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A Basket of Leaves

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A Basket of Leaves: 99 Books That Capture the Spirit of Africa
Cover of first edition (paperback)
AuthorGeoffrey B. Wisner
LanguageEnglish
SubjectLiterary criticism
Published2007 (Jacana Media)
Publication placeSouth Africa
Media typePrint (paperback)
Pages289
ISBN978-1-77009-206-8 (first edition)
OCLC161792466
LC ClassPL8010 .W57 2007

A Basket of Leaves is a collection of 54 essays by Geoff Wisner, each of which examines one or more books about a different African country. The collection was published by Jacana Media in 2007.

The authors of the selected books are (variously) African, American, West Indian, and European. Some of the authors are black, and others are white. Some of the books are fiction, and others are non-fiction; 28 of them were authored or co-authored by women. The selected works were originally published in Arabic, English, French, German, Polish, Portuguese, and other languages.[1]

Reviewed works

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Work Year published Author Author nationality Country
The Sheltering Sky 1949 Paul Bowles United States Algeria
The Savage Night[a] 1995 Mohammed Dib Algeria Algeria
Algerian White[b] 1996 Assia Djebar Algeria Algeria
Mayombe 1979 Pepetela Angola Angola
Another Day of Life[c] 1976 Ryszard Kapuscinski Poland Angola
The Viceroy of Ouidah 1980 Bruce Chatwin United Kingdom Benin
When Rain Clouds Gather 1968 Bessie Head South Africa / Botswana Botswana
Whites 1986 Norman Rush United States Botswana
Of Water and the Spirit 1994 Malidoma Patrice Somé Burkina Faso Burkina Faso
The True Sources of the Nile 2003 Sarah Stone United States Burundi
Mission to Kala[d] 1957 Mongo Beti Cameroon Cameroon
The Fortunate Isles 1989 Basil Davidson United Kingdom Cape Verde
Song from the Forest 2015 Louis Sarno United States / CAR Central African Republic
Komoon! Capturing the Chad Elephant 1953 Heinrich Oberjohann Germany Chad
Last of the Pirates 1994 Samantha Weinberg United Kingdom Comoros
  1. ^ Originally published in French as La Nuit sauvage.
  2. ^ Originally published in French as Le Blanc de l’Algérie.
  3. ^ Originally published in Polish as Jeszcze dzień życia.
  4. ^ Originally published in French as Mission terminée.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Eberhart, George (January 2009). "New Publications". C&RL News. 70 (1). Association of College and Research Libraries. Archived from the original on 2011-02-18. Retrieved 2018-02-14.

Further reading

[edit]
  • Wisner, Geoff (April 2009). "Geoff Wisner". Laura Reviews (Interview). Interviewed by Laura Cococcia. Archived from the original on 2011-07-08. Retrieved 2009-04-20.