The works of Congolese author Sony Labou Tansi (1947-1995) participate in a tradition of postcolonial African literature from writers such as Williams Sassine, Emmanuel Dongala and Ahmadou Kourouma, and represent a definitive break with the often prescriptive novels of the early postcolonial period, texts that were frequently concerned with the African’s initiative voyage to France. Sony Labou Tansi’s inventive, avant-garde employment of the French language, his infusion of the novelistic form with aspects of the fable and his play with narrative temporality mark a new direction in 20th century literature. Though relatively young at his death, Sony was an extremely prolific and diverse writer of novels, plays, short stories and poetry. He was also an essayist, whose discourses on…
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Citation: Everett, Julin E.. "Sony Labou Tansi". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 16 April 2013 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=13166, accessed 23 November 2024.]
