La littérature camerounaise en quête d’autonomie : analyse du rôle de l’association La ronde des poètes

Our analysis of the role of the association The Round of Poets in the struggle for the autonomy of the Cameroonian literature was based on the sociological approach of Pierre Bourdieu for whom our society is made up of specific fields fighting against one another to reach a privileged status in the social field, which is an aspect of their autonomy. According to Bourdieu, the study of the autonomy of literary fields should take into account all the actions taken by the agents of a field. Indeed, these actions are all control strategies. Only, according to Jacques Dubois, the autonomy of national literatures is achieved when they have their own institutional apparatus capable by themselves of providing the production and distributing of works, the legitimation and consecration of writers. If African literatures cannot fulfill all these conditions, it remains that they are engaged in a process of struggle for their autonomy. The example of The Round of Poets shows that, this association being our excuse to observe the manifestations of autonomy within the Cameroonian literary field.   Control strategies of The Round of Poets are appearance and operating strategies. For the first case, the associative formula that gives more opportunities than could have an isolated author, and also, the choice of poetry as a genre where the production of works does not require large financial resources, have emerged as strategies which allowed the members of The Round of Poets to become writers in an unfavorable production environment. In addition, by their founding documents, they define themselves as a group with an agenda established. Moreover, they draw attention to them by proclaiming avant-garde. To show this, they publish manifestos, and turn away, ideologically speaking, from the poetics of Negritude whose fixation on race dominated the literary creation during decades in Africa. The strategies of appearance of The Round of Poets worked to identify this association as part of the Cameroonian literary field and having its place alongside other components already existing in this field.   For the second case which regards operating strategies, The Round of Poets obtained a legal status by registering with the Cameroonian authorities, which action consolidates this group in its social field. On the literary side, its members give it an institutional character by creating instances relating thereto. Their writing workshops provide creative works; their instances of dissemination appear in the form of a weekly newsletter, “The Rondin”, but also as a review, Hiototi: Cameroon Journal of Poetry, Literature and Culture. This review collects articles from literary critics trained in The Round of Poets and of those of Cameroon. The “Prize of the Rondine Poetry” is their instance of internal consecration. Hence, this association has managed to get the recognition of peers which are Cameroonian and foreign poets and writers, as the Cameroonian and international authorities. In short, the combination of these institutional instances shows how the movement towards autonomy of Cameroonian literature in general is real.

Keyphrases: Associations, Institution, sub-Saharan Africa, Associations, Autonomy, Cameroon, Institution, The Round of Poets, Poetry, Recognition, Strategies