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 Periodical article |
 Leiden University catalogue |
 WorldCat |
| Title: | Angolan and Mozambican Literature: After the Coup and since Independence |
| Author: | Hamilton, Russell G. |
| Year: | 1998 |
| Periodical: | Africana Journal |
| Volume: | 17 |
| Pages: | 105-130 |
| Language: | English |
| Geographic terms: | Angola Mozambique |
| Subjects: | literature Portuguese language Literature, Mass Media and the Press |
| Abstract: | Since its beginnings, in the late 1940s and early 1950s, much of the Portuguese-language poetry, prose fiction and drama of Angola and Mozambique bears the mark of cultural vindication, social protest, combativeness and patriotism. In postcolonial Angola, literary policy, activity and the nature of individual works have been influenced by a revolutionary imperative. A small but growing nucleus of Angolan poets has sought to define revolutionary lore and to reach out to a wider Portuguese-language readership. But although poetry has long been central to Angolan literature, and the exaltation of the word is crucial to its revitalization, the attempt to modernize writing has been most successful in a few works of postcolonial prose fiction, notably by José Luandino Vieira, Manuel Rui, Pepetela and Uanhenga Xitu (Mendes de Carvalho). In Mozambique, literary output at the time of the 1974 coup in Portugal was at a quantitative and qualitative low. The mid-1980s saw a resurgence in literary activity and concomitant tensions between the 'old' literary order and its espousal of the idea of literature at the service of a cause and the search by young writers for new directions. Unabashed sensuality and a celebration of the tropical ambiance are the emblems of a new poetic discourse. By far the most noteworthy of the formulators of a new Mozambican prose are Albino Magaia, Mia Couto and Ungulani Ba Ka Khosa. Notes, ref. |