Postcolonial literature is the best. It’s so ambiguous and complex that it’s impossible not to love it.
I’m planning to team-teach a course with our Palestinian professor who wants to place a lot of postcolonial literature on the list. And that makes me very happy.
Yes! Coming from the colonies, it’s my favorite form of literature too. When I read literature, that is. I’m mostly into SFF otherwise.
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Do post suggestions if you have any.
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Don’t have a big background in literature. But, I recommend Chingiz Aitmatov (Kyrgyzstan), Bessie Head (South Africa/Botswana), and Isaura de Oliveira (Mozambique).
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I teach one course in Postcolonial Literature and Theory from time to time. I like the literature very much. But I especially love teaching the theory! What are some pieces you are teaching? (If you feel comfortable sharing.)
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We haven’t decided yet but I recently discovered The Season of Migration to the North, and I love it. Amitav Gosh is a great possibility and Arundhati Roy. The subject of the course is literature and capitalism, so postcolonial is a bit tangential. But it will be great to teach this.
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I teach postcolonial literatures (and was training in it, though now I take a more area studies approach). It is the best! Season of Migration to the North is great and works really well for teaching. Have you read any Ngugi wa Thiong’o? Petals of Blood is fantastic. Are you reading for fun or are you looking for texts to teach?
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“{Have you read any Ngugi wa Thiong’o? Petals of Blood is fantastic.”
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I have tons of recommendations! One that you might enjoy, given your work on fluidity, is Transmission by Hari Kunzru. If you are looking for short texts, A Small Place by Jamaica Kincaid is great for teaching – lots to think about in terms of neocolonialism, tourism, satire, etc. Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga is another good one. The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born by Ayi Kwei Armah is also great – highly satirical and I find it tends to shock my students, which leads to great discussions.
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I don’t know any of these. Thank you so much for the recommendations. I’m so looking forward to reading them.
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Does that include Jose Milla y Vidaurre? Miguel Angel Asturias?
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I don’t like Asturias, it’s just not my thing. I’m thinking of including Goytisolo. It has to be shorter novels, that’s the problem.
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A conservative literary critic and college professor
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