An Afropolitan 2017 update. Issue 2 (4th May 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Morales, Donald
• Is Part Of: Journal of the African Literature Association. Volume 11:Issue 2(2017)
• Page Start: 223
• Page End: 237
• Publication Date: 2017-05-04
• Subjects: African literature -- History and criticism -- Periodicals; African literature; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 809.896
• DOI: 10.1080/21674736.2017.1375659
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2167-4736

Abstract

ABSTRACT: It has been over a decade since the publication of Taiye Selasi's essay "Bye Bye Babar" (2005) that viralized the term Afropolitan, engendering a controversy over its pros and cons. Yet the debate over the Afropolitan/Afropolitanism must resolve itself to art that is reflective and valid of the individual and his/her work at large, how transferable it is to the human experience and how it responds to where Africa's future fits into the grand scheme of things: "One must decide what comprises 'African culture' beyond pepper soup and filial piety" (Selasi, "Bye Bye Babar"). It must be remembered that Taiye Selasi's goal was to define a group of writers who reside in various capitals and whose works give a broader sense of who and what an African writer is.