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Cameroonian literature is literature from Cameroon, which includes literature in French, English and indigenous languages.
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| Art |
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| Sport |
Cameroonian literature is literature from Cameroon, which includes literature in French, English and indigenous languages.
Colonial-era writers such as Louis-Marie Pouka and Sankie Maimo were educated by European missionary societies and advocated assimilation into European culture as the means to bring Cameroon into the modern world. [1] Jean-Louis Njemba Medu was a pioneering writer who published the science fiction novel Nnanga Kon in the Bulu language as early as 1932. After World War II, writers such as Mongo Beti and Ferdinand Oyono analysed and criticised colonialism and rejected assimilation. [2] [3] [4] Other older generation writers include Guillaume Oyônô Mbia, Mbella Sonne Dipoko, Francis Bebey, René Philombé and kenjo Jumbam.
Some critically acclaimed writers include Marcien Towa, Imbolo Mbue, Patrice Nganang, Calixthe Beyala, Bate Besong, Gaston-Paul Effa, Werewere Liking, Ba'bila Mutia, John Nkemngong Nkengasong, Bole Butake, Leonora Miano, Francis B Nyamnjoh and Linus T. Asong. [5] [6]
In 2014, Imbolo Mbue signed a million dollar deal with Random House for her debut manuscript. The novel titled Behold the Dreamers follows the travails of a Cameroonian immigrant and a Lehman Brothers executive during the 2008 financial crisis. [7] [8]
International and bilingual English-and-French literary prizes, Grand Prix of Literary Associations (GPLA), were launched in Cameroon in 2013, [9] and are to date the main literary awards in Cameroon. They have already contributed to unveil or confirm many gifted authors, such as Eric Mendi, twice winner in the Belles-Lettres Category, [10] Charles Salé, Fiston Mwanza Mujila, [11] Felwine Sarr, [12] to name a few. The GPLA also pay tribute to deceased authors through the Grand prix de la mémoire, which was awarded to late Cameroonian author Sankie Maimo in the last edition (GPLA 2016). [13]
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Its coastline lies on the Bight of Biafra, part of the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean. The country is sometimes identified as West African and other times as Central African, due to its strategic position at the crossroads between West and Central Africa. Its nearly 25 million people speak 250 native languages.
Ferdinand Léopold Oyono was a diplomat, politician and author from Cameroon.
Alexandre Biyidi Awala, known as Mongo Beti or Eza Boto, was a Cameroonian writer.
Articles related to Cameroon include:
Patrice Kayo is an African scholar, poet, and author born in 1942 in Bandjoun, West Province, Cameroon. He is also known for his radical opposition to Paul Biya's political regime, and his advocacy for freedom of speech and human rights.
Calixthe Beyala is a Cameroonian-French writer who writes in French.
Francis Bebey was a Cameroonian writer and composer.
Sankie Maimo was a writer from British Southern Cameroons. Maimo moved to Ibadan, Nigeria, where he worked as a school teacher. There, he founded the journal Cameroon Voice in 1955. This was followed by a play called I Am Vindicated, and a children's book called Adventuring with Jaja. His works advocated the adoption of European values as a means to bring Africa into the wider world.
Jean-Marc Ela was a Cameroonian sociologist and theologian. Working variously as a diocesan priest and a professor, Ela was the author of many books on theology, philosophy, and social sciences in Africa. His most famous work, African Cry has been called the "soundest illustration" of the spirit of liberation theology in sub-Saharan Africa. His works are widely cited as exemplary of sub-Saharan African Christian theology for their focus on contextualisation and their emphasis on community-centered approaches to theology.
The mass media in Cameroon includes independent outlets. The nation has only one national newspaper, which is state owned.
Bate Besong (1954–2007) was a Cameroonian playwright, poet and critic, who was described by Pierre Fandio as “one of the most representative and regular writers of what might be referred to as the second generation of the emergent Cameroonian literature in English". He died on March 8, 2007 in a car accident on the Douala-Yaounde highway.
Peter Wuteh Vakunta is an author, literary theorist, poet, and professor, noted for his work in and on hybrid languages, including Camfranglais, Cameroonian Creole, linguistic indigenization, and multilingual educational systems. He is originally from Bamunka-Ndop, in the Northwest Region of the Republic of Cameroon, and currently teaches French language and literature and serves as Chair of the Department of Modern Languages at the University of Indianapolis.
Bakwa is an online magazine of literary and cultural criticism based in Yaoundé, Cameroon, that covers international cultural issues and has a penchant for fiction and creative non-fiction by Cameroonian writers. Notable contributors include: Imbolo Mbue, Ntone Edjabe, Anna Jäger, Kangsen Feka Wakai, Jeremy Klemin, Serubiri Moses, Minna Salami, Jack Little, Emmanuel Iduma, Bwesigye bwa Mwesigire and Johnnie MacViban. Bakwa has been described as "an eclectic, intelligent take on the dynamic cultural scenes often missed by mainstream, western media".
The Anglophone problem, as it is commonly referred to in Cameroon, is a socio-political issue rooted in Cameroon's colonial legacies from the Germans, British, and the French.
Imbolo Mbue is a Cameroonian-American novelist and short-story writer based in New York City. She is known for her debut novel Behold the Dreamers (2016), which has garnered her the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction and the Blue Metropolis Words to Change Award. Her works draw from her own experiences as an immigrant, as well as the experiences of other immigrants pursuing the American dream.
The Grand Prix of Literary Associations (GPLA) were launched in 2013 in Cameroon, in partnership with Brasseries du Cameroun and sponsorship by Castel Beer.
John Ngosong Nkemngong Nkengasong is a Cameroonian playwright, novelist, poet and scholar. He is often referred to as a "radical visionary" of Anglophone Cameroon and an “ardent upholder of innovative creativity and crusader for the truth” as is demonstrated by his novels, poetry, short stories but most notably his plays.
Theatre of Cameroon consists in the theatrical plays produced across Cameroon. Its history dates back to the pre-colonial time, but it has gained wide popularity since the 1970s, with practitioners such as Daniel Ndo, Dieudonné Afana and David Kemzeu. It is made of different trends, some of them are more inflected by the European theatrical tradition, some others are more attuned to the indigenous performative styles. The comic genre is presently dominating so that laughter has become synonymous with modern Cameroon theatre productions, according to Bole Butake. Theatre of Cameroon is sometimes subdivided in traditional theatre, colonial theatre, and post-independence theatre.
Guillaume Oyônô Mbia was a Cameroonian writer. An Anglicist, he also taught at the University of Yaoundé.
