ABSTRACT
This chapter presents an outline of the development of literature written in English from the former East African Community and what used to be known as The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. East Africa is much more homogeneous than Central Africa, having Kiswahili as its local lingua franca in addition to English. The major motivating force behind the early literature in English from the region was the desire to represent the African past from an African perspective so as to challenge the often negative constructions of Africa found in colonial narratives. The refutation of the colonial universe of history took diverse forms: reconstructing pre-colonial Africa, representing the advent of colonialism, dramatising life under colonial rule and the struggle for independence. The dominant preoccupation throughout the history of the literature of the region has been with the place of African culture in the new cultural dispensation.
