From the novels of Chinua Achebe and the Griots of Mali and Senegal, to the cinema of Nollywood and the culture of West Africa are stunningly varied and wonderfully compelling, even if they haven’t always been given their due by the rest of the world—until now. Seeking to change that, this bold, challenging, and celebratory book accompanies a major exhibition at the British Library, the first in the United Kingdom to explore in detail the vibrant cultural history of the region. Leading international scholars of music, literature, history, and anthropology explain how West Africans have shaped their histories, focusing in particular on the region’s profound and engaging literary culture, exploring its centuries-old written heritage alongside its even older oral traditions. West Africa ranges across a millennium of history, from the great empires of the middle ages through colonialism, resistance, and independence to contemporary life and culture. As this book shows, writers, scholars, and artists have worked together to build societies, to make political statements, to communicate faith, to fight injustice and enslavement, and to respond to the experience of diaspora. As a result, today West Africa is experiencing an outpouring of creativity in a variety of media. Illustrated throughout with full-color photographs of objects, texts, and performances that showcase the diversity and richness of West Africa’s cultural heritage, West Africa will be welcomed by readers interested in this fascinating region.