Literature is a term that does not have a universally accepted definition, but which has variably included all written work; writing that possesses literary merit; and language that foregrounds literariness, as opposed to ordinary language. Literature can be classified according to whether it is fiction or non-fiction, and whether it is poetry or prose; it can be further distinguished according to major forms such as the novel, short story or drama; and works are often categorized according to historical periods, or according to their adherence to certain features or expectation.
Oral literature, in the form of story telling, has
traditionally been the most popular indigenous way of transmitting
societal values. In village gathering places, stories of the spider
Ananse were told both to entertain and educate. In the 1950s and 1960s,
many of these stories were written down to serve as reading material for
school children. Commonly recurring themes in modern Ghanaian
literature have been opposition to colonial rule, political corruption,
and the clash between tradition and modernization in Ghana. Some of the
best known Ghanaian writers in the English language are Efua Sutherland,
a colonial-era female playwright; Ama Ata Aidoo, a writer whose plays,
novels, and poetry examine the traditional roles assigned to African
women; Ayi Kwei Armah, an author of insightful critiques of contemporary
political conditions and historical fiction; and Kofi Awoonor, a writer
whose poems and novels dissect the interaction of traditional and
Western ideas in Africa.
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