•"A Rain of Words is a groundbreaking project
that will undoubtedly make
a major contribution to the fields of African, women’s, francophone,
literary, and translation studies. This superb anthology not only
fills a void but will stimulate interest in the maligned genre of
poetry as well. The range of countries and generations included
in this project is astounding."
—Renée Larrier, Rutgers University, coeditor of Migrating
Words and Worlds: Pan-Africanism Updated
• "A Rain of Words is an important document
and resource, since it represents the complilation and reclamation
of valuable, rare literary production. In addition, it responds
to two real needs: locating and foregrounding poetry by African
women, and making these voices accessible through translation to
a wider public."
— E. Anthony Hurley, Stony Brook University, author of Through
a Black Veil: Readings in French Caribbean Literature
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Although the past two decades have seen a wide recognition of the notable fiction written in French by African women, little attention has been given to their equally significant poetry. A Rain of Words is the first comprehensive attempt to survey the poetic production of these women, collecting work by forty-seven poets from a dozen francophone African countries. Some are established writers; others are only beginning to publish their work. Almost none of the poems here have been published outside of Africa or Europe or been previously translated into English. The poems are accompanied by brief biographies of the poets, a glossary, and an extensive bibliography. Supplementing these are a critical introductory essay by Irène Assiba d'Almeida that places women's poetry in the context of recent African history, characterizes its thematic and aesthetic features, and traces the process by which the anthology was compiled and edited, and an essay by Janis A. Mayes discussing language politics, the cultural contexts within which the poetry emerges, and literary translation strategies.
This landmark bilingual collection—the result of ten years
of research, collection, editing, and translation—offers
readers of English and French entry into a flourishing and essential
genre of contemporary African literature.
Irène Assiba d'Almeida is Professor of
French and Francophone Studies and Department Head at the University
of Arizona and the author of Francophone African Women Writers:
Destroying the Emptiness of Silence and editor of Femmes africaines
en poésie. Janis A. Mayes is Associate Professor
of African American Studies at Syracuse University and the translator
The City Where No One Dies (from the French, La ville où nul
ne meurt) by Bernard Dadié and The Blind Kingdom (Le Royaume
aveugle) by Véronique Tadjo.
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