P. Corcoran, The Cambridge Introduction to Francophone Literature

CORCORAN, Patrick, The Cambridge Introduction to Francophone Literature, New York, Cambridge University Press (Cambridge Introductions to Literature), 2007, 274 p.
ISBN-13 9780521614931


RÉSUMÉ

The literature of French-speaking countries forms a distinct body of work quite separate from literature written in France itself, offering a passionate creative engagement with their postcolonial cultures. This book provides an introduction to the literatures that have emerged in the French-speaking countries and regions of the world in recent decades, illustrating their astonishing breadth and diversity, and exploring their constant state of tension with the literature of France. The study opens with a wide-ranging discussion of the idea of francophonie. Each chapter then provides readers with historical background to a particular region and identifies the key issues that have influenced the emergence of a literature in French, before going on to examine in detail a selection of the major writers. These case studies tackle many of the key authors of the francophone world, as well as new, up-and-coming authors writing today.


TABLE DES MATIÈRES

Introduction 1
The francophone world 1
Conceptualising francophonie 6
Historicism and historiography 13
Postcolonial theory and francophone
literature 21

Chapter 1 The Maghreb 27

Overview 27
Mouloud Feraoun 38
Mohammed Dib 43
Kateb Yacine 48
Driss Chraïbi 51
Albert Memmi 56
Rachid Boudjedra 60
Assia Djebar 64
Tahar Ben Jelloun 71

Chapter 2 Sub-Saharan Africa 75

Overview 75
Henri Lopes 86
Ahmadou Kourouma 92
Sony Labou Tansi 97
Ken Bugul 102

Chapter 3 Oceania – Middle East 109

Overview 109
Mauritius 111
Ananda Devi 112
La Réunion 117
Axel Gauvin 118
Madagascar 124
Raharimanana 126
TheMiddle East 129
Amin Maalouf 130
Albert Cossery 133

Chapter 4 Canada 138

Overview 138
Gabrielle Roy 152
Anne Hébert 157
Marie-Claire Blais 164
Jacques Godbout 170
Réjean Ducharme 175

Chapter 5 The Caribbean 180

Overview 180
Négritude, antillanité and créolité 184
Aimé Césaire 199
Frantz Fanon 204
Patrick Chamoiseau 207
Raphaël Confiant 213
Edouard Glissant 218
Ernest Pépin 226
Maryse Condé 228
Haiti 233

Conclusion 239