The Cambridge Introduction to Postcolonial Literatures in English

The past century has witnessed the extraordinary flowering of fiction, poetry and drama from countries previously colonised by Britain, an output which has changed the map of English literature. This introduction, from a leading figure in the field, explores a wide range of Anglophone post-colonial writing from Africa, Australia, the Caribbean, India, Ireland and Britain. Lyn Innes compares the ways in which authors shape communal identities and interrogate the values and representations of peoples in newly independent nations. Placing its emphasis on literary rather than theoretical texts, this book offers detailed discussion of many internationally renowned authors, including James Joyce, Chinua Achebe, Salman Rushdie, Les Murray and Derek Walcott. It also includes historical surveys of the main countries discussed, a glossary, and biographical notes on major authors. Lyn Innes provides a rich and subtle guide to a vast array of authors and texts from a wide range of sites.

• Focused on literary texts rather than theory, and grounded in readings of important works • Includes a glossary, historical surveys of the countries discussed, and biographies of key authors • Shows how Irish writing fits into postcolonial agendas

Preface; 1. Introduction: Situating the postcolonial; 2. Postcolonial issues in performance; 3. Alternative histories and writing back; 4. Authorising the self: postcolonial autobiographical writing; 5. Situating the self: landscape and place; 6. Appropriating the word: language and voice; 7. ‘Narrating the nation’: form and genre; 8. Rewriting her story: nation and gender; 9. Rewriting the nation: acknowledging economic and cultural diversity; 10. Transnational and black British writing: colonising in reverse; 11. Citizens of the world: reading postcolonial literature; Glossary of critical terms; Notes on main writers discussed; Brief histories: Australia, The Caribbean, East Africa, India and Pakistan, Ireland, West Africa; Bibliography.