Publishing francophone African narratives in English: a short history. Issue 3 (2nd September 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Steemers, Vivan
• Is Part Of: Journal of the African Literature Association. Volume 12:Issue 3(2018)
• Page Start: 306
• Page End: 327
• Publication Date: 2018-09-02
• Subjects: Francophone African literature in translation -- reception -- publishing -- university press -- sociological approach of literature/translation; African literature -- History and criticism -- Periodicals; African literature; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 809.896
• DOI: 10.1080/21674736.2018.1537068
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2167-4736

Abstract

Abstract: This article presents and analyzes the editorial landscape of francophone African narratives translated into English since the inception of this literature in the early 1920s up to 2015. Although it is commonly accepted that small, mostly non-profit publishers and university presses are responsible for literary production and distribution of Anglophone translations, the analysis of a defined corpus of these narratives reveals a more nuanced picture of its evolution. As this "marginal" literature, predominantly published in France, enters the new literary (Anglophone) field it is appropriated and repackaged by the foreign editor who reframes the translated literary work in its new paratext. The corpus narratives are variously presented as translated (francophone) literature, world literature showcasing "windows on the world" or ("denationalized") global literature, depending on the category of publisher involved. As expected, these agents and agencies shaping francophone African literature are driven by differential aesthetic, idealistic or commercial motifs, and operate themselves within a specific sociopolitical context. Since on the Anglo-American book market, it is the American university presses that have played a dominant role in the production of the corpus narratives in recent decades, their mission and its consequences will be considered in detail.