De la littérature négro-africaine aux littératures nationales : entre l'unité et la balkanisation

Abstract

Black-African literature (an expression which does not really account for the diversity of the black world) was later on referred to as African literatures which remains a rather ambiguous term but puts more emphasis on differences and nuances.Over the last ten years, the qualificative « African » has been replaced by « national ». However, this new expression « national literatures » makes it necessary to define what is meant by a literary nationality.All aspects considered, the term « national literatures » is unsatisfactory and very restrictive : to look for qualities that reflect the nation in a text is to negate the autonomy of the literary text and the freedom and singularity of its author.