Granta 92: The View from Africa

Africa is too large and diverse for generalizations. It has fifty-four nations, five time zones, at least seven climates, more than 800 million people and, according to the latest diligent research, maybe fourteen million proverbs. South Africa and Burkina Faso have as much in common as Spain and Uzbekistan. And yet people do generalize; Africa has become the continent of moral concern.

We know what Bob Geldof and Tony Blair think about Africa – as the continent that most needs salvation. But what do the people of Africa feel, in their diverse cultures and classes and nations? In this special issue of Granta Africa is explored, mainly by Africans, in exciting new fiction and reportage, by new, unfamiliar names, as well as established figures including:

Chinua Achebe, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Segun Afolabi, Mohammed Naseehu Ali, Emmanuel Dongala, Nuruddin Farah, Helon Habila, Tahar Ben Jelloun, John Ryle, Ahdaf Soueif and Ivan Vladislavic