Over the years, African literature has been marked by a mimicry stemming from colonialism, a questioning born of the awareness by Africans of their values, then a maturity characterized by a certain open-mindedness. The media library of the French Institute in Cotonou hosted, yesterday Wednesday, March 17, a talk-debate on the issue. It is within the framework of the celebration of the month of La Francophonie.
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Today there is a black literary identity which finds its roots in the history of black peoples, in their cultures and in their values, a literature which has asserted itself over time and which today stands out. It is a postulate which arises today in evidence. Faced with assiduous learners and in love with French-speaking African literature, teacher-researcher Claire Ducournau recalls that African literature was marked in its early stages by the influence of colonization. Over time, it will question itself and then open up. In the same vein, the writer Jérôme Tossavi will recall the three periods which characterize African literature. We must in particular distinguish the colonial period marked by a literature tinged with mimicry, essentially inspired by the colonial context.
In Benin, we can classify in this period the writers Paul Hazoumè with his book Doguicimi in 1838, Félix Kouchoro with the publication of The Slave in 1929 … From the 60s, it is the era of independence and African literature will be marked by denunciations, calls for freedom and national sovereignty. There have been works like Sun of Independence by Hamadou Kourouma. From the 80s, African literature will focus much more on the misfortunes of an independent Africa plagued by bad governance and abuses.
The third literary period, the contemporary one, is characterized by a very open literature, fertile in imaginations and more and more adapted to the evolution of society. Today, writing is taking into account the evolution of society and the preferences of the target audience. “If we limit ourselves to French-speaking literature, the most popular theme is sexuality, questions relating to sex. This approach is very captivating for young people. It is a key theme because sex is a taboo subject but remains at the center of curiosities, ”observes Jérôme Tossavi. He remains convinced that African literature, in this case that of the Latin Quarter of Africa, remains fertile ground which matures over time.
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