African Literature is literature from Africa, either
oral ("orature") or written in African and Afro-Asiatic languages.
Examples of pre-colonial African literature can be traced back to at
least the fourth century AD. The best-known is the Kebra Negast, or
"Book of Kings."
A common theme during the colonial period is the slave narrative, often
written in English or French for western audiences. Among the first
pieces of African literature to receive significant worldwide critical
acclaim was Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe, published in 1958.
African literature in the late colonial period increasingly feature
themes of liberation and independence