Postcolonial literature is a branch of literature concerned with the political and cultural independence of peoples formerly subjugated in colonial empires.

Post-colonial literary critics re-examine classic literature with a particular focus on the social "discourse" that shaped it. For instance, in his book Orientalism, Edward Said analyzes Balzac, Baudelaire, and Lautrèmont and explores how the works of these authors were both influenced by and helped shape a societal fantasy of European racial superiority.

Post-colonial fictional writers interact with the traditional colonial discourse, but modify or subvert it; for instance by retelling a familiar story from the perspective of an opressed minor character in the story.

Notable authors within the genre include Salman Rushdie, Chinua Achebe and Hanif Kureishi.

See also

• Indian writing in English
• Postcolonial theory
• Vernacular literature
• Penguin Book of Modern African Poetry

References

• The Arnold Anthology of Post-Colonial Literatures in English edited by John Thieme
• Chelsea 46: World Literature in English (1987)
• Poetry International 7/8 (2003-2004)
• Encyclopedia of Post-Colonial Literatures in English edited by Eugene Benson and L. W. Conolly
• Commonwealth Literature: An Essay Towards the Re-definition of a Popular/Counter Culture by Alamgir Hashmi
• Colonial and Postcolonial Literature: Migrant Metaphors by Elleke Boehmer
• A Sense of Place: Essays in Post-Colonial Literatures edited by Britta Olinder