Voices from Madagascar
SynopsisPlot
There is currently in Madagascar a rich literary production (short stories, poetry, novels, plays) that has not yet reached the United States for lack of diffusion outside the country. Until recently, Madagascar suffered from political isolation resulting from its breakup with France in the 1970s and the eighteen years of Marxism that followed. With little hope that their voices would be heard outside the island, writers nevertheless have continued to express themselves in French (alongside a literature written in the Malagasy language). Malagasy literature in French had begun in the colonial era with three poets: JeanJoseph Rabearivelo, Jacques Rabemananjara, and Flavien Ranaivo, all three presented in Léopold Senghors celebrated Anthologie de la nouvelle poésie nègre et malgache (1948). More recently, although a few Malagasy writers living outside the country have been published in France, the bulk of Malagasy literature today has remained largely unpublished, circulating locally mostly in manuscript form.
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About this book
Voices from Madagascar is an anthology compiled by Jacques Bourgeacq and Liliane Ramarosoa, presenting a selection of Malagasy literary works written in French. The collection includes short stories, poetry, novels, and plays, offered in both French and English translation. Much of this writing had circulated only locally, often in manuscript form, with little opportunity for publication or international distribution.
Madagascar's French-language literary tradition dates to the colonial period, when three poets stood out early: Jean-Joseph Rabearivelo, Jacques Rabemananjara, and Flavien Ranaivo. All three appeared in Léopold Senghor's 1948 Anthologie de la nouvelle poésie nègre et malgache. After Madagascar's political break with France in the 1970s and nearly two decades under a Marxist government, the country experienced significant cultural isolation. Writers on the island continued producing work in French alongside a separate body of literature in the Malagasy language, but reaching audiences beyond Madagascar remained difficult.
A few Malagasy authors living abroad found publishers in France, yet the larger body of literary work produced on the island stayed outside international view. This anthology gathers texts from that wider, less visible tradition and presents them to an English-speaking readership for the first time.
