what is Rwandan literature?
Literature in Rwanda has multiethnic roots, rich in oral storytelling traditions, including proverbs, folktales, and songs. Writing in the modern sense of the term gained prominence in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, as writers began to address themes of identity, trauma, resilience, reconciliation, and the quest for justice in the aftermath of the 1994 genocide. Rwandan literature is primarily written in Kinyarwanda (which curiously is the shared language of Tutsi and Hutu), French, and English. Notable works include A Sunday By the Pool in Kigali by Gil Courtemanche.
Quite a distinct place is occupied by non-fictional accounts of the genocide produced by foreigners, such as We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families by Philip Gourevitch (1998). This American writer wrote on his travels to Rwanda and his interviews with the survivors. One of the controversial aspects of his book is the accusation of an Adventist pastor, Ntakirutimana, who later on got convicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. The fragment of a letter that gives the book title was allegedly written by him.
Overcoming the legacy of the trauma, contemporary Rwandan authors like Scholastique Mukasonga, who wrote Our Lady of the Nile, and Yvonne Mwale explore their personal and collective memories in search of milder themes.
Quite a distinct place is occupied by non-fictional accounts of the genocide produced by foreigners, such as We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families by Philip Gourevitch (1998). This American writer wrote on his travels to Rwanda and his interviews with the survivors. One of the controversial aspects of his book is the accusation of an Adventist pastor, Ntakirutimana, who later on got convicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. The fragment of a letter that gives the book title was allegedly written by him.
Overcoming the legacy of the trauma, contemporary Rwandan authors like Scholastique Mukasonga, who wrote Our Lady of the Nile, and Yvonne Mwale explore their personal and collective memories in search of milder themes.
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