Cambridge History of Postcolonial Literature 2 Volume Paperback Set

Postcolonial studies is attentive to cultural differences, marginalisation and exclusion. Such studies pay equal attention to the lives and conditions of various racial minorities in the West, as well as to regional, indigenous forms of representation around the world as being distinct from a dominant Western tradition. With the consolidation of the field in the past forty years, the need to establish the terms by which we might understand the sources of postcolonial literary history is more urgent now than ever before. The Cambridge History of Postcolonial Literature is the first major collaborative overview of the field. A mix of geographic and thematic chapters allows for different viewpoints on postcolonial literary history. Chapters cover the most important national traditions, as well as more comparative geographical and thematic frameworks. This major reference work will set the future agenda for the field, whilst also synthesising its development for scholars and students.

"With contributions from an impressive international group of recognized scholars, the collection--marked by a commendable degree of continuity between offerings--is unique in that it is a comprehensive history of a literary field as opposed to a compendium of literary analysis." --Choice, "Overall, this collection is impressive in its reach. It takes on the laborious task of stitching together a multifarious history of postcolonial literatures. Both volumes offer historiographies that are far reaching in their inclusiveness and wherewithal to offer critical interpretations and reinterpretations of the paramount essays that defined the field. In doing so, they engage with current discussions while creating an opening for the burgeoning development of contemporary rhetorical questions." --The International Journal of African Historical Studies, "I cannot see how this ambitious work can be bettered – or even equalled – anytime soon. Every postcolonial scholar and student would do well to have it on their shelves for constant reference." --Journal of Postcolonial Writing

Ato Quayson is Professor of English and Director of the Centre for Diaspora and Transnational Studies at the University of Toronto.