Global Congo

In this journal, we suggest thinking of the Congo as a literary center. First, for the writers of the diaspora: be they in Brussels, in Graz or in Louisiana, the Congo seems to function as a pole of attraction, both textually and physically. This perspective enable to consider the Congo as a textual center also for non-Congolese writers (we can think of the classics by Césaire and Conrad, but also, more recently, the problematic Congo by Michael Crichton, The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingslover or Congo by Éric Vuillard). An important field of World Literature studies is the analysis of multilingualism and translation. From this point of view, the Congo is remarkable: a great number of languages intertwine, and contemporary literature attests this cultural richness. Richard Ali A Mutu, for example, writes in Lingala and is translated into English. Finally approaching the Congolese literary space in a World Literature perspective requires us to broaden the very notion of “literature” (and criticism). As the oral and performative dimensions, that have always been present in Africa, regain importance today in literary research, we cannot only explore this literature in terms of written production. Taking into account the performative dimension allows us to interrogate its political dimension: is the writer-performer’s goal to reach a broader audience? To have a more effective role in society? More broadly, is there today a faith in literature, in its capacity to change the world? The aesthetic field is evermore subjected to political and social problems, and is forced to reinvent itself and to imagine alternative broadcast mediums. The art and cinema is one example. Besides the theoretical reflections, one of the aims of this issue is to consider the creation of such a platform for the literary sphere, through the federation of different databases of the world, and to reflect together (writers, editors, critics) on how to make accessible to all the richness of Congolese texts. It's a Matter of Open Science and Citizen Science.