Writing the Prison in African Literature

«This is an outstanding study of African prison writing which makes a significant contribution to the study of life writing and twentieth-century African history alike. By focusing on key African writers and intellectuals, all of whom were incarcerated for their politics, Knighton explores in great detail how prison affects the mind, body and imagination, and how it strengthens rather than weakens the will to resist.» (Dr Christopher Warnes, Senior Lecturer in English, University of Cambridge)

«Writing the Prison in African Literature is a glittering contribution to the field of African life writing. Countering the prejudice that autobiography is implicitly a Western form, the book demonstrates that the African prison memoir enables agile self-construction through a multi-layered structure and a mutable set of mechanics. Readers will find much to savour in Knighton’s astute and understated masterpiece.» (Dr Brendon Nicholls, Lecturer in African and Postcolonial Literatures, University of Leeds)