Chapter 8 of 10All chapters
Chapter 8 of 10
World literature
Beyond one canon.
Long traditions
Sanskrit epics, classical Chinese poetry, Arabic and Persian verse, Japanese court fiction and West African oral epic all predate or parallel European forms.
- The Tale of Genji is often called the first novel, written around 1000 CE.
- Oral literature is composed and transmitted by performance, not writing.
Postcolonial writing
Writers such as Achebe, Rushdie and Adichie wrote back to imperial narratives, often in the coloniser's language, which is itself part of the argument.