“Reading and writing… loudly”: Ikhide R. Ikheloa, online criticism, and African literary studies

Abstract

Recent years have seen an increasing number of non-professional readers contribute to the online conversation about African literary texts. While this is evidence of a healthy democratisation of the field, it also raises questions about the impact that this online criticism has upon the academic field of African literary studies. How exactly are scholars of African literature to engage with this opportunity to open up the field to new voices while also retaining the specificity of academic reading and scholarly practice? With these issues in mind, this essay considers the work of Ikhide R. Ikheloa, one of the most visible online critics of African literature. Through an analysis of Ikheloa’s critical practice and his self-presentation as a “reader” (rather than a critic) of literature, the essay argues for a mode of engagement with online criticism that, while sensitive to its particular status as distinct from formal academic scholarship, also understands it as an opportunity to develop and expand the field of study. The essay concludes by considering how questions of social class and language also bear upon scholars’ engagement with online criticism of African literatures.