A Basket of Leaves
Essay collection by Geoff Wisner
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A Basket of Leaves is a collection of 54 essays by Geoff Wisner, each of which examines one or more books about a different African country. The collection was published by Jacana Media in 2007.
Cover of first edition (paperback) | |
| Author | Geoffrey B. Wisner |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subject | Literary criticism |
| Published | 2007 (Jacana Media) |
| Publication place | South Africa |
| Media type | Print (paperback) |
| Pages | 289 |
| ISBN | 978-1-77009-206-8 (first edition) |
| OCLC | 161792466 |
| LC Class | PL8010 .W57 2007 |
The authors of the selected books are (variously) African, American, West Indian, and European. Some of the authors are black, and others are white. Some of the books are fiction, and others are non-fiction; 28 of them were authored or co-authored by women. The selected works were originally published in Arabic, English, French, German, Polish, Portuguese, and other languages.[1]
Reviewed works
| Work | Year published | Author | Author nationality | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Sheltering Sky | 1949 | Paul Bowles | United States | Algeria |
| The Savage Night[a] | 1995 | Mohammed Dib | Algeria | Algeria |
| Algerian White[b] | 1996 | Assia Djebar | Algeria | Algeria |
| Mayombe | 1979 | Pepetela | Angola | Angola |
| Another Day of Life[c] | 1976 | Ryszard Kapuscinski | Poland | Angola |
| The Viceroy of Ouidah | 1980 | Bruce Chatwin | United Kingdom | Benin |
| When Rain Clouds Gather | 1968 | Bessie Head | South Africa / Botswana | Botswana |
| Whites | 1986 | Norman Rush | United States | Botswana |
| Of Water and the Spirit | 1994 | Malidoma Patrice Somé | Burkina Faso | Burkina Faso |
| The True Sources of the Nile | 2003 | Sarah Stone | United States | Burundi |
| Mission to Kala[d] | 1957 | Mongo Beti | Cameroon | Cameroon |
| The Fortunate Isles | 1989 | Basil Davidson | United Kingdom | Cape Verde |
| Song from the Forest | 2015 | Louis Sarno | United States / CAR | Central African Republic |
| Komoon! Capturing the Chad Elephant | 1953 | Heinrich Oberjohann | Germany | Chad |
| Last of the Pirates | 1994 | Samantha Weinberg | United Kingdom | Comoros |
- Originally published in French as La Nuit sauvage.
- Originally published in French as Le Blanc de l’Algérie.
- Originally published in Polish as Jeszcze dzień życia.
- Originally published in French as Mission terminée.