The Invisible Hand: Zambian Literature and (Self) Censorship from the Colonial to the Post-colonial Period

Abstract

It has been argued, with a degree of justification,
that literature and society are interlinked in such a
way that they mutually affect each other. In other
words, literature is largely a product of, reflects, and
also influences, the society which produces it. Hence
literature can change with or be shaped by specific
socio-cultural epochs. The influence of the times on
literature is reflected in terms of choice and types of
theme, characters, and language. This paper proceeds
from the premise that this is true of the case of
Zambian literature. Starting from the literature written
by Zambians during the colonial periods, in particular
the works of Stephen Mpashi, to works written during
the various eras of post-colonial Zambia, the paper
seeks to demonstrate that Zambian writers engaged in
self-censorship in order to get published, and in order
to be politically correct according to the prevailing
socio-political environment. This is in part because the
predominant socio-political narrative influenced the
type of literature written and published. The paper also
tackles the question of whether self-censorship is still a
major factor in the writing of Zambian literature.