Writing Against Neocolonialism, by Ngugi wa Thiong'o

In this essay, Ngugi outlines the development of African literature since the 2nd World War against the background of world revolutions and of the continuing anti-imperialist struggles in Africa today. It clearly connects the major intellectual movements in Africa to the political currents in Africa and the world. The essay ranges widely from revolutions in China and Vietnam to those in Cuba and Nicaragua; from struggles in South Korea and Philippines to those in El Salvador and Chile. In Africa, it ranges from Nasser's nationalization of Suez Canal, the armed struggles in Kenya and Algeria in the 50's to the struggles of the liberation movements in South Africa today. "In a special way," writes Ngügi looking forward to the 80's and 90's, "the liberation of South Africa is a key to the liberation of the entire continent from neocolonialism." The essay is informed through and through with a spirit of internationalism and Pan Africanism of the workers and peasants. It calls upon writers and intellectuals to be an integral part of the revolutionary struggle of the masses for democracy and socialism.