AAM 'We all stand before history'.pdf (638.33 kB)
“We all stand before history”: (re)locating Saro-Wiwa in the Biafran war canon
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-21, 06:02 authored by Matthew LecznarSince Ken Saro-Wiwa’s execution in 1995, critical accounts of his intellectual legacy have tended to focus on the influence of the Ogoni struggle on his writing, and as a consequence have overlooked the role played by the Nigeria-Biafra war in the development of his intellectual sensibility. Given that Saro-Wiwa worked as a government administrator during the war, and wrote a novel, a memoir, and a book of poetry in response to the conflict, this article works to relocate his legacy in the trajectory of Biafran war literature. By exploring Saro-Wiwa’s negotiation of ideas of canon and history in his Biafran war writing, this article argues that the civil war is a traumatic but transformative preoccupation of his literary and political work. In doing so, it draws on theoretical insights about the self-reflexive narration of history and trauma, and engages with the potential for poetry to textually re-embody marginalized voices.
History
Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Accepted version
Journal
Research in African LiteraturesISSN
0034-5210Publisher
Indiana University PressExternal DOI
Issue
4Volume
48Department affiliated with
- English Publications
Research groups affiliated with
- Centre for Colonial and Postcolonial Studies Publications
Full text available
- Yes
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2017-12-12First Open Access (FOA) Date
2019-10-06First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2017-12-12Usage metrics
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