Output details

Print Culture and the First Yoruba Novel : I.B. Thomas's 'Life Story of Me, Segilola' and other texts

This book was based on c.4000 pages of Yorùbá-language newspapers published in the 1920s, now virtually forgotten and held only in the Nigerian National Archive, Ìbàdàn. The research discovered hitherto unknown relevant texts (readers’ letters, editorials, poems). Intermittent power cuts and defective lighting meant that hundreds of digital photographs had to be retaken several times. Establishing the text of the novel involved minute comparison of the original newspaper serial with two editions of the subsequent book version. Translation was made difficult by faded print and non-standard orthography, and by topical allusions and outdated slang, necessitating extensive consultation with elderly informants.