Osiris Rising: a novel of Africa past, present and future

by Ayi Kwei Armah

The protagonist Ast, an African American scholar, travels to Africa seeking lifework and love. But in the moment of discovery, she also finds that this is only seed time in Africa. Before future harvests and love's consummation, the continent's creative ones must discover ways, old and new, to end the millennial rule of destroyers.

Genres: Fiction, Africa, African Literature

305 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Born to Fante-speaking parents, with his father's side Armah descending from a royal family in the Ga tribe in the port city of Sekondi-Takoradi, Ghana, [1] Armah, having attended the renowned Achimota School, left Ghana in 1959 to attend Groton School in Groton, MA. After graduating, he entered Harvard University, receiving a degree in sociology. Armah then moved to Algeria and worked as a translator for the magazine Révolution Africaine. In 1964, Armah returned to Ghana, where he was a scriptwriter for Ghana Television and later taught English at the Navrongo School.

Between 1967 and 1968, he was editor of Jeune Afrique magazine in Paris. From 1968-1970, Armah studied at Columbia University, obtaining his MFA in creative writing. In the 1970s, he worked as a teacher in East Africa, at the College of National Education, Chang'ombe, Tanzania, and at the National University of Lesotho. He lived in Dakar, Senegal, in the 1980s and taught at Amherst and the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Reviews

[Johnbedward · Rating 4 out of 5]

Based on the Isis-Osiris myth cycle, Armah recreates a narrative that involves African's at home and abroad. The author continues to revisit the processes and knowledge Africans must reclaim in order for a healthy African World Order to take place.