How To Write About Africa Pdf Apr 2026

Tired of clichés? Here is how to write about Africa with nuance, accuracy, and respect—plus a downloadable PDF guide to keep by your desk. There is a famous and brutal satirical essay by Binyavanga Wainaina titled “How to Write About Africa.” In it, he mocks the West’s tendency to treat Africa as a single country full of starving men, war, and mystical wildlife.

| Don't say | Say | | :--- | :--- | | "Tribal wear" | "A Maasai shuka " or "Yoruba agbada " | | "A local dialect" | "Swahili," "Hausa," or "isiZulu" | | "Wild animals" | "Lions hunting at dusk in the Serengeti" | Africa is not stuck in the past. Write about the tech hubs in Lagos, the fashion weeks in Marrakech, and the electric buses in Addis Ababa. how to write about africa pdf

Twenty years later, many travel writers, journalists, and bloggers are still falling into the same traps. Tired of clichés