Writing Black Womanhood

Interest in women writers has increased over the past few years. The aim of this book is to fill the gap in the exploration of these writers by focusing on black women writers. The book explores the concept of black womanhood and female identity in Africa and its diaspora from a black woman's point of view. It examines questions of womanhood in relation to cultural concepts of black women. It analyses the ways black women perceive and represent themselves and how they articulate their self-perceptions within and outside the traditional cultures of their societies. The problems of black women foregrounded in most postcolonial black women's texts reflect their marginal and oppressed position. This study explores the textual voice, social and political agency and how black women's experiences and histories are articulated in the writing of four contemporary black women writers from Africa and the Caribbean. The book is aimed at scholars of postcolonial literature particularly those interested in black women's writing but should also help anyone interested in African and black diaspora cultures and societies.

Auteur

Elinettie Chabwera teaches at the University of Leeds on the ''Contemporary Africas'' course. She completed her Ph.d at Leeds in the School of English in 2004 and specialises in postcolonial literature (especially new writing) and black women writers.