialism, resistance and independence to contemporary life and culture. Writers, scholars and artists have harnessed the power of words to build societies, to make political statements, to communicate faith, to fight injustice and enslavement, and to respond to the experience of diaspora. Today, West Africa is experiencing an outpouring of creativity in a variety of media. In this richly illustrated book, leading international scholars of music, literature, history and anthropology offer a unique insight into the stories of West African societies past and present."--
Notes: Published on the occasion of an exhibition of the same name, held at the British Library October 16, 2015-February 16, 2016.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 155-157) and index.
Table of contents: title: Building : narrative and knowledge in precolonial West Africa / Gus Casely-Hayford; title: Spirit : histories of religion and the word / Insa Nolte; title: Crossings : word and music across the Atlantic / Lucy Durán, Janet Topp Fargion and Marion Wallace; title: Speaking out : dissent and creativity in the colonial era and beyond / Karin Barber and Stephanie Newell; title: Making : the West African imagination since independence / Pius Adesanmi.