Even in the best of times, the artist is constantly reaching beyond the present; the severity of Africa's present situation of crisis must urge our artists even farther into their version of a new life. In "Beyond Survival," some of the best interpreters of African literature focus on "the role of the creative artist as a critical assessor, confidence builder and inspirer to excellence."

The central theme of this important collection of essays is inspired by the belief that given the severity of the current crisis of life for African peoples, and given the intuitive and cultivated ability of the creative artist to monitor and accurately capture the complexities of any human institution, close attention to the world of African and African-heritage writers should provide not only important insights into various dimensions of the problem, but also and perhaps even more crucial, subtle but reliable pointers to probable solutions. More than any other group of people, it is perhaps to the artists we must turn for a creative but timely realizable version of the future.

The contributors fall under five broad headings, beginning with an introductory section featuring three important addresses delivered during the 1994 ALA annual conference in Accra, Ghana, at which these papers were first presented, as well as a specially commissioned essay in memory of the late Flora Nwapa, one of Africa's best known pioneer women writers. The four other sections present a total of twenty essays focusing on "shifting paradigms," "New Life: Language and artistic tradition," "New Life: Language, Literature & National Policy," and "Resistance Strategies."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
KOFI ANYIDOHO is a poet, literary scholar, professor of literature and acting director of the School of Performing Arts, University of Ghana, Legon. He is the current President of the African Literature Association.

ABENA P. A. BUSIA is a poet, literary scholar, associate professor of English, Rutgers University, and a former President of the African Literature association.

ANNE V. ADAMS is associate professor in the Africana Studies & Research Center, and associate director of Women's Studies at Cornell University. She is the former President of the African Literature Association.

CATEGORY
Literature, Literary Criticism/AFRICA