D. 0. Fagunwa: The Art of Fabulation and Writing Orality

Pamela J. Olúbùnmi Smith, University of Nebraska at Omaha

This article was reused with permission.

Abstract

Many non-Yoruba critics of African literature have often cited Yoruba writer D. 0. Fagunwa as a valuable contributor to African orature. However, these citations have tended to be allusions, passing references, in the critics' analyses of other African texts.1 There is still a great need for a purposeful analysis of the exact nature of Fagunwa's acclaimed literary contribution, particularly as it relates to the discussion of an afrocentric esthetic of African-language texts and the extent of his direct influence on African literature in English. Fagunwa is no stranger to Yorubas, young and old, literate and illiterate alike; but because of his chosen medium, most Western and non-Yoruba African critics are denied full access to the essence of his classic texts.