African literature consists of a body of

work in different languages and various
genres, ranging from oral literature to
literature written in colonial languages
(French, Portuguese, and English).
Oral literature or orature may be in prose or
verse. Storytellers in Africa sometimes use call-
and-response techniques to tell their stories.
Poetry, often sung, includes: narrative epic,
occupational verse, ritual verse, praise poems to
rulers and other prominent people.
Praise singers, bards sometimes known as
"griots", tell their stories with music
Oral literature, including stories, dramas, riddles,
histories, myths, songs, proverbs, and other
expressions, is frequently employed to educate and
entertain children. Oral histories, myths, and proverbs
additionally serve to remind whole communities of
their ancestors' heroic deeds, their past, and the
precedents for their customs and traditions
African literature preserves the rich culture
and traditions of the African nations. The
myths and trickster tales, which typically
explain the creation of the universe, the
activities of the gods at the beginning of
creation, and the essence of existence.
 The study of the development of African literature
leads to various reflections on the future of the
continent and its population. Self-knowledge and
consciousness of one’s cultural identity are two
major factors in the process of affirmation of one’s
personality. To share these values with the other
continents of the globe is essential for the Africans
whose culture and civilization have been denied or
rejected during many centuries. 
African literature is not important only
because of its relevant setting and
relatable storylines. It also increases
our social consciousness, and raises
awareness of social, political, and
economic crises that the African
continent is facing.
As far as globalization is
concerned, one should look at how
new writings in Africa are
influenced by the Internet,
blogging, face book, and other
forms of popular media.
 In another world, I want to be a father without
passing through the eternal insanity of mourning
my children, without experiencing the ritual
of watching my children return home as bodies
folded like a prayer mat, without spending my
nights telling them the stories of a hometown
where natives become aliens searching for
a shelter. I want my children to spread a mat
outside my house and play without the walls
of houses ripped by rifles. I want to watch my children
grow to recite the name of their homeland like Lord’s
Prayer, to frolic in the streets without being hunted like
animals in the bush, without being mobbed to death.
In another world I want my children to tame grasshoppers
in the field, to play with their dolls in the living room,
to inhale the fragrance of flowers waving as wind blows,
to see the birds measure the sky with their wings.
(https://www.africaglobalradio.com/in-another-world-by-rasaq-malik/)
RASAQ MALIK is a graduate of the University of
Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria. His work has appeared in
various journals, including Michigan Quaterly
Review, Poet Lore, Spillway, Rattle, Connotation
Press, Heart Online Journal etc.
He is a two-time nominee for Best of the Net
Nominations, and was among the finalists for the
2015 Best of the Net. Recently, Rattle
Magazine and Poet Lore nominated his poems for
the 2017 Pushcart Prize.