📢#OutNow in #OA: '#Folktales of #Mayotte, an #African Island' by Lee Haring, foreword by Mark Turin.

The book uncovers the versatility and literary skills of #oralnarrators in a small #African island. Relying on the researches of three #French #ethnographers who interviewed #storytellers in the 1970s-80s, Lee Haring shows a once-#colonised people using #verbal #art to preserve ancient values in the #postcolonial world, when the island of #Mayotte was transforming itself from a neglected #colony to an overseas department of #France.

The author’s innovation is to read #ethnographic researches as #play scripts—to see printed folktales as accounts of live #performances.

#Literary specialists, #folklore enthusiasts, and people who like #reading stories will find much to appreciate in this engaging and sophisticated book.

Access this OA title for free or get a hard copy at https://openbookpublishers.com/books/10.11647/obp.0315