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Who's your favorite black/African author? Why do you like him/her?

I love Maya Angelou the most. I love her poetry especially Still I Rise. Among the novelists, I like Chinua Achebe. I like his style: the way he peppers his tales with African folklore and proverbs.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie I recommend Purple Hibiscus it is a wonderful read.

I would second Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, I loved Americanah.

Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie! I especially love her book Americanah

Tangier1 wrote: ↑31 Mar 2018, 18:41 Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie I recommend Purple Hibiscus it is a wonderful read.

She was the first person to pop into my head when I read the question! I love Americanah!

Roxane Gay is my favorite! Her works about feminism are very helpful to me as a white person trying to not suck so much. I also recently read her anthology of short stories Difficult Women and it was beautiful.

I'm grateful to have been introduced to Roxane Gay in one of my college classes.

I like Okot p' Bitek, I love his writings.

I love Chinua Achebe. I love his appreciation of African culture.

As far as African writers go, I love Adichie and her short stories. Her portrayal of Nigeria and the U.S. and the different ways her characters perceive them is amazing.

It would be a tie between Toni Morrison and Alice Walker. They are both truly excellent writers.

I'm afraid my author list is rather pale, so I appreciate this thread. I have some more authors to add to my to-read list!

Toni Morrison would be my answer. I enjoyed reading her book 'Beloved'. Slavery is such a delicate topic and instead of addressing that topic head on with how it usually is, she perfectly used metaphorical themes and centred around a ghost which represented the main characters manifestation of all her guilt, regret and negative past. The characters were also emotionally relatable in that situation they were placed in. Toni Morrison definitely did not shy away with inducing scenes that others may find disturbing, and this added such authenticity to the book.

Sneha_K27 wrote: ↑18 Jun 2018, 01:56 Toni Morrison would be my answer. I enjoyed reading her book 'Beloved'. Slavery is such a delicate topic and instead of addressing that topic head on with how it usually is, she perfectly used metaphorical themes and centred around a ghost which represented the main characters manifestation of all her guilt, regret and negative past. The characters were also emotionally relatable in that situation they were placed in. Toni Morrison definitely did not shy away with inducing scenes that others may find disturbing, and this added such authenticity to the book.

I second all of this. Beloved was so emotionally powerful; the teacher had to add an extra day of discussion on the main event that guides the narrative. My classmates who came from larger families were especially unnerved by some of the issues it brought up.

I would also like to add Zora Neale Hurston to the list of African American authors. She had a degree in anthropology, which led to her publishing some non-fiction on folklore, as well as writing fiction that dealt with many of the themes Toni Morrison's work does. Another one of Hurston's non-fiction works has just been published this year.

I can't choose between Binyavanga Wainaina and Okot p'Bitek.