African Literary Reviews
African literary and cultural magazines tend to have a somewhat precarious existence, the most important and most influential literary reviews having come from English-speaking rather than francophone Africa. In francophone Africa the greatest number of literary magazines has in fact come from a country that is bilingual, Cameroon. Arguably its most important literary and cultural review was Abbia. Revue Culturelle Camerounaise / Cameroun Cultural Review, which was started in 1963. It was dormant for many years, followed by brief flickers of life in the late 1970s, but it appears to be irrevocably moribund today. An important scholarly journal which commenced publication more recently, and which promotes research in the traditions of African theatre and thought, is African Theatre Review (1985- ).
A fine journal published by Nouvelles Editions Africaines in Ivory Coast, providing critical analysis of Black African Literature and its place in society, is the Revue de littérature et d'esthétique négro-africaines (1983- ). The most significant cultural review published in Senegal, and which continues to be published fairly regularly, is Éthiopiques. Revue socialiste de culture négro-africaine (1974- ), which aims to provide a platform for a dialogue for committed socialism, as well as analysis of African arts and cultures. L'Afrique littéraire et artistique, an attractively produced quarterly, was published from Senegal for several years (1968-?), and covered literature, drama, art, music, and the cinema. Finally, ICA Information, published by the Institut Culturel Africain (1975- ), is a bilingual quarterly which provides regular information on cultural activities in member states of the ICA.
Muntu. Revue scientifique et culturelle du CICIBA (1984- ) is a lavishly produced biannual journal from the Centre International des Civilisations Bantu; it provides multidisciplinary and comparative studies for research on all aspects of the cultural heritage of Bantu civilizations. Other little magazines of some note, published elsewhere in Africa (though showing little sign of life at the present time), include Les Cahiers du Cercle Littéraire de Brazzaville (1979-?) and Ambario. Revue d'Animation Culturelle et Scientifique (1978-?), which aims to promote cultural development in Madagascar and to project an image of Madagascar's culture and literature to an overseas audience.
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