Books
Reference
Harold Courlander
A Treasury of African Folklore: The Oral Literature, Traditions, Myths, Legends, Epics, Tales, Recollections, Wisdom, Sayings and Humour of Africa
A collection of works that exemplify the rich folklore and stroytelling heritage of the peoples of Africa, including the Hause, Kanuri, Ashanti, Mbundu, Zulu, Hottentot and Mensa tribes.
Marlowe and Co., USA 1996 ISBN 1569248168
Wiiliam de Brito (ed.)
The Trickster's Tongue
An anthology of poetry in translation from Africa and the African diaspora.
This pan-African anthology of poetry in translation is unrivalled in its historical, geographic and aesthetic scope. The material ranges from the time of the ancient Nubian King Piankhy to the contemporary Cuban poet Nancy Morejón. Much of the unique selection appears in English translation for the first time in this work.
Peepal Tree Press 2007 £14.99 ISBN 9781900715881
Will Eisner
Graphic Storytelling
Comic book artist Eisner examines the art of graphic storytelling in all kinds of visual media and demonstrates how to enhance stories with images.
North Light Books 2002 ISBN 0961472820
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David Adams Leeming (ed.)
Storytelling Encyclopedia: Historical, Cultural and Multiethnic Approaches to Oral Traditions around the World
This excellent reference tool contains over 700 articles covering everything you need to know about the processes, traditions, themes and origins of storytelling; from cultural contexts to practice and performance.
Greenwood Press 1997 ISBN 1573560251
Jack Maguire
Creative Storytelling: Choosing, Inventing and Sharing Tales for Children
Illustrated by Dan Gottlieb
A practical, illustrated guide on how to research, develop and deliver stories for children. The reader will learn how to gear stories towards different age groups and areas of interest. There are techniques for remembering and adapting stories as well as creating new material. One chapter takes a story through the complete storytelling process, with specific tips on tone, pacing and atmosphere.
Yellow Moon Press 1992 ISBN 0938756354
Stephanie Newell (ed.)
Readings in African Popular Fiction
This ambitious book explores the social, political, and economic contexts of popular narratives by bringing new and classic scholarly essays in African literature together with eight primary texts. Includes selections by Alex LaGuma, Bernth Lindfors and Dorothy Driver.
Indiana University Press 2002 ISBN 0253215102
John Walsh
The Art of Storytelling: Easy Steps to Presenting an Unforgettable Story
John Walsh overcame his childhood stutter to become a successful preacher. His book offers practical advice on how to become an effective and confident storyteller.
Moody Publishers 2003 ISBN 0802433065
Poetry
John Agard
From the Devil's Pulpit
In this collection, John Agard writes from the Devil's Pulpit, giving a Devil's eye view of the world, sweeping from Genesis across time. A sometimes poignant, bawdy, witty and sophisticated shape-shifter, even sex-switcher, Agard's Devil engages with the world of myth, metaphysics, theology, politics and the arts - not to mention Wimbledon Centre Court and Lords cricket ground.
Bloodaxe Books 1997 ISBN 1852244062
Patience Agbabi
Transformatrix
Inspired by 1990s poetry, 1980s rap and 1970s disco, this work is a celebration of literary form and constitutes a commentary on the realities of late-20th-century Britain. It is also a self-portrait of a poet who sets out to pack a punch, draw a smile and warm the heart all at once.
Payback Press 2000 ISBN 0862419417
Aisle16
Live from the Hellfire Club
Containing 60 of Aisle16's finest poems to date with iconic artwork by Sam Ratcliffe. For five years Aisle16 have been the UK's brightest, brashest and best looking poetry boy band, performing at venues across the country, including Glastonbury and the Edinburgh Fringe, as well as on television programmes on ITV and the BBC and winning slam after slam. The Aisle16 style is a mutant hybrid of the highs and lows of modern culture: accessible, acerbic, beautiful and funny. Formed in 2000, they have fast become the most sought after spoken word collective in the UK.
Egg Box Publishing 2005 ISBN 0954392035
Paul Alfred Barton
Rap, Rhyme and Rhythm: Rapsody in Hip-Hop, Rhythm and Rhyme: Greatest Unrecorded Rap, Hip-Hop, Poetry and Spoken Word Hits
Rap, Rhyme and Rhythm is a vibrant collection of poetry dealing with the historical, romantic, political, social, cultural, gender and protest themes that form and influence hip hop today. The book begins with the ancient Nubian style of praise poetry, a style once accompanied by stringed instruments and drums and still repeated on 'talking drums' in West Africa to this day. Both conscious, topical rap and hip hop poetry as well as enjoyable, colourful and intellectual fun verses are included.
AuthorHouse 2004 ISBN 1414054076
Gerard Benson, Judith Chernaik, and Cicely Herbert (eds)
New Poems on the Underground 2006
Poems selected and displayed on the London underground as part of the Poems on the Underground project 2006.
Cassell Reference £7.99 ISBN 0304368148
Adewale Maja-Pearce (ed.)
The Heinemann Book of African Poetry in English
This anthology contains some of the best African poetry written in English in the last 30 years; featuring the work of Wole Soyinka, Dennis Brutus, Kojo Laing, Chenjerai Hove and Gabriel Gbadamosi.
Heinemann International Literature and Textbooks 1990 ISBN 0435913239
Karen McCarthy
Bittersweet: Contemporary Black Women's Poetry
A comprehensive collection of contemporary black women's poetry featuring Alice Walker, Patience Agbabi, Debjani Chatterjee, Grace Nichols, Shamshad Khan and many more.
Womens Press Ltd 2001 ISBN 0704346079
Gerald Moore and Ulli Beier (eds)
The Penguin Book of Modern African Poetry
Ninety nine poets from 27 countries feature in this anothology of African poetry. The themes are eclectic and range from war songs to political protests and poems about love and the natural world, which reveal the diversity and strength of tradition that endures within this region.
Penguin 1998 ISBN 0141181001
Isidore Okpewho
The Heritage of African Poetry: An Anthology of Oral and Written Poetry
This anthology features well-known oral and written verse from Africa alongside some forgotten gems. The poetry is grouped under eight major themes: Love; War; Praise; Criticism; The Environment; Reflection; Appeal; and Death. Notes and biographical details included.
Longman 1985 ISBN 0582727049
Roger Robinson
Suitcase
Roger Robinson's evocative poetry discusses his childhood in Trinidad and the subsequent challenging transition to life in Britain.
Flipped Eye Publishing 2005 ISBN 0954224779
Various Artists
Hearsay, Performance Poems Plus
Features the voices and works of 20 of the most popular poets working in the UK today including John Hegley, John Agard, Grace Nichols, Mike Rosen and Ian McMillan is available with or without the complementary book, which includes all the poets and poems from the cassette and more. Ostensibly put together for younger teenagers Hearsay has the broadest possible appeal.
57Productions £2.99 ISBN 0-09-930362-0 (book)
57Productions £7.99 ISBN 1-899021-00-0 (cassette)
Benjamin Zephaniah
City Psalms
Zephaniah is a master of oral and performance art. His fourth collection of poetry draws on the frantic, diverse and vocal chaos of city life.
Bloodaxe Books 1992 ISBN 1852242302
Benjamin Zephaniah
Too Black, Too Strong
This work includes poems written while the author was working with Michael Mansfield QC on the Stephen Lawrence case and other high profile political trials. It is up front and darkly funny in its attempt to address the problems facing Black Britain.
Bloodaxe Books 2001 ISBN 1852245549
Fiction
Neil Gaiman
Anansi Boys
If his rotter of an estranged father hadn't dropped dead at a karaoke night, Charlie Nancy would still be blissfully unaware that his dad was Anansi, the spider god. He would have no idea that he has a brother called Spider, who is also a god. And there would be no chance that said brother would be trying to take over his life, flat and fiancee, or, to make matters worse, be doing a much better job of it than him. Desperate to reclaim his life, Charlie enlists the help of four more-than-slightly eccentric old ladies and their unique brand of voodoo - and between them they unleash a bitter and twisted force to get rid of Spider. But as darkness descends and badness begins, is Fat Charlie Nancy going to get his life back in one piece or is he about to enter a whole netherworld of pain?
Headline Review 2006 ISBN 0755305094
Helon Habila
Waiting for an Angel
Lomba is a young journalist living in Lagos under Nigeria's brutal military regime. His mind is full of soul music and girls and the novel he's writing. Yet when his room mate goes mad and is beaten up by the soldiers, his first love is forced to marry a man she doesn't want, and his neighbours decide to hold a demo that is bound to lead to a riot, Lomba realises that he can no longer bury his head in the sand. It's time to write the truth about this reign of terror...
Penguin 2003 ISBN 0141010061
Karen McCarthy (ed.)
Kin: New Fiction by Black and Asian Women
The presence of black and Asian people in the UK has altered the nation in so many ways that British culture is now one of fusion. Against this backdrop, Kin brings together a range of new literary talent who offer stories about mothers, sisters, lovers, best friends and brides to be. The authors in this anthology are Jamika Ajalon, Francesca Beard, Donna Daley-Clarke, Krishna Dutta, Diana Evans, Barbara Graham, Amanthi Harris, Heather Imani, Sharon Jennings, Kalbinder Kaur, Shiromi Pinto, Ranbir Sahota, Nicola Sinclair, Saradha Soobrayen and Gemma Weekes.
Serpent's Tail 2003 ISBN 0704347601
Yvonne Vera
Nehanda
Nehanda, a woman, a legend and a myth: a figure whose symbolic power reaches into the hearts and minds of many Zimbabweans. This beautifully written poetic novel evokes the latent mystery and power; the aspiration and desolation that lie buried in Zimbabwe's history.
TSAR Publications ISBN 0920661416
Non Fiction
Patrick Neate
Where You're At: Notes from the Frontline of a Hip-Hop Planet
An examination of the worldwide hip hop pheneonmenon. From the capitalist madness of Tokyo to the violence of Johannesburg, Patrick Neate explores how the potent symbolism of black America has been acquired, used and subsumed by cultures on every continent to create a different form of globalism.
Bloomsbury 2004 ISBN 0747563837
Patrick Neate and Damian Platt
Culture is Our Weapon: Afro Reggae in the Favelas of Rio
Presents the real story of young people's lives in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, which highlights issues of violence, drug culture, and family.
Latin America Bureau 2006 ISBN 1899365699
Drama
David Graver (ed.)
Drama for a New South Africa: Seven Plays
The urgency of the anti-apartheid struggle created a vibrant protest theatre in South Africa. But, the single-mindedness of that theatre obscured much of the diversity of South African life. In contrast, post-apartheid plays address a broad variety of social realities and employ a wider range of theatrical styles. This anthology collects the best recent examples of theatre in South Africa. In addition to the abiding challenges of social inequity for the black majority, these plays deal with subjects, such as Islamic fundamentalism, women's rights, ecology, Afrikaans culture, and the new multi-racial life of the inner city; and they do so in ways that go beyond the expressive parameters of conventional literary drama. In his introduction, David Graver illuminates the development of this drama and discusses how the protest plays of the apartheid era have combined with other influences to create distinct new theatrical forms to grapple, with new social controversies of a democratic South Africa.
Indiana University Press 1999 ISBN 0253213266
For more books take a look at www.encompassculture.com with over 6,000 UK and Commonwealth books listed on site and booklists such as Reading the City, Graphic Novels, TBooks (teenage literature), Science Fiction to Science Fact and much more. With sections for adults, teenagers, children and reading groups.
