Voices from Madagascar Voix de Madagascar: An Anthology of Contemporary Francophone Literature/Anthologie de litterature francophone contemporaine

There is currently in Madagascar a rich literary production (short stories, poetry, novels, plays), that has not yet reached the United States for lack of diffusion outside the country. Until recently, Madagascar suffered from political isolation, resulting from its break-up with France in the 70s and the 18 years of Marxism that followed. With little hope that their voices may be heard outside the island, writers nevertheless have continued to express themselves in French (alongside a literature written in the Malagasy language). Malagasy literature in French had begun in the colonial era with three poets: Jean-Joseph Rabearivelo, Jacques Rabemanajara and Flavien Ranaivo, all three presented in Leopold Senghor’s celebrated Anthologie de la nouvelle poesie negre et malgache (1948). More recently, though a handful of Malagasy writers living outside the country have been published in France, the bulk of Malagasy literature today has remained largely unpublished, circulating locally, mostly in manuscript form. Voices from Madagascar will bring a wide selection of these texts to the North American public, both in French and in English.