A new edition of Forest of a Thousand Daemons is set for release on the 3rd of September. It’s truly a big deal that the work is being republished by City Lights Books, an iconic San Francisco publishing house known for publishing edgy and boundary-pushing writing.
Forest of a Thousand Daemons written by D. O. Fagunwa in 1938 is the first novel ever written in the Yoruba language. It chronicles the adventures of a hunter journeying through a magical forest. In 1968, Soyinka translated the book in English to worldwide acclaim.
Fagunwa has since then been thought of as the father of African fantasy. His stories about enchanted forests and otherworldly creatures would eventually influence other iconic writers of the tradition like Amos Tutuola and, much later, Ben Okri.
Of course, the edition retains Bruce Ononbrakpeya’s haunting illustrations.
This re-issue is exciting news. It will give a new generation of readers access to some of the amazing work that African writers were producing in the early part of the 20th century.
Want to pre-order? Click HERE.
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