Johannesburg - One of the world's top collections of African literature is finally on its way back to Africa, officials said on Wednesday.

Rare first editions signed by giants of African literature such as Nigeria's Chinua Achebe and Wole Soyinka and South Africa's Nadine Gordimer form part of the collection of 13 000 items being sent from Texas to South Africa to launch a new Centre for African Literary Studies at the University of Natal.

"This collection constitutes a key intellectual and cultural resource which can be seen as a cornerstone for scholarly contribution and African renaissance," Professor Liz Gunner of the University of Natal said.

She declined to say how much was spent to acquire the collection, known as the Lindfors Library after University of Texas English Professor Bernth Lindfors, who spent four decades putting it together.

The books will arrive in December at the university where the new research centre will be up and running early next year.