Re-Inventing African Literature through Visual Arts

Evidence abounds of the synergy that exists between literature and visual arts in Africa. Illustrations are known to have given more meaning to books, while the text plays the role of the storyteller, the illustration acts out the story or scene on the pages of the book. Illustrations also make readership very easy and appealing to children and the uneducated people in our local communities. In recent times however, studies have shown a sharp decline in the inclusion of very good, insightful and inspiring illustrations into African literary text. When included, it is often poor and limited to the cover page of the book. This paper examines the merits derivable from the inclusion of visual arts into African literature as well as the reason for its decline with a view to suggesting how it can be used to reinvent African literature. It is expected that by so doing, publishers and authors will see the need and importance of using more illustrations in their books. This will, in turn, generate more interest in the culture of reading among the youths of the 21st century as well as the development of literature directed towards children and the unread.