'Materia reservada' no more: The post-colonial in the Equato-Guinean narrative

The literature of Equatorial Guinea presents a unique challenge among scholars of Spanish and Latin American literature because it does not actually pertain to either group and therefore is not easily categorized. While Equatorial Guinea shares the Spanish language and many of the post-colonial concerns of Latin American countries, its location on the African continent brings other issues to the forefront. By the same accord, although it is an African country, the Hispanic traditions brought there are not shared by its neighboring countries colonized by France and Great Britain. Not entirely belonging to the Hispanic or the African traditions places the literature of Equatorial Guinea in a separate category altogether. Therefore, the primary task of the literary critic/historian is to devise a theoretical frame by which to evaluate this literature.;The texts that will be analyzed in this dissertation are Ekomo (Ekomo) by Maria Nsue Angue, Las tinieblas de to memoria negra (The Darkness of Your Black Memory) and Los poderes de la tempestad (The Powers of the Storm ) by Donato Ndongo-Bidyogo; La carga ( The Burden) by Juan Tomas Avila Laurel and Adja-Adja y otros relatos (Adja-Adja and Other Stories) by Maximiliano Nkogo Esono. Using these novels and short stories, I will analyze how the authors question and assess the roles of Spain and Africa in their post-colonial identities and how these texts subvert the colonial discourse in order to empower the voices of the marginalized. I will also address the issue of whether this literature is African or Spanish and how it is considered within the context of the Hispanic and African literary canons. I conclude the dissertation with justifications for the inclusion of Equato-Guinean literature in the Hispanic literary canon as a relevant and legitimate element of the global Hispanic identity.