Francophone African Poetry and Drama: A Cultural History Since the 1960s

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Scholars have traditionally pushed Francophone literature to the margins of cultural and literary creation. When they do examine literature originating from the former French colonies, they often view it as an outgrowth of colonial literature. By suggesting new ways to understand the multiple voices present in this body of work, this book explores how Francophone African poetry and theatre in particular constitute both an organic cultural product, and a reflection of the diverse African cultures in which these genres originate.

Themes explored in five chapters include the diversity of African identity formation, the resistance to former notions of literary composition as art, a remapping of social responsibility and diversity, and the impact of globalization on Francophone Africa’s identity formation and participation in geoeconomics, geopolitics and geoculture. By looking at Francophone African literature from the arrival of independence in the 1960s until the present, this study highlights its inner workings and suggests a canonization of contemporary Francophone works from a world perspective.