On Contemporary Speculative Short Fiction in Southern Africa

Abstract

Speculative fiction is one of the most diverse and complex genres of African literature today. While the genre is not new to the continent, it has recently acquired new energy. This is perhaps most evident in the abundance of short story publications. Short story authors working in this genre are based throughout sub-Saharan Africa, and the range of subject matter dealt with is striking. One component that appears to bind speculative short stories together is the presentation of a plurality of collective, planetary anxieties about the contemporary moment and the imagined future. This article identifies nodes of interest—cyborgs and temporalities, specifically—from which an entanglement of cultural contexts can be considered in contemporary speculative short stories. In particular, the article focuses on speculative short fiction from the southern region of Africa—specifically from Malawi, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. The overall conclusion of this article is that the speculative genre in Africa is becoming a powerful tool with which to establish new relations to local spaces and ideas, to the world, and to futurity.