Excerpt from African Voices: An Anthology of Native African Writing And so it is that one does not go boldly as a prospective publisher of their works, but gently, edging round the subject, discussing any thing but the real purpose of your visit; talking of the events of the journey how you have come by dhow from beyond the great coral reef of East Africa, by bicycle up the narrow lanes of Zanzibar, by lake steamer from Ruanda, along the muddy rivers of the Congo; by bus, by train, by Basuto pony. And then, when the time seems right, the question is put, 'would you like to suggest something of your writing for the anthology?' His brow is troubled. 'there are others who write better, ' he replies. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

¿This work is Africa speaking to Africa and to the world. This anthology is not just about a grumpy, grousing South Africa, but about the whole of Africa: flamboyant West Africa, where men thrust elbows into each other¿s ribs and laugh broadly over their jokes; East Africa, with its strong Arab influence; traditional Africa, with the funny wisdom that lurks in the antics of animals and the ways of Ju-ju men and witch-doctors. Here are the dreams about the great things that we yet will do; the long dictionary words and the colourful regalia with which we swathe our dark bodies: that is us.Here, Africans are creating out of English a language of their own: a language that thinks in actions, using words that dart back and forth on quick-moving feet, virile, earthy, garrulous. Peggy Rutherfoord has delved deep into the literary store of our black Africa to compile this anthology, which shows us in the many moods that are ours. Somewhere or another on the continent there is a new civilization beginning to appear, a new African culture - there are traces of it here.¿