African Oral Epic Poetry

Praising the Deeds of a Mythic Hero

• Author(s): Fritz H. Pointer,
• Publisher: Edwin Mellen Press
• Pages: 301
• ISBN_10: 0773440879
  ISBN_13: 9780773440876
  
• Language: en
• Categories: Literary Criticism / African , Literary Criticism / Poetry , Poetry / General ,

Description:... Professor Pointer is the first person to offer an English translation of the Epic of Kambili, an African heroic myth. The book is careful to point out that this text deserves to be read by myth scholars and shows that the literary tradition of epic myth-telling extends to Africa through its oral folklore. The author argues that the story should be treated as an epic myth that was pieced together by different authors over several centuries, which may or may not have been the result of observing real events.