LITERATURE AND POLITICS IN ANGOLA TODAY: A VIEW OF ITS CONTEMPORARY FICTIONAL PRODUCTION

Abstract

This essay will analyze the close relationship between literature and politics in today’s literary production in Angola. It will refer back to a “tradition” that is rooted in the 19th century when writing (both journalism and literature) confronted the colonial system in a politically programmed way whether we are talking about the early days or the mid-20th century. The study will trace the political routes of contemporary Angolan fiction by looking at the work of Manuel dos Santos Lima, Pepetela, Uanhenga Xitu, Boaventura Cardoso and João Melo. Close attention will be paid to Melo’s work as a story-teller who empowers the irony of previous writing so that it gives rise to a carnivalesque, grotesque paroxysm. Nevertheless, all the authors in this study make both the modus operandi of the post-colonial political system as well as its agents’ deviant, fraudulent behavior their critical target.