Poem Explorer

Poets by place

African poets and poems

Africa contains thousands of languages and many written and oral poetic traditions. A continental label is only a broad doorway, never a single tradition.

The current path includes verified records connected with South Africa and Morocco, including translated and orally transmitted work whose source history remains visible.

3 poets12 poemsPublic-domain source editions

Poets in this collection

  1. Isabel BurtonVictorian Maghreb · 1 poems
  2. Maghreb oral traditionMaghreb oral poetry · 6 poems
  3. Thomas PringleSouth African colonial · 5 poems

Selected poems

12 starting points, with featured poems first.

  1. Ali's AnswerMaghreb oral tradition · 71 lines
  2. In Honor of Lalla Aycha-El-MannoubyyaMaghreb oral tradition · 77 lines
  3. Sayd and HyzyyaMaghreb oral tradition · 278 lines
  4. Song of Fatima[1]Maghreb oral tradition · 123 lines
  5. The Aïssaoua in Paris[a]Maghreb oral tradition · 295 lines
  6. The Bechuana BoyThomas Pringle · 499 lines
  7. The CafferThomas Pringle · 6957 lines
  8. The City Girl and the Country GirlMaghreb oral tradition · 216 lines
  9. The CorannaThomas Pringle · 215 lines
  10. The Desolate ValleyThomas Pringle · 74 lines
  11. The EmigrantsThomas Pringle · 89 lines
  12. The Thousand Nights and a NightIsabel Burton · 15 lines