Transition in African and Black Literature in 2020

We look at those who passed away in African and Black Literature 2020 in the past year in our annual James Murua Literary Top picks.

We always start this segment with the African and Black writers who passed away in the past year to honour them and their contributions. This year was no different as many passed away both from the new Covid-19 illness as well as many others. Those we covered here included;

Novelist Chukwuemeka Ike

Novelist, poet, and scholar Euphrase Kezilahabi;

Poet and academic Kamau Brathwaite;

Playwright, TV and film writer Lenin El-Ramly;

Academic and literary critic Prof Eldred Durosimi Jones;

Author, academic, and broadcaster Ken Walibora;

Novelist Gamil Attia Ibrahim;

Poet, Professor, and Playwright J.P. Clark; Myesha Jenkins and Achmat Dangor.

Others who were reported to have joined our literary ancestors by among others Arablit.org, Johannesburg Review of Books, and Brittle Paper were Harry Garuba, Lina Ben Mhenni, Mido Zoheir, Albert Memmi, Thani Al-Suwaidi, Abdel Wahab Yousif, Kamel Zoghban, Refaat Sallam, Nabil Farouk, Bahaa Abdelmegid, Angifi Proctor Dladla, and Vusamazulu Credo Mutwa.