Art and Ideology in the African Novel: A Study of the Influence of Marxism on African Writing by Emmanuel Ngara

Pamela J. Olúbùnmi Smith, University of Nebraska at Omaha

This article was reused with kind permission.

Abstract

At a time when African writers and critics are deliberately engaged in a search for a matrix within which African literary esthetics may be defined and formulated, Emmanuel Ngara's singular study of the influence of Marx- ism on African writing is a welcome contribution to the critical canons of the modern African novel. Undoubtedly, this search for a matrix calls for a constant definition of the role not only of art but also of the artist in society. On a continent still struggling to liberate itself from the impact of imperialism and Eurocentrism, it is small wonder that social- ism and Marxism have affected the political, economic, and cultural life of a significant number of independent African countries.