Creating postcolonial literature : African writers and British publishers / Caroline Davis.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Davis, Caroline, 1964-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Oxford University Press.

African literature (English)--Publishing--History--20th century.

African literature (English).

Publishers and publishing--Great Britain--History--20th century.

Publishers and publishing.

History.

Publishing.

Great Britain.

Publishers and publishing--Africa--History--20th century.

Oxford University Press--History.

Africa.

Physical Description:

x, 255 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Houndmills, Basingstoke ; New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2013.

Summary:

Creating Postcolonial Literature examines the publishing of African literature in the postcolonial period. Its focus is the largely forgotten Three Crowns series by Oxford University Press (1962-1976), which was the vehicle for the publication of Wole Soyinka and Athol Fugard, along with many other major African writers, including Lewis Nkosi, John Pepper Clark, Obi Egbuna, Oswald Mtshali, Joe de Graft and Léopold Sédar Senghor. It addresses the construction of literary value, the relationships between African writers and British publishers, and the critical importance of the African marketplace in the development of African literature during this period. Based on new archival research, it assesses the institutions of postcolonial literary publishing on both a macro and micro level, by combining a thorough analysis of the historical, political and economic context of British publishing in Africa in this period with detailed author case-studies. Book jacket.

Contents:

Part I. Oxford University Press in Africa, 1927-80: The vision for OUP in Africa; 'The obligation to be profitable': OUP in West Africa; 'The call to duty': OUP in East Africa; Publishing under Apartheid: OUP in South Africa

Part II. The Three Crowns Series 1962-76: The history of Three Crowns; Judging African literature; Editing Three Crowns; Publishing Wole Soyinka; Publishing Athol Fugard.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 231-243) and index.

ISBN:

9780230369368

0230369367

OCLC:

820434201