Dr Ainehi Edoro-Glines - Brittle Paper

African literature is changing’ – Brittle Paper

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Brittle Paper states that ‘the current generation of African readers are driven more by their tastes and passions than by allegiance to some abstract political idea. They are young, open, and unconventional in their interests. They are social media savvy and dependent on mobile technology for media consumption. This has led to the popularity of shorter writings—flash fiction, online story series, and digital imprints of mass-market novellas. The obsession with realist fiction that defined older generations has given way to an avid interest in speculative writing—fantasy, science fiction— but also in experimental narratives, pulp-fiction, and other offbeat genres.’

And as a result, Brittle Paper became a literary project designed to adapt African literary culture that is dynamic and adaptable.

Dr Ainehi Edoro-Glines is the founder and Editor of Brittle Paper, a leading online platform dedicated to African writing and literary culture. She is an Assistant Professor of English at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she teaches and researches on African literature, political theory, and literature in social media. She was named by OkayAfrica as one of its top women in African literature 2018. While in the stunning Madison, Dr Alma-Nalisha Cele connected with Dr Edoro-Glines and discussed her life goals of bringing African literature to the front and what it means to build our own platforms for critical engagement with African literature.

Of course, the discussion would’ve been incomplete without delving into “that” essay. Her current book project is titled “Forest Imaginaries: How African Novels Think.” She also writes essays and commentaries about contemporary African literary culture in mainstream publications such as The Guardian and Africa is a Country. Dr Edoro-Glines is profoundly influenced by the literary icon, Chinua Achebe. Her life goal has been to bring African literature to the forefront, and more specifically to bring a fresh perspective to the study of the late Nigerian novelist’s work. Her article on Things Fall Apart is forthcoming in The Cambridge Journal of Postcolonial Literary Enquiry.

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