Nigerian creative writing in French: Challenges and prospects

Abstract

Nigerian creative writing in French is a recent phenomenon compared to Francophone or Lusophone literature. Since the publication of Ola Balogun's Sango suivi de le Roi elephant (1968), Nigerians have shown their creative abilities in a language, which is their second foreign language after English. This paper, seeks to showcase some of the Nigerian creative works in French, explore some of their themes, comment on the linguistic output and acceptability of such creative works, the challenges Nigerian authors of French expression face in an Anglophone environment as regards production, publishing and marketing as well as suggest ways of coping with these challenges. A written interview accorded the author of this paper by a prominent Nigerian author, Femi Ojo-Ade, author of Les Paradis Terrestres (2003), provides useful information on this recent development in the literary arena.

Global Journal of Humanities Vol. 5 (1&2) 2006: pp. 5-10