14 The Linguist Vol/56 No/4 2017
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the thematic and stylistic diversity of poets
writing today.
Big names sell
The issue, of course, is often financial: big
names sell. One of the primary focuses of
anthologies is education, so those big
names are the ones that are studied. Writer
Abdoulaye Fodé Ndione, President of
Afrilivres (Francophone African Editors'
Association) in Dakar, claims that anthologies
have given him wonderful opportunities, but
says that funding for anthologies is difficult in
Senegal, as it can often take years to recoup
costs. Including well-known writers can help.
There are also the issues of copyright,
publishing contracts, and the general
management and negotiation that is involved
in creating an anthology. In fact, Dr Abdoulaye
Diallo, Director of L'Harmattan Sénégal in
Dakar, admits that he has not produced an
anthology for those reasons. The sheer
complexity of dealing with so many different
collaborators, and the administrative tasks that
accompany such a feat, mean that anthologies
are not always appealing to publishers.
In terms of representing a range of cultural
themes, it could be argued that any
Senegalese anthology should speak of key
historical figures, such as the kings and
queens of the Waalo Kingdom, traditions like
orality, such historical places as Gorée Island
and its perceived role in the slave trade, or
the various roles of women in African
societies today. However, rarely can an
anthology cover every theme we feel is
relevant. If we return to the groundbreaking
Anthologie de la nouvelle poésie nègre et
malgache, it does not represent many female
poets, nor a range of gender issues.
Tasked with creating an anthology of
Women Poets of the World, it would have
been impossible for Joanna Bankier and
Deirdre Lashgari to include every one of the
c.200 countries in the world, and show a
representative range of writers from each one
(instead, their 1983 collection claims to
represent "over 70 cultures").
After geographical balance, representation
covers such categories as gender, age, time
period, well-known and lesser-known writers,
With anthologies
of translations,
we are reading
representations of
representations
MUSÉE
DE
LACOMPAGNIE
DES
INDES;
JI-E
LLE
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