Exploring the Forbidden and the Taboo: the Queer Novels of Selected Third Generation Nigerian Writers

Abstract

In the preamble to their first publication on third-generation Nigerian writing, Pius Adesanmi and Chris Dunton recognise the reality of a new literary tradition in contemporary Nigerian novels with a predilection for themes that were heretofore circumvented or considered taboo. These writers openly dwell on topics such as homosexuality, incest, and sexual abuse. The tendency to expose the taboo has been systematically incorporated into the Nigerian literary oeuvre, bringing back the age-old debate of what should constitute Nigerian literature. This article explores ways in which some third-generation Nigerian novelists have given voice to previously marginalised subjects. The novelists are in league to write on the forbidden topics that are shrouded in secrecy by their predecessors and have heeded the exhortation to write on the current challenges of modern Nigeria without the veil of secrecy. They dared to break the silence on the queer practice that takes place in the secret closet of the bedroom, and have been generally considered to be un-African