African Literature Association

African Literature Association
AbbreviationALA
Formation1974 (1974)
TypeIndependent non-profit professional society
PurposeTo promote literary and cultural studies related to, and about, Africa and its diasporic populations
Websiteafricanlit.org

The African Literature Association (ALA) is an independent non-profit professional society that was founded in the United States in 1974, with the aim of promoting literary and cultural studies related to, and about, Africa and its diasporic populations.[1] It is open to scholars, teachers and writers from every country.[2] According to its mission statement: "The ALA as an organization affirms the primacy of the African peoples in shaping the future of African literature and actively supports the African peoples in their struggle for liberation."[3]

In 2024, Professor Gichingiri Ndigirigi was named as president of the ALA.[4]

Background

The ALA's inaugural conference was held at the University of Texas at Austin in 1975, when Dennis Brutus was elected the first chair of the organization.[5] The ALA holds annual conferences on a variety of themes, marking its 50th anniversary with the 2025 conference on "Ecologies of Transition: Spaces and Mobilities in African Literaurl=ture and Cultures", hosted by the University of Nairobi's Department of Literature.[6]

Journal of the African Literature Association (JALA)

In 2006, the organization launched its Journal of the African Literature Association (JALA).[7] The journal is published by Taylor & Francis.[8][9]

References

  1. ^ "CFP: JALA Special Issue on Afro-Hispanism and the Arts in and beyond Africa". African Literature Association. September 13, 2022. Retrieved 4 July 2025.
  2. ^ "African Literature Association". Retrieved 4 July 2025 – via YouTube.
  3. ^ "Mission Statement". africanlit.org. African Literature Association. Retrieved 4 July 2025.
  4. ^ "UT's Ndigirigi Named President of African Literature Association". artsci.utk.edu. College of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Retrieved 4 July 2025.
  5. ^ Ogwude, S. "History, Progress & Prospects in the Development of African Literature: A Tribute to Dennis Brutus". In Emenyonu, Ernest N., and Chimalum Nwankwo (eds), Reflections & Retrospectives: African Literature Today, Boydell and Brewer, 2012, p. 98. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781782040484-007.
  6. ^ "Upcoming Event - African Literature Association 50th Annual Meeting". Department of Literature. University of Nairobi. Retrieved 4 July 2025.
  7. ^ Abdallah, Ibrahim (28 March 2020). "Durosimi-Jones: The Passing of A Patriarch Of African Literature In English". Premium Times. Retrieved 4 July 2025.
  8. ^ "JALA | Journal of the African Literature Association". africanlit.org. African Literature Association. Retrieved 4 July 2025.
  9. ^ "Journal of the African Literature Association". tandfonline.com. Taylor & Francis Online. Retrieved 4 July 2025.
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