There has been an explosion of interest in Francophone studies, as postcolonial and diaspora literatures more generally have gained recognition both within and outside the academy. Identity, culture and history as well as issues relating to class, race, and colonialism, and the literary production itself have always been central to Caribbean Francophone culture and are matters currently of hot debate. From the growth of the negritude movement, principally associated with poetry, through to the rise of the novel, contributors to this book explore the theoretical, political and philosophical debates that have informed, and continue to inform, the rich and varied tradition of Caribbean Francophone literature.In recent years, the number of Francophone Caribbean women writers has increased significantly and experimental writing has featured more prominently. Contributors explore these and other trends, mainly in the literatures of Guadeloupe and Martinique. In providing the only available overview of this important literature and in positioning it critically, this book makes an invaluable contribution to students and scholars alike.

Table of Contents:
Introduction, Sam Haigh; seminal praise - the poetry of Saint-John Perse, Mary Gallagher; critical approaches to the literature of decolonization - Aime Cesaire's "Cahier d'un retour au pays natal", Angela Chambers; Frantz Fanon - the routes of writing, Patrick Williams; women, history and the gods - reflections on Mayotte Capecia and Marie Chauvet, Joan Dayan; theatre and resistance? an introduction to some French Caribbean plays, Bridget Jones; the representation of women in French Caribbean fiction, Beverley Ormerod; challenges to writing literature in Creole - the cases of Martinique and Guadeloupe, Jane Brooks; collective narrative voice in three novels by Edouard Glissant, Celia Britton; in praise of creoleness?, Lise Moreal; breaking the silence - cultural identities and narrative configurations in the French Caribbean novel, Suzanne Crosta; daughters of Mayotte, sons of Frantz - the unrequited self in Carribean literature, Clarisse Zimra; the Caribbean - a multirelational literary domain, Regis Antoine.