Oral Traditions in World Literature

Image used with permission from ethiopiareads.org

In this conference, we argue that oral traditions are a vital component of world literature, and not only as an antecedent to written literatures, but in their own right. The conference seeks to move past the characterisation of oral literature as traditional, locally constrained, and less aesthetically complex than written literatures.

Explore the book of conference abstracts below, with pieces written by: Francesca Orsini (SOAS), Tadesse Jaleta Jirata (Addis Ababa University), Vanessa Paloma Elbaz (University of Cambridge), Ayele Kebede (SOAS), Sadhana Naithani (Jawaharlal Nehru University), Sara Marzagora (SOAS), Fatima Zahra Salih (Université Sultan Moulay Slimane), Assefa Tefera Dibaba (Addia Ababa University), Adugna Barkessa (Addis Ababa University), Karima Laachir (Australian National University), Yenealem Aredo and Desta Desalegn (Addis Ababa University) and Virginia Pisano (SOAS University of London).

You can read the conference blurb here or explore the conference programme.