Literary imaginaries of Africa and (post) coloniality in Batouala, by René Maran, and In Between Two Worlds, by Simone Schwarz-bart

Abstract

Inscribed in the commemorations of the centenary of the novel Batouala (1921), by René Maran, this article examines the imaginaries of Africa and (post) coloniality present both in the work on canvas of the Guyanese writer and in the narrative Between two worlds (1979), by Simone Schwarz-Bart, from Guadeloupe. Maran and Schwarz-Bart share important biographical approaches, such as their birth in exile, their studies in metropolitan France, the presence of Caribbean soldiers on missions across the (ex)metropolis, their seasons in Africa and their developments in the literary field. Despite the 58 years that separate both literary publications, it is argued, in the light of reflections by Aimé Césaire, Édouard Glissant, Jean Bernabé, Patrick Chamoiseau, Raphaël Confiant and Chimamanda Adiche, among others, that the two Caribbean works address the dangers of the single story and the stories obliterated by the colonial/ official chronicle.