PHILOSOPHY AND PRAXIS

The role of creative writing as both an agent of denigration and transformation are known facts. As an instrument of denigration it was employed in classical European literature to degrade Africa as a continent existing outside the confines of human continents, peopled by anti-human creatures. Conrad’s Heart of Darkness comes to mind here. Equally, as a catalyst for transformation it was used to reinstate Africa in the community of continents and home to normal people with culture and civilization. Achebe’s Things Fall Apart is a good example. Against this background, while it is possible to reposition Africa for social transformation through creative writing, it is not a given. There is need for critical evaluation – a philosophical supervision – of the literary works to be sure they possess transformatory possibilities and potential and enough strength to transform the society. For this reason, the study adopts analytical and interdisciplinary methods. Philosophical analysis is employed to extract and interrogate the ideas contained in literature. The interdisciplinary outlook of the work derives from its ability to bring together philosophy and literature. It is the contention of this paper that a writer can employ his/her craft as a tool for societal transformation or for its distortion and annihilation. As such, repositioning Africa for social transformation through creative writing must pay serious attention to both how well a creative work embodies and transforms the narrative of real life.

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