Pushpa Naidu Parekh, Siga Fatima Jagne, eds.. Postcolonial African Writers: A Bio- Bibliographical Critical Sourcebook. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1998. xxxii + 525 pp. $85.00, cloth, ISBN 978-0-313-29056-5.

Reviewed by Sheila Petty

Published on H-AfrLitCine (February, 1999)

In Postcolonial African Writers: A Bio-Biblio‐ known and emerging men and women writers graphical Critical Sourcebook, Pushpa Naidu side by side in order to place full focus on African Parekh and Siga Fatima Jagne undertake the am‐ contexts, possibilities, and problematics and on bitious project of creating an overview of a di‐ the shape and meaning of African theoretical pre‐ verse group of African literary authors under the occupations (p. xv). auspices of a single volume. A much-needed The book consists of sixty bio-bibliographical sourcebook, this work brings together resources and critical entries organized into the following that would normally be scattered over several categories: biography, major works and themes, volumes and presents a critical examination of critical reception and bibliography which consists the issues, advantages, and shortcomings of post‐ of selected works and selected studies. Of these, colonial theory as it relates to African writing. the major works and themes and critical recep‐ In the preface to this book, Parekh states that tion sections are vital in advancing the book's "the central organizing principle of the volume is goals because it is here that works are discussed postcoloniality as it is refected in the novels, po‐ in the context of "postcoloniality." In addition, etry, prose, and drama of major, minor, and works are also situated within the historical and emerging writers from diverse countries of cultural context of the authors' contemporaries. Africa, including representative North and South This resists the compartmentalization of individu‐ African writers and writers of the Indian diaspora al African writers either by stature or gender and born in Africa, both male and female" (p. xiv). In allows for a greater sense of African literature as addition, the editors have set themselves the task a whole comprised of many strands. of creating a gender balance in terms of the selec‐ In her foreword to the book, Carole Boyce tion of writers and contributors. In a response to Davies asserts that "its primary and most impor‐ the "center-versus-margin construction of identi‐ tant contribution is that it accounts concretely for ties and ideologies" (p. xv), the editors locate a range of writers of a specifc geographic speci‐ H-Net Reviews fcity within the larger feld of postcolonial stud‐ focused on African preoccupations and condi‐ ies... a body of writers emanating from the tions, which supersede any interventionist west‐ African cultural experience" (p. x). The volume ern constructions. advances this project by the inclusion of new If there is a weakness in the volume, it occurs writers such as Mositi Torontle (Botswana) and Ti‐ in the introduction, where there is a marked im‐ jan Sallah (Gambia) alongside established lumi‐ balance between the development of the book's naries such as Chinua Achebe (Nigeria) and Ngugi two major goals. Divided into a section by Parekh wa Thiong'o (Kenya). Thus, the book possesses un‐ entitled "Postcolonial Criticism and African Writ‐ usual breadth and documents African literature ing" and another section by Jagne entitled "Theo‐ as a vibrant and continually unfolding literary rizing African Women," the introduction devotes practice. more energy developing the editors' positions on The book is successful in foregrounding the inclusion of African women writers than it African feminism as a critical stance distinct from does on the often contradictory and problematic western feminism and its underlying precepts. As area of postcoloniality as an analytical practice. Jagne observes, western feminist critics and theo‐ Although Parekh raises some of the ongoing con‐ rists, in applying their own parameters to African troversies and debates concerning postcolonial‐ writing, frequently fail to "leave space for the au‐ ism,[1] this section seems somewhat underdevel‐ thors' own theoretical preoccupations" (p. 8). By oped, particularly given that this sourcebook will openly challenging existing theoretical bound‐ be of special interest to those who are investigat‐ aries, some contributors in this volume add to the ing this area for the frst time. ongoing debate surrounding the existence of This shortcoming is redressed to a degree by unique African feminist practices. For example, the wide variety of stances on postcoloniality re‐ the long history of African women's contribution fected by the contributors. In fact, one of the to their own representation is demonstrated by greatest strengths of this volume is its potential Lisa McNee's contribution on the seminal works for creating debate over a vast area of issues in of Senegalese writer Nafssatou Diallo. The frst postcolonial studies. Parekh makes it clear that "at Senegalese woman to publish a long narrative this juncture, it would be useful to consider the work and extended autobiography, Diallo's work term 'post-colonial' as indicative of chronological subtly interrogates the cultural roles of women historicity and 'postcolonial' as an ideological con‐ within Senegalese society. McNee raises the issue ceptualization" (p. 3). She warns against homoge‐ of certain criticisms leveled at Diallo's work be‐ nizing postcolonial criticism into one unifed cause of its subtle nature, but correctly redresses methodology and advocates "theory aligned more them by suggesting that this is a misreading of Di‐ closely to practice" (p. 4). allo's cultural context and use of language. Parekh openly engages the reader in debate Christine Lofin's entry on Flora Nwapa is of when she states that "the critics' and theorists' in‐ particular interest because it discusses how critics sights, whether in this volume or outside, should such as Obioma Nnaemeka, Chikwenye Ogunyemi not go unchallenged" (p. xv). Thus, one is invited, and Marie Umeh, through their analyses of Nwa‐ as it were, to consider how key concepts such as pa's works, advocate "the potential for an African- "counternarratives" or "oppositional versions" based feminist or womanist theory which does contribute to the advancement of the postcolonial not reject but rather builds from the foundations project, particularly in view of the fact that this is of traditional culture" (p. 341). Thus, African femi‐ a literary practice that has gone well beyond writ‐ nism is seen to arise, as it always has, from texts ing back to the empire.

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The existence of such terminology indicates their cultures to come to terms with lost pasts and the continuing problematics of postcolonial theo‐ difcult presents. ry and the struggles of contributors to locate au‐ In the end, despite minor faws, Postcolonial thors and works adequately within a framework African Writers: A Bio-bibliographical Critical that foregrounds African experience over western Sourcebook is excellent in scope and organization. imperatives. For example, in John C. Hawley's oth‐ The divergent intellectual and cultural frame‐ erwise insightful entry on Ngugi wa Thiong'o, he works of both the writers and contributors repre‐ compares Ngugi's exploration of motivation in sented in this volume present a cogent discussion Petals of Blood to Dostoyevsky (p 324). Such an of the many ways in which Africans are circum‐ observation raises the question of why African scribing their own experiences for global audi‐ writers continue to be "legitimized" through com‐ ences. parison to European writers, almost as if their The author would like to thank V. Borden, C. own artistic practice fails to speak for itself. Cunningham and D.L. McGregor for lively discus‐ However, such lapses are ofset by the variety sion on the concept of the "postcolonial." and strength of the African experiences presented Notes in the volume. Soraya Mekerta's contribution on Moroccan writer, Tahar Ben Jelloun, illustrates [1]. See Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Grifths, and He‐ the complexity of deriving identity "from both len Tifn, The Empire Writes Back: Theory and sides of the Mediterranean" (p. 242), as Jelloun Practice in Post-colonial Literatures (London: draws on both France and Morocco as infuences Routledge, 1989); Karin Barber, "African-Lan‐ in his writing. Mekerta's observations on Ben Jel‐ guage Literature and Postcolonial Criticism," Re‐ loun's use of "les voix" (the voices), to both disrupt search in African Literatures 26.4 (Winter 1995): a linear approach to time and as a strategy to dis‐ 3-30; Homi Bhabha, "Remembering Fanon: Self, mantle French language from the inside, under‐ Psyche, and the Colonial Condition," Colonial Dis‐ scores the author's critical fervor and originality course and Postcolonial Theory: A Reader, ed. (p. 245). Patrick Williams and Laura Chrisman (New York: Columbia University Press, 1994), pp. 112-123; Ca‐ In another interesting entry, the work of So‐ role Boyce Davies, Black Women, Writing, and malian author Nuruddin Farah is explored by Identity: Migrations of the Subject (London: Rout‐ Hema Chari. Chari states that Farah "perceives ledge, 1994); Trinh T. Minh-ha, Woman, Native and critiques the horrors of oppression and cele‐ Other: Writing Postcoloniality and Feminism brates the liberatory goals of African nationalism" (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1989); (p. 176) by "decrying the hypocrisy and vacuity of Chandra Talpade Mohanty, Ann Russo and Lour‐ a political freedom that allows the ongoing op‐ des Torres, eds, Third World Women and the Poli‐ pression of women" (p. 177). Like Ben Jelloun, tics of Feminism (Bloomington: Indiana University Farah is dealing with a postcolonial reality fs‐ Press, 1991); Chris Tifn and Alan Lawson, eds., sured by a colonial legacy and oppressive neo‐ De-scribing Empire: Postcolonialism and Textuali‐ colonial dictators (pp. 175-76). Chari suggests that ty (London: Routledge, 1994). Farah argues "that a country can be free only when its female citizens are emancipated" (p. Copyright (c) 1999 by H-Net, all rights re‐ 177). Thus, although both writers come from dif‐ served. This work may be copied for non-proft ferent African realities, their works share com‐ educational use if proper credit is given to the au‐ mon ground as they measure the struggles of thor and the list. For other permission, please con‐ tact [email protected].

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Citation: Sheila Petty. Review of Parekh, Pushpa Naidu; Jagne, Siga Fatima, eds. Postcolonial African Writers: A Bio-Bibliographical Critical Sourcebook. H-AfrLitCine, H-Net Reviews. February, 1999.

URL: https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=2771

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