The Cambridge History of South African Literature

A multi-authored history of South African literature in all eleven official languages of the country.

David Attwell (Edited by), Derek Attridge (Edited by)

9781009343787, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 9 March 2023

895 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 4.5 cm, 1.269 kg

'… [an] ambitious and learned book … This book will intrigue readers … a rich study which draws on an exceptionally broad range of primary sources …' Journal of Continuity and Change

South Africa's unique history has produced literatures in many languages, in both oral and written forms, reflecting the diversity in the cultural histories and experiences of its people. The Cambridge History offers a comprehensive, multi-authored history of South African literature in all eleven official languages (and more minor ones) of the country, produced by a team of over forty international experts, including contributors from all of the major regions and language groups of South Africa. It will provide a complete portrait of South Africa's literary production, organised as a chronological history from the oral traditions existing before colonial settlement, to the post-apartheid revision of the past. In a field marked by controversy, this volume is more fully representative than any existing account of South Africa's literary history. It will make a unique contribution to Commonwealth, international and postcolonial studies and serve as a definitive reference work for decades to come.

Introduction David Attwell and Derek Attridge
Part I. Oratures, Oral Histories, Origins: 1. 'The Bushmen's Letters': |Xam narratives of the Bleek and Lloyd Collection and their afterlives Hedley Twidle
2. A contextual analysis of Xhosa iimbongi and their izibongo Russell H. Kaschula
3. I sing of the woes of my travels: the lifela of Lesotho Nhlanhla Maake
4. Praise, politics, performance: from Zulu izibongo to the Zionists Mbongiseni Buthelezi
5. IsiNdebele, siSwati, Northern Sotho, Tshivenda and Xitsonga oral culture Manie Groenewald and Mokgale Makgopa
Part II. Exploration, Early Modernity and Enlightenment at the Cape, 1488–1820: 6. Shades of Adamastor: the legacy of The Lusiads Malvern van Wyk Smith
7. In the archive: records of the Dutch settlement and the contemporary novel Carli Coetzee
8. Eighteenth-century natural history, travel writing and South African literary historiography Ian Glenn
Part III. Empire, Resistance and National Beginnings, 1820–1910: 9. Writing settlement and empire: the Cape after 1820 Matthew Shum
10. The mission presses and the rise of black journalism Catherine Woeber
11. The imperial romance Laura Chrisman
12. Perspectives on the South African War Elleke Boehmer
13. The beginnings of Afrikaans literature H. P. van Coller
Part IV. Modernism and Trans-National Culture, 1910–1948: 14. Black writers and the historical novel: 1907–1948 Bhekizizwe Peterson
15. The Dertigers and the plaasroman: two brief perspectives on Afrikaans literature Gerrit Olivier
16. New African modernity and the New African movement Ntongela Masilela
17. Refracted modernisms: Roy Campbell, Herbert Dhlomo, N. P. van Wyk Louw Tony Voss
18. The metropolitan and local: Douglas Blackburn, Pauline Smith, William Plomer and Herman Charles Bosman Craig MacKenzie
Part V. Apartheid and Its Aftermath, 1948–the Present: 19. The Fabulous Fifties: short fiction in English Dorothy Driver
20. Writing in exile Tlhalo Raditlhalo
21. Afrikaans literature 1948–1976 Hein Willemse
22. Afrikaans literature after 1976: resistances and repositionings Louise Viljoen
23. The liberal tradition in fiction Peter Blair
24. Black Consciousness poetry: writing against apartheid Thengani H. Ngwenya
25. Popular forms and the United Democratic Front Peter Horn
26. Writing the prison Daniel Roux
27. Theatre: regulation, resistance and recovery Loren Kruger
28. The lyric poem during and after apartheid Dirk Klopper
29. Writing and publication in African languages since 1948 Christiaan Swanepoel
30. Writing the interregnum: literature and the demise of apartheid Stephen Clingman
31. Rewriting the nation Rita Barnard
32. Writing the city after apartheid Michael Titlestad
Part VI. South African Literature: Continuities and Contrasts: 33. South Africa in the global imaginary Andrew van der Vlies
34. Confession and autobiography M. J. Daymond and Andries Visagie
35. 'A change of tongue': questions of translation Leon de Kock
36. Writing women Meg Samuelson
37. The 'experimental line' in fiction Michael Green
38. The book in South Africa Peter D. McDonald
39. Literary and cultural criticism in South Africa David Johnson
Index.

Subject Areas: African history [HBJH], Literary studies: general [DSB]