European-language Writing in Sub-Saharan Africa
Editor
The first major comparative study of African writing in western languages, European-language Writing in Sub-Saharan Africa, edited by Albert S. Gérard, falls into four wide-ranging sections: an overview of early contacts and colonial developments “Under Western Eyes”; chapters on “Black Consciousness” manifest in the debates over Panafricanism and Negritude; a group of essays on mental decolonization expressed in “Black Power” texts at the time of independence struggles; and finally “Comparative Vistas,” sketching directions that future comparative study might explore. An introductory essay stresses the millennia of writing in Africa, side by side with a richly eloquent and artistic set of vernacular oral traditions; written and oral traditions have become interwoven in adaptations of imported forms and linguistic innovations that challenge traditional “high” literary norms. Gérard uses the mathematical concept of “fuzzy sets” to explain why the focus on “Black Africa” has led him to set aside for future analysis the literatures produced in North Africa, which fall under the influence of Muslim civilization, as well as the diasporic literatures of the New World. Over sixty scholars from twenty-two countries contribute specialized studies of creative writing by leading authors in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries such as Achebe, Mphahlele, Ngugi, Senghor, Soyinka, and Tutuola. Critical analyses are organized primarily around regions, reflecting different colonial languages imposed through schools and other social institutions. Some authors trace the adaptation of western genres, others identify syncretism with folktales or myths. The volumes are attentive to the heterogeneity of national literatures addressed to polyethnic and multilingual populations, and they note the instrumental politics of language in newly independent states. A closing chapter, “Tasks Ahead,” identifies areas for future scholars to explore.
[Comparative History of Literatures in European Languages, VI] 1986. 1288 pp. 2 volumes
Publishing status: Available | Original publisher:Akadémiai Kiadó
Published online on 19 December 2011
Published online on 19 December 2011
© John Benjamins B.V. / Association Internationale de Littérature Comparée
Table of Contents
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IntroductionAlbert S. Gérard | pp. 11–37
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Part one: Under Western eyes
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Chapter l: Early contacts | pp. 41–42
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1. The Portuguese in AfricaGerald Moser | pp. 43–48
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2. Modern African writing in LatinAlbert S. Gérard | pp. 49–56
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3. Eighteenth-century writing in EnglishPaul Edwards | pp. 57–76
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Chapter ll: West Afirca | pp. 77–78
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1. The primacy of didactic writing in English and in FrenchRobert W. July | pp. 79–97
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2. Creative writing in English: Emergence and stagnation | p. 98
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LiberiaFemi Ojo-Ade | pp. 98–107
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Ghana and NigeriaGeorge Lang | pp. 108–115
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3. Creative writing in French: Emergence and diffusion | pp. 116–117
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West African prose fictionPriscilla P. Clark | pp. 118–130
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William-Ponty dramaBernard Mouralis | pp. 130–141
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MadagascarClive Wake | pp. 141–151
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CameroonGeorge Joseph | pp. 151–158
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The Belgian territoriesMukala Kadima-Nzuji | pp. 158–167
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Chapter lll: Southern Africa | pp. 169–172
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1. South African literatures to world war llA.J. Coetzee | pp. 173–213
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2. White South African literature after world war ll | pp. 214–216
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AfrikaansA.J. Coetzee | pp. 217–230
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EnglishMichael Wade | pp. 230–250
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3. The emergency of English writing in ZimbabweJohn Reed | pp. 251–262
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Chapter IV: Portuguese Africa to the 1950s | pp. 263–266
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1. The West African area: Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Sao Tome e PrincipeNorman Araujo | pp. 267–289
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2. AngolaGerald Moser | pp. 290–304
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3. MozambiqueManuel Ferreira | pp. 305–320
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Chapter V: Hispanic AfricaAnnette I. Dunzo | pp. 321–329
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Part two: Black consciousness
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Chapter VI: Negritude | p. 341
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1. The Western moodAlbert S. Gérard | pp. 342–353
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2. Black migrants in ParisMartin Steins | pp. 354–378
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The Negritude debateAbiola Irele | pp. 379–393
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Chapter VII: Protest writing outside French Afrika | p. 395
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1. Portuguese Africa: The new militancyManuel Ferreira | pp. 395–433
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2. South Africa: Black consciousnessLewis Nkosi | pp. 434–450
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Part three: Black power
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Chapter VIII: French | pp. 457–461
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1. The first post-war generation
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L.S. senghor and lyrical poetryClive Wake | pp. 462–475
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From folktale to short storyTshikumambila Nyembwe | pp. 475–489
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The growth of the novelAdele King | pp. 489–500
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2. The second post-war generation
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Lyrical poetryClive Wake | pp. 501–512
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The golden years of the novelP. Ngandu | pp. 512–539
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3. The emergence of local publishing
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Congo/ZaireMukala Kadima-Nzuji | pp. 541–557
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CameroonFernando Lambert | pp. 557–574
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The Nouvelles editions AfricanesAlbert S. Gérard | pp. 574–580
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4. The seventies
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PoetryClive Wake | pp. 582–588
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DramaMineke de Schipper-Leeuw | pp. 588–602
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The novelNicole Medjigbodo | pp. 602–628
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Chapter IX: English: Nigeria | pp. 629–631
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1. Amos Tutoula: Literary syncretism and the yoruba folk traditionBernth Lindfors | pp. 632–649
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2. Popular urban fiction and Cyprian ekwensiJuliet Okonkwo | pp. 650–658
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3. The ibadan cluster | p. 659
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-The hornW.H. Stevenson | pp. 659–668
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Black OrpheusBernth Lindfors | pp. 669–679
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MbariN. Dingome | pp. 679–688
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4. Chinua achebe and the growth of the novel | p. 689
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Subjects
Literature & Literary Studies
Main BIC Subject
DSB: Literary studies: general
Main BISAC Subject
LIT000000: LITERARY CRITICISM / General