Postcolonial Francophone Autobiographies: From Africa to the Antilles
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Date
2012
Authors
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Volume Title
Publisher
Charlottesville, University of Virginia Press
Abstract
One of the postcolonial issues that cannot be skirted is that of the
readership of writings by Africans in colonial languages. Ngugi wa
Thiong’o famously addressed this issue in 1987, after which he shifted to
writing in Gikuyu. Ngugi’s view on language created discomfort among
many writers and critics and attracted accusations of isolationism.
However, others have since adopted his view; for example, Boubacar
Boris Diop turned to writing in Wolof.
Edgar Sankara plunges into these choppy linguistic waters with his
analysis of autobiographies written in French after the 1960s by writers
from Africa and the Antilles. His book exhibits a transnational and
transcontinental character in that it studies an impressive and diverse array
of writers including Hampâté Bâ, the Malian who spent the latter part of
his life in Côte d’Ivoire; Valentin Mudimbé, a Congolese professor
resident in the United States; Kesso Barry, a woman born in Guinea
Conakry and residing in France; the Martinicans Patrick Chamoiseau and
Raphaël Confiant; and, lastly, Maryse Condé, the female Guadeloupian
novelist now residing in the United States.
Description
Book Reviews
Keywords
Book Review, African Literature Criticism
Citation
Njoya, Wandia. (2012). Review on Postcolonial Francophone Autobiographies: From Africa to the Antilles. Charlottesville, University of Virginia Press. 7(4)
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