Intellectuals, Revolution and Literature in Nationalist Armed Struggle in Angola and Mozambique, 1961–1974

This article examines Mozambican and Angolan theorisations of literature’s role in the context of the armed nationalist struggles for independence during the period 1961 to 1974. I read these struggles in the light of debates over the role of intellectuals and elites, arguing that an analysis of them informs the conceptions produced by Frelimo and MPLA intellectuals of the political role of literature and writers. This article makes the case for taking seriously literary sources in understanding the ideologies of Frelimo and the MPLA and in grounding the analysis of literary texts published by these organisations in discussions of political and ideological questions relating to class, race, political economy and revolutionary strategy. Literary texts and discussions about literature produced by Frelimo and MPLA intellectuals are, moreover, useful for understanding the self-conceptions of these organisations in relation to other forms of anti-colonial, nationalist and socialist politics. I contend that, contrary to the pronouncements of some Frelimo and MPLA intellectuals, the ideologies of these organisations evolved in dialogue rather than as a rupture with the kinds of politics that these intellectuals disavowed. My approach seeks to unpick the positions put forward by intellectuals and institutions, namely Eduardo Mondlane, Mário Pinto de Andrade, Sérgio Vieira, Fernando Costa Andrade and the Centro de Estudos Angolanos (Centre for Angolan Studies).