Navigation
Script from JavaScript Kit
Mozambican Literature to 1994
Dossier MZ-0056
This multi-page dossier presents various groupings of clippings and magazine articles, mainly from the Mozambican and Portuguese press and in the Portuguese language, on Mozambican literary figures and literature to the mid-1990s. There is a heavy emphasis on the generation of nationalist poets such as the late Noémia de Sousa and José Craveirinha.
Periodisation and classification: in his chapter on Mozambican literature in the book The Post-Colonial Literature of Lusophone Africa (Johannesburg: Witwatersrand University Press, 1996), Patrick Chabal argues that there are four strands to contemporary Mozambican literature in Portuguese. These are, he says, first assimilado culture, that is the literature of black and mestiço Mozambicans, up to 1940 or so. The second strand is the writing of white colonial settlers; the third, the nationalist literature fostered especially by Frelimo in such publications as Poesia de Combate. Last of all is the literature of «moçambicanidade», contemporary work by Mozambicans who are self-consciously seeking a national literary identity [p.29].
The individual MHN pages devoted to literature can be allocated to Chabal’s typology, although not in a particularly tidy way. The page on Augusto Conrado is about a figure from the first period of assimilado culture. The pages on João Dias, José Craveirinha, Rui de Noronha and Noémia de Sousa fall into the third category, that of early cultural nationalism. In the sections on literary criticism (and on such critics as Eugénio Lisboa;) and also in the pages devoted to such writers as Calane da Silva, Mia Couto and Luís Bernardo Honwana we find the literature of «moçambicanidade» – as well as a prolonged debate about it.
In the 1970s and 1980s the weekly news magazine Tempo included a literary and cultural section in every issue, and published not only criticism but also essays and debates on a wide range of topics, and short fiction and poetry from both established writers and newcomers. In the same period various short-lived literary magazines appeared, many of them disappearing after two or three issues had been published. Most of the clippings presented below come from these sources and from local newspapers, and are concerned both with individual writers and with other issues such as translations in e.g. Bulgarian, German or Russian, or the publication of anthologies.
A useful and current online source for Mozambican literature is the journal Líteratas: Revista de Literatura Moçambicana e Lusófona, which is a project of the Associação Movimento Literário Kuphaluxa. It includes reviews, biographical information, essays, news of events, and examples of both prose and poetry.
Another useful web page, at Lusofonia, provides an extensive on-line glossary of the specifically African terminology often used in Portuguese-language works by Mozambican, Angolan, Cape-Verdian and other authors, with explanations (in Portuguese) of their meaning and significance. Click here to jump to the page, or click on the Lusofonia link in the menu at left. MHN’s thanks to Michael Wolfers for drawing attention to this source.
Links to Other MHN Pages in This Series
MHN Dossier MZ-0056 is divided into several topical pages, reflecting the subjects that were reported on in the Mozambican press in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Click on the green buttons below to jump directly to an MHN page devoted to an individual writer, organisation or topic. if a particular writer does not have their own page, please look below for material, or use the search facility.
MHN Resources
◊ 21 August 1977
Reunião Nacional de Cultura, 1977. Literatura. Tempo [Maputo] no.359 (21 August 1977), p.38-41. In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 510 kb. The policy document from the important early Reunião Nacional de Cultura.
◊ 16 April 1978
Poesia de combate: versos da nossa história. Tempo [Maputo] no.393 (16 April 1978), p.31-33. In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 826 kb. The launching of the reprint of the first issue of Poesia de Combate. The second edition celebrated on this occasion was first published in 1971 without a series number, and reprinted as no.1 in 1978; no.2 [128 pages] was published in December 1977; and no.3 [80 pages] was published in May 1980. All the covers featured the same graphic of a man with a drum and an automatic rifle [below].
◊ 9 December 1979
Rainer Arnold. Colectânea de poesia moçambicana editada na RDA. Tempo [Maputo] no.478 (9 December 1979), p.62-63. In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 342 kb. Reports that an anthology of Mozambican poetry has been published in East Germany (the GDR) under the title Gedichte aus Mozambique, and translates the introduction by Rainer Arnold.
◊ 22 February 1981
Brian Tio Ninguas. Reinaldo Ferreira e o calor do verso lírico. Tempo [Maputo] no.541 (22 February 1981), p.71-72. In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 317 kb. Reinaldo Edgar de Azevedo e Silva Ferreira (1922-1959) lived in Mozambique for twenty years and published one volume posthumously - Poemas (Lourenço Marques: Imprensa Nacional, 1960). An earlier article about him was published in the newspaper Comércio do Porto on 14 July 1964.
◊ 20 June 1981
Guilherme Ismael. O despertar da literatura. Expresso [Lisbon] (20 June 1981), p.28R-29R. In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 274 kb. Review of books by José Craveirinha, Luís Carlos Patraquim, Orlando Mendes, and Carneiro Gonçalves, all published by Edições 70 in the «Autores Moçambicanos» series.
◊ 16 August 1981
Sol Carvalho. Sebastião Alba: a expressão humana do poeta. Tempo [Maputo] no.566 (16 August 1981), p.56-60. In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 724 kb. An interview with the poet Sebastião Alba, a pseudonym of Dinis Carneiro Gonçalves; he is the brother of the prose writer António Augusto Carneiro Gonçalves. Alba’s first volume of poetry – O Ritmo do Presságio – was first published in 1974 and reprinted in 1980. The second book, A Noite Dividida was published in 1980 [see below].
◊ 24 January 1982
Ferraz da Mota. Contos e lendas de Carneiro Gonçalves. Domingo [Maputo] (24 January 1982). In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 191 kb.
◊ 28 March 1982
Tómas Vieira Mário . Nhampessopesso. Tempo [Maputo ] no.598 (28 March 1982), p.20-21. In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 215 kb.
◊ 2 May 1982
Albino Magaia. Conhecem melhor do que nós aquilo que nós criámos. Tempo [Maputo] (2 May 1982), p.10-11. In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 296 kb. On the second Congress of Portuguese Writers, hosted by the Associação Portuguesa de Escritores in Lisbon between 3 and 5 March 1982.
◊ 30 June 1982
Livros moçambicanos em exposição na URSS. Notícias [Maputo] (30 June 1982). In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 137 kb.
◊ 3 April 1983
Neli Nechkova. Interesse do leitor búlgaro pela literatura moçambicana. Tempo [Maputo] no.651 (3 April 1983), p.54. In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 666 kb.
◊ 12 June 1983
Cipriano Justo. A noite dividida: poemas de Sebastião Alba. O Diário [suplemento cultural] [Lisbon] (12 June 1983), p.11. In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 276 kb.
◊ 1 December 1983
Literatura moçambicana editada na União Soviética. Notícias [Maputo] (1 December 1983). In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 77 kb.
◊ 18 December 1983
Calane da Silva. Yô Mabalane é hino patriótico, diz Albino Magaia a propósito. Domingo [Maputo] (18 December 1983), p.5. In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 254 kb. An interview. The late Albino Magaia (1947-2010) was imprisoned by PIDE in the 1960s for attempting to join FRELIMO. His publications include Assim no Tempo Derrubado (Maputo: INLD, 1982), 53p., poetry; Yô Mabalane (Maputo: Cadernos Tempo, 1983), 75p., a fictionalised account of his arrest; and Malungate (Maputo: AEMO, 1987), 125p., a novel [see below]. Albino Magaia died in March 2010.
◊ 10 February 1985
URSS: autores moçambicanos reunidos em colectânea. Domingo [Maputo] (10 February 1985). In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 172 kb.
◊ 25 August 1985
Manuel Lemos. João Albasini morreu há 63 anos. Tempo [Maputo] no.776 (25 August 1985), p.44-45. In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 366 kb.
◊ 5 January 1986
Marcelo Panguana. Novo sangue literário. Domingo [Maputo] (5 January 1986). In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 2.4 Mb. On the poetry of Juvenal Bucuane and Eduardo White.
◊ 26 January 1986
Hélder Muteia. Ponderação directa sobre Directo ao Assunto. Domingo [Maputo] (26 January 1986). In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 316 kb. A critical review of Directo ao Assunto, a book of poems by the journalist Carlos Cardoso.
◊ 16 February 1986
Paulo Sérgio. Escritores falam das suas obras. Tempo [Maputo] no.801 (16 February 1986), p.52-54. In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 573 kb. Short commentaries by Filipe Mata, Bentoe Sitoe, Luís Carlos Patraquim and Orlando Mendes.
◊ 16 March 1986
Hélder Muteia. N’lhomulo, ou a miséria tresloucada. Domingo [Maputo] (16 March 1986). In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 193 kb. Review of N’lhomulo by Filipe Mata.
◊ 14 September 1986
Fátima Mendonça. Bermudes, Nuno. Domingo [Maputo] (14 September 1986), p.5. In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 143 kb. A short biographical sketch of the prize-winning writer Nuno Fernandes Santana Mesquita Adães Bermudes, born 1921. One of the series «Ficha de Leitura A/Z».
◊ 28 September 1986
Fátima Mendonça. Couto, Fernando. Domingo [Maputo] no.250 kb. (28 September 1986), p.5. In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 206 kb. A short biographical sketch of Fernando Couto. One of the series «Ficha de Leitura A/Z».
◊ 23 November 1986
Fátima Mendonça. Knopfli, Rui. Domingo [Maputo] (23 November 1986), p.5. In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 158 kb. A short biographical sketch of the poet Rui Knopfli. One of the series «Ficha de Leitura A/Z».
◊ 30 November 1986
Fátima Mendonça. Lacerda, Alberto (Ilha de Moçambique, 1929). Domingo [Maputo] (30 November 1986), p.5. In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 687 kb. A short biographical sketch of Alberto Lacerda. One of the series «Ficha de Leitura A/Z».
◊ 28 December 1986
Fim do ano na literatura. Domingo [Maputo] (28 December 1986). In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 178 kb.
◊ 15 January 1987
Fátima Mendonça. José Pedro da Silva Campos. Domingo [Maputo] (15 January 1987), p.5. In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 114 kb. A short biographical sketch of the writer Oliveira Campos (1847-1911). One of the series «Ficha de Leitura A/Z».
◊ 8 February 1987
Fátima Mendonça. Sant’Anna, Glória. Domingo [Maputo] (8 February 1987), p.5. In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 88 kb. A short biographical sketch of the writer Maria da Glória de Sá e Lemos d’Almeida e Figueiredo de Sant’Anna Andrade Paes (1925- ). One of the series «Ficha de Leitura A/Z».
◊ 8 February 1987
Hélder Muteia. O poeta das angústias em espelho dos dias. Domingo [Maputo] (8 February 1987). In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 120 kb. About the poet Armando Artur, author of the book Espelho dos Dias.
◊ 7 March 1987
Luís de Sousa Rebelo. A memória consentida de Rui Knopfli: conclusão. Diário de Moçambique [Beira] (7 March 1987). In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 222 kb.
◊ 29 March 1987
Calane da Silva. Este túmulo cavado para lá das lágrimas. Domingo [Maputo] (29 March 1987). In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 1.2 Mb. Gulamo Khan died in October 1986 on board the presidential aircraft of Samora Machel, at Mbuzini.
◊ 19 July 1987
Gilberto Matusse and José Cunha. Sou um contador de histórias: Ungulani ba ka Khosa em entrevista a Gazeta. Tempo [Maputo] no.875 (19 July 1987), p.42-46. In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 1.2 Mb. Ungulani ba ka Khosa is the Shangaan [xiTsonga] name of Francisco Esaú Cossa, journalist, teacher and film script-writer. Khosa draws extensively from oral traditions for his fiction, which has been described as «exuberant fantasy». See below.
◊ 31 August 1987
Steve Mpofu. Book fair exposes young authors to the world. Herald [Harare] (31 August 1987). In English. Click here to download a PDF file, size 354 kb. Includes material on Lukas Mkuti and the collection Breakfast of Sjamboks, which he edited.
◊ 6 September 1987
Adelino Jorge Fernandes. A escolha da semana: Ualalapi, um talente, um SIDA histórico. Domingo [Maputo] (6 September 1987). In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 344 kb.
◊ 15 October 1987
Lina Magaia. É proibido não dizer a verdade neste país. Notícias [Maputo] (15 October 1987). In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 108 kb. Lina Magaia (1940-2011) was a high-profile journalist, film actress, newspaper columnist, and Frelimo activist, who was probably best known for her book Dumba Nengue: Histórias Trágicas do Banditismo (Maputo: Cadernos Tempo, 1987), 96p.; English translation (translator: Michael Wolfers) Dumba Nengue: Peasant Tales of Tragedy in Mozambique (Trenton NJ: Africa World Press, 1988), 113p. A follow-up volume was entitled Duplo Massacre em Moçambique: Histórias Trágicas do Banditismo II (Maputo: Cadernos Tempo, 1989), 166p. She also published a novel, Delehta: Pulos na Vida (Maputo: Editorial Viver, 1994), 189p [see below]
◊ 13 December 1987
Juvenal Bucuane. A escolha da semana: requiem com olhos secos, impressões poéticas de Juvenal Bucuane sobre a tragédia de Mbuzini. Domingo [Maputo] (13 December 1987), p.5. In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 290 kb.
◊ 17 July 1988
Paulo Sérgio. O escritor escreve para educar não para exibir-se, afirma Arrone Fijamo. Tempo [Maputo] no.927 (17 July 1988), p.48-50. In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 895 kb.
◊ 11 December 1988
Nelson Saúte. A inadiável viagem do poeta para Ítaca. Tempo [Maputo] no.948 (11 December 1988), p.46-48. In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 959.
◊ 18 December 1988
Fátima de Oliveira. A intertextualidade: proposta de análise semiótica da obra Xitala-Mati de Aldino Muianga. Tempo [Maputo] no.960 (18 December 1988), p.14-18. In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 1.4 kb. Muianga, a practising medical doctor who now lives in Pretoria, is a prolific writer who published Magustana and Xitala Mati, both works of prose fiction, in the 1980s [see below for the covers]. He has also published under the pseudonym Khambira Khambiray. His eleventh book, Mitos: histórias de espiritualidade appeared in 2011 (for a review, click here).
◊ 15 May 1989
Lançado mais um livro de Juvenal Bucuane. Notícias [Maputo] (15 May 1989). In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 45 kb. Announces the publication of the prose work Xefina (Maputo: Cadernos Tempo, 1989), 101p. Bucuane had earlier published A Raiz e o Canto (Maputo: AEMO, 1984), 64p., a book of poems, and Requiem, Com os Olhos Secos (Maputo: AEMO, 1987), 30p., also poetry [see below].
◊ July 1989
Rui Knopfli. Carta para Moçambique: o denominador comum. À memória de Alexandre Lobato, Homero Branco, Gulamo Khan, moçambicanos até ao fim. Revista Colóquio/Letras [Lisbon] no.110-111 (July 1989), p.99-107. In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 808 kb.
◊ 9 February 1992
Prémio para Eduardo White. Público [Lisbon] (9 February 1992). In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 45 kb. Announces that White has won the Mozambican «Gazeta» Prize for 1989-1990 for his work O País de Mim.
◊ April 1993-30 June 1993
Ana Mafalda Leite. [Untitled book review]. Notre Librairie [Paris] no.113 (April 1993-30 June 1993), p.111-112. In French. Click here to download a PDF file, size 653 kb. Review of the Portuguese edition of Luís Carlos Patraquim, Vinte e tal novas formulações e uma elegia carnívora (Lisbon: ALAC, 1991), 58p. His earlier books of poetry were Monção (Maputo: INLD, 1980), 60p.; and A Inadiável Viagem (Maputo: AEMO, 1985), 71p. Patraquim, who has written for the theatre and for film, has lived in Portugal since 1986. See below.
◊ 7 March 1994
Primeiro congresso sobre Miguel Torga. Século de Joanesburgo [Johannesburg] (7 March 1994). In Portuguese. Click here to download a PDF file, size 38 kb. Miguel Torga (real name Adolfo Correia da Rocha, 1907-1995) was a major 20th century Portuguese poet. The point of this clip is that Calane da Silva presented a paper at the conference under the title «Moçambique na África de Miguel Torga»; the Congress was also attended by another teacher from Mozambique, Fernanda Angelus of ISP.