Writing Namibia Coming Of Age

A rich collection of captivating and remarkable chapters, Writing Namibia Coming of Age presents research of senior academics as well as emerging scholars from Namibia. The book includes wide ranging topics in literature written in English and other Namibian languages, such as German, Afrikaans and Oshiwambo. Almost thirty years after independence, Namibia literature has come of age with new writers experimenting with different genres and varied aspects of literature. As an aesthetic object and social phenomenon, Namibian literature still fulfils the function of social conscience and as new writers emerge, there is ample demonstration that, pluri-vocal as they are, Namibian literary texts relate in a complex manner to the socio-historical trends shaping the country. The Namibian literary-critical tradition continues to paint some versions of Namibia and what we find in this new and highly welcome volume is a canvas of rich voices and perspectives that demonstrate an intricate diversity in terms of culture, language, and themes.

"Reminiscent of Zadie Smith and Michael Chabon, this "gorgeous, wildly funny and, above all, profoundly moving and humane" (Peter Orner, author of Am I Alone Here) coming-of-age tale follows a young man who is forced to flee his homeland of Rwanda during the Civil War and make sense of his reality"--

Writing Namibia: Literature in Transition is a cornucopia of extraordinary and fascinating material which will be a rich resource for students, teachers and readers interested in Namibia. The text is wide ranging, defining literature in its broadest terms. In its multifaceted approach, the book covers many genres traditionally outside academic literary discourse and debate. The 22 chapters cover literature of all categories in Namibia since independence: written and performance poetry, praise poetry, Oshiwambo orature, drama, novels, autobiography, womens writing, subaltern studies, literature in German, Ju|hoansi and Otjiherero, childrens literature, Afrikaans fiction, story-telling through film, publishing, and the interface between literature and society. The inclusive approach is the books strength as it allows a wide range of subjects to be addressed, including those around gender, race and orature which have been conventionally silenced.

This study draws from life histories to present constraints and possibilities that have shaped former SWAPO exiles economic reintegration in post-colonial Namibia from 1989 through 2018. The book advances three arguments, each of which pushes beyond existing scholarship on Namibia and/or economic reintegration broadly. Collectively, these arguments challenge dominant narratives that have generalized former SWAPO exiles economic reintegration experiences, highlighting that there is no single narrative that can describe their unique life stories of reintegration in the post-colony.

Exploring Economic Reintegration in Namibia: Individual Trajectories of PLAN Ex-Fighters and SWAPO Exiles, 1989–2018 draws from life histories to present constraints and possibilities that have shaped former SWAPO exiles’ economic reintegration in post-colonial Namibia from 1989 through 2018. The book advances three arguments, each of which pushes beyond existing scholarship on Namibia and/or economic reintegration broadly. Collectively, these arguments challenge dominant narratives that have generalized former SWAPO exiles’ economic reintegration experiences, highlighting that there is no single narrative that can describe their unique life stories of reintegration in the post-colony.

Writing Namibia: Literature in Transition is a cornucopia of extraordinary and fascinating material which will be a rich resource for students, teachers and readers interested in Namibia. The text is wide ranging, defining literature in its broadest terms. In its multifaceted approach, the book covers many genres traditionally outside academic literary discourse and debate. The 22 chapters cover literature of all categories in Namibia since independence: written and performance poetry, praise poetry, Oshiwambo orature, drama, novels, autobiography, women’s writing, subaltern studies, literature in German, Ju|’hoansi and Otjiherero, children’s literature, Afrikaans fiction, story-telling through film, publishing, and the interface between literature and society. The inclusive approach is the book’s strength as it allows a wide range of subjects to be addressed, including those around gender, race and orature which have been conventionally silenced.

How can literary archives adapt to the challenges of the future? Literary archives are per se international because their subject is international. Literature does not end at the borders of its country of origin or its language. Hence, literary archives hold material that is not limited to a country or a language, although one country and language is usually dominant. It might even be the case that an archive has the official task of preserving the literary heritage of a specific territory and is funded for this purpose. How can we conceptualize literary archives in their regional and global frameworks and develop them further? To what extent does digitization foster international cooperation within and beyond the archives and how can we make it more fruitful? How can archives meet the interests of the literary public and of researchers? With contributions by: Stephen Enniss, Lavinia Frey, Jeang-Yean Goak, Ben Hutchinson, David D. Kim, Stefan Litt, B. Venkat Mani, Nelson Mlambo, Sebastian Möring, Sandra Richter, Fred Studemann, Meike G. Werner, Katja Wiesbrock Donovan Literatur endet nicht an den Grenzen ihres Herkunftslandes oder ihrer Sprache, Literaturarchive verfügen also über Material, das weder auf ein Land noch auf eine Sprache beschränkt ist. Internationale Forscherinnen und Forscher fragen, wie Literaturarchive in digitalen Zeiten in ihrem regionalen und globalen Rahmen konzeptualisiert und weiter entwickelt werden können.