A rain of words
Subtitle: a bilingual anthology of women's poetry in Francophone Africa
By: edited by Irène Assiba d'Almeida ; translated by Janis A. Mayes.
Contributors: Almeida, Irène Assiba d'.; Mayes, Janis Alene.
Series: CARAF books
Publisher: University of Virginia Press
Published: 2009
Place of publication: Charlottesville
Language: eng
Number of pages: 293
ISBN-13: 9780813927657; 9780813927664
Subjects: African poetry (French) -- Women authors -- Translations into English; African poetry (French) -- Women authors
Genres: Translations into English.
Description: "Although the past two decades have seen a wide recognition of the notable fiction written in French by African women, little attention has been given to their equally significant poetry. A Rain of Words is the first comprehensive attempt to survey the poetic production of these women, collecting work by forty-seven poets from a dozen francophone African countries. Some are established writers; others are only beginning to publish their work. Almost none of the poems here have been published outside of Africa or Europe or been previously translated into English. The poems are accompanied by brief biographies of the poets, a glossary, and an extensive bibliography. Supplementing these are a critical introductory essay by Irene Assiba d'Almeida that places women's poetry in the context of recent African history, characterizes its thematic and aesthetic features, and traces the process by which the anthology was compiled and edited, and an essay by Janis A. Mayes discussing language politics, the cultural contexts within which the poetry emerges, and literary translation strategies." "This landmark bilingual collection - the result of ten years of research, collection, editing, and translation - offers readers of English and French entry into a flourishing and essential genre of contemporary African literature."--Jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.