Congo River - Literature

Literature

• 1837: Silence – A Fable is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe, written in 1837 (see: bibliography). Although the first paragraph of this story contains the sentence: "The region of which I speak is a dreary region in Libya, by the borders of the river Zaire." it would not immediately appear to refer to the Equatorial-African River Zaire (River Congo), as the River Zaire of the story is described as being in Libya, which is in North Africa. It may be, however, that, given the level of geographical knowledge of Africa at the time of writing, the name Libya is used as a generic name for the African continent. In this case the story may, in fact, be an attempt to describe the River Congo of Equatorial Africa. It was adapted into a radio program of the same name.

• 1878: Henry Morton Stanley documented his journey down the Congo River in Through the Dark Continent, first published in 1878.

• 1902: Although not explicitly cited, the Congo River provides the setting for Joseph Conrad's 1902 novel Heart of Darkness.

• 1914: American poet Vachel Lindsay portrays a dark and savage society around the Congo River in his 1914 poem The Congo: A Study of the Negro Race.

• 1921: The Congo is mentioned in Langston Hughes's poem "The Negro Speaks of Rivers".

• 1930: Both Congo River and basin form the setting of Hoity Toity, the Soviet science fiction novel by Alexander Belyayev.

• 1980: The Congo River is featured in a chapter of Michael Crichton's novel Congo (published in 1980), as well as in the 1995 film based on the book.

• 1995: The Congo River is featured in the action film Congo, by director Frank Marshall, although it is not mentioned by name in the film. The film is based on the 1980 novel of the same name by Michael Crichton.

• 1996: British author Redmond O'Hanlon has a travelogue published by Penguin Books under the title of Congo Journey (1996).

• 1998: The river's history is discussed in the 1998 book King Leopold's Ghost (by Adam Hochschild).

• 2006: The river's history is discussed in the book Brazza, A Life for Africa (by Maria Petringa, Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse, 2006).

• 2007: The Congo River and the Democratic Republic of Congo are the scenario for the 2007 book Blood River by journalist Tim Butcher, based on his intrepid travels up and down Africa's second longest river. Blood River was an attempt to retrace Henry Morton Stanley's trip down the Congo River, documented in Through the Dark Continent (first published, 1878), and was shortlisted for the 2008 British Book Awards.

• 2010: The Congo River is a central element in the 2010 novel by Mario Vargas Llosa, El sueño del celta (The Dream of the Celt), a fictionalisation of episodes in the life of the Irishman Roger Casement. The book is to be published in English in 2012.

• 2012: Phil Harwood's book "Canoeing the Congo" and amateur film "Mazungu Canoeing the Congo" document his five month solo journey by Canadian canoe.