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Blair, Dorothy S. African Literature in French

Author
Blair, Dorothy S.
Published On
January 24, 2023
Original Date
1976
Aesthetic
Bibliographic

Blair, Dorothy S. African Literature in French: A History of Creative Writing in French from West and Equatorial Africa. Cambridge University Press, 1976.

This 1976 book provides both a historical survey and acritical analysis of the literature in French from West and Equatorial Africa. Professor Blair begins by discussing the social, educational and political influences which led to the formation of the Negritude movement and to a flowering of French-African creative writing. This historical approach is then complemented by a study of the different literary genres. She traces the evolution of the first manifestations of literary activity in French by African writers, the written folktale, fable and short story, from the oral tradition of the indigenous culture, and the eventual appearance of the novel with a legendary or historical theme. The origins of French-African drama are considered for the first time, and the work of the minor poets analyzed. Finally, Professor Blair attempts a definition of the French-African novel, and studies examples from three major periods from the 1930s onwards.

[Source: Cambridge University Press].

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