Chadian literature has suffered greatly from the turmoil which has engulfed
the country,
economical
An economic system, or economic order, is a system of production, resource allocation and distribution of goods and services within a society or a given geographic area. It includes the combination of the various institutions, agencies, entities ...
and
political
Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
. As with many cultures, literature in Chad began with
folk tales and
legend
A legend is a Folklore genre, genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human valu ...
s. While
French is the dominant language,
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
is also used by some Chadian writers. Chadian literature is more prevalent in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
than in Chad itself, due to
market demand
In economics, demand is the quantity of a good that consumers are willing and able to purchase at various prices during a given time. The relationship between price and quantity demand is also called the demand curve. Demand for a specific item ...
and the repressive culture present in Chad.
Chad's only literary critic,
Ahmat Taboye Ahmat Taboye is a literary critic from Chad. As head of the Department of Letters at the University of N'Djamena, he published ''Anthologie de la littérature tchadienne'' in 2003, which covers 40 years of Chadian literature. In May 2007, the Minist ...
, wrote ''
Anthologie de la littérature tchadienne'' in 2003 to spread knowledge of Chadian literature. Though there are not very many well-known Chadian writers, there are a few, including
Joseph Brahim Seïd
Joseph Brahim Seid (1927 in N'Djamena – 1980) was a Chadian writer and politician. He served as Minister of Justice from 1966 to 1975. As a writer he is known for the works ''Au Tchad sous les étoiles'' ("In Chad under the stars", 1962) and ...
,
Baba Moustapha Mahamat "Baba" Moustapha (1952-1982) was a Chadian playwright writing in French language, French. His plays include ''Le Maitre des Djinns'' ("La Mastro de la Ĝinoj"), ''Le Souffle de l'Harmattan'' ("La Spiro de Harmattano")and ''Makarie aux Épin ...
,
Antoine Bangui Antoine Bangui-Rombaye (born 1933) is a Chadian political figure and author. Between 1962 and 1972, Bangui was a member of the cabinet, including as foreign minister. However, he fell out of favor with President François Tombalbaye and was impris ...
and
Koulsy Lamko
Koulsy Lamko (born 1959) is a Chadian-born playwright, poet, novelist and university lecturer. Born in Dadouar, Lamko left his country for Burkina Faso in 1979 due to the beginning of the civil war. There, he became acquainted with Thomas Sank ...
.
See also
*
Culture of Chad
Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic t ...
*
List of Chad-related topics
References
External links
Virtual Chad
{{Chad-stub