Heart of the masses: Thematic trends in popular literature in South Africa and Nigeria

Abstract

The tremendous growth of popular literature in Africa can be traced during the period of colonization; which has led to massive publication of pamphlets across South Africa and Nigeria respectively. This paper examines the various popular literature published, and its major thematic preoccupations with an insight on the tremendous but gradual developmental progress. However, not much has been done in enlightening readers and scholars alike on the various new trends that have emerged from these regions. This paper will investigate the forms of popular literature from these regions with the purpose of exposing its hybrid nature. It argues that new forms of popular literature have emerged from Nigeria in particular. The study applies New Historicism theory in the study and analysis of the texts in the paper. Popular culture and oral literature becomes the hedge or platform which gives support to pamphlet literature from these countries in Africa. This paper therefore concludes that contrary to popular research findings, popular literature has extensively increased the growth of popular literature in South African and Nigeria despite its limitations.

Keywords: Popular literature, pamphlets, Obiechina, South Africa, Nigeria