Kujibizana : questions of language and power in nineteenth- and twentieth-century poetry in Kiswahili / Ann Biersteker.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Biersteker, Ann Joyce.

Series:

African series (East Lansing, Mich.) ; 4.

African series ; 4

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Swahili poetry--History and criticism.

Swahili poetry.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (368 pages) : illustrations

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

East Lansing, Mich. : Michigan State University Press, 1996.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The author argues that reading poetry in Kiswahili provides important insights into questions of language and power, as well as into discussions of socialist practice in East Africa and East African resistance to colonialism and neo-colonialism. Includes the text of numerous poems and footnotes.

Contents:

Contents; Acknowledgments; Introduction; Chapter I. Kupambana: Uhuru na Kutungamana Poetry in Kiswahili: Struggles for Freedom and Solidarity; ""The Language of Struggle""; I. Poems as Ideological Texts: Envisioning Kiswahili Speaking Communities/Nation; II. Establishing Codes, Exploring Stances, Negotiating Strategies; III. ""Regenerative Reconnection"" in Literary Composition; Conclusion; Chapter II. Kujibizana: Ujamaa kwa Vitendo / Dialogue Poetry in Kiswahili and Ujamaa Praxis; Prefaces to the Dialogue

I. Terms of Address Praxis: Balance of Responsibility for Text Production and Interchange; II. Establishing Shared Commitments; III. Establishing an Intellectual Exchange; IV. A. Dismantling an Argument and Establishing a Commitment to Symbolism; IV. B. Constructing an Alternative Narrative; IV. C. Constructing an Alternative Identity and Alternative ""Tradition""; V. A. Refiguring Praxis; V. B. Toward a Revitalized Praxis; Conclusion; Appendix

Chapter III. Kazi za Kutunga, Kuhariri, Kutafsiri, na Kusoma / The Significance of Poetic Practice in Kiswahili to the Translation and Interpretation of Early Twentieth-Century Political Poetry; Overview of Contexts of Production; I. Tenzl as Narratives; II. Tenzi as Testimony; II. A. Definition of Audience; II. B. i. Disruption of Narrative: Internal Dialogue; II. B. ii. Restructuring Metaphors; II. B. iii. Restructuring by Manipulation of Genre Conventions; III. A. Texts as Witnesses; III. B. Tenzi as Coerced Speech; III. B. i. Neocolonial Marginalizing of Texts: Example One

III. B. ii. Neocolonial Marginalizing of Texts: Example Two; III. C. Denial of the Language of Poetry; Conclusion; Chapter IV. Kuswahilika, Mfano Mmoja / Poetic Parodies of Missionary Discourse and the Conversion of a Missionary to Kiswahil; Missionary Discourse from the East African Coast; Answers to the Hymns; Answer Poems as Parodies; Composers and Collaborators; The Answer Poems; Chapter V. Utendi na Utumbuizo / Women's Poetry as Scheme, Trope, and Texts; A. Introduction; I. Ideological Production and Reproduction under Colonial Rule

II. Poetic Intertexts: Elaboration, Parody, and Subversion; III. Ideological Production under Colonial Rule; Conclusion; Utumbuizo wa Fatma binti Athumani and Translation; Bibliography; Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0-87013-893-6

OCLC:

847655678