Black Consciousness and South Africa’s National Literature

This book analyses Black Consciousness poetry and theatre from the 1970s through to the present. South Africa’s literature, like its history, has been beset by disagreement and contradiction, and has been consistently difficult to pin down as one, united entity. Much existing criticism on South Africa’s national literature has attempted to overcome these divisions by discussing material written from a variety of different subject positions together. This book argues that Black Consciousness desired a new South Africa where African and European cultures were valued equally, and writers could represent both as they wished. Thus, a body of literature was created that addressed a range of audiences and imagined the South African nation in different ways. This book explores Black Consciousness in order to demonstrate how South African writers have responded in various ways to the changing history and politics of their country.

Tom Penfold is Senior Research Associate at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa. He was awarded his PhD by the University of Birmingham, UK, in 2013. He has published widely on contemporary South African poetry and fiction. His current work compares literature in Brazil and South Africa.