Contemporary African Literature and the Politics of Gender

<p>The influence of colonialism and race on the development of African literature has been the subject of a number of studies. The effect of patriarchy and gender, however, and indeed the contributions of African women, have up until now been largely ignored by the critics. <strong>Contemporary African Literature and the Politics of Gender</strong> is the first extensive account of African literature from a feminist perspective.<br>In this first radical and exciting work Florence Stratton outlines the features of an emerging female tradition in African fiction. A chapter is dedicated to each to the works of four women writers: Grace Ogot, Flora Nwapa, Buchi Emecheta and Mariama Ba. In addition she provides challenging new readings of canonical male authors such as Chinua Achebe, Ngugi wa Thiongo'o and Wole Soyinka. <em>Contemporary African Literature and the Politics of Gender</em> thus provides the first truly comprehensive definition of the current literary tradition in Africa.</p> Acknowledgements -- INTRODUCTION: Exclusionary practices -- I Aspects of the male literary tradition -- 1 HOW COULD THINGS FALL APART FOR WHOM THEY WERE NOT TOGETHER? -- 2 THE MOTHER AFRICA TROPE -- II Room for women -- 3 MEN FALL APART: Grace Ogot's novels and short stories -- 4 FLORA NWAPA AND THE FEMALE NOVEL OF DEVELOPMENT -- 5 'THEIR NEW SISTER': Buchi Emecheta and the contemporary African literary tradition -- 6 'LITERATURE AS A ... WEAPON': The novels of Mariama Ba -- III Men write back -- 7 GENDER ON THE AGENDA: Novels of the 1980s by Ngiigi and Achebe -- CONCLUSION: Redefining the African literary tradition -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index.