The development of African literature : a dynamic move from pre-war artistic fiction to post-war and post-independence intellectual maturity

Abstract EN

In the aftermath of the second world war, the growing scope of nationalist movements against colonial rule in Africa triggered a break with the previous literary motivations of the pre-war era.

this engendered new themes in African literature, focusing now on proclaiming one's own worthiness and value as a different society, with a different culture and different future aspirations.

the present article sets out to underscore this pivotal and dynamic shift in literary concern of the early 1920's and 1930's and show to what extent the new African novel now reflected society during the post-war and immediate post-independence eras.

results reveal that unlike pre-war literature, post-war and post-independence novels matured, and writers realized that only when deeply rooted in their society through denouncing, and consequently reforming, that their literature can have a value, and be viewed as truly reflecting the real concerns of their community.