A. Roch, Marronnage in Caribbean Literature - Francophone and Oral Literatures

French Literature Reviews - 2026

A. Roch, Marronnage in Caribbean Literature
Francophone and Oral Literatures

Alexandra Roch, Le Marronnage dans la littérature caribéenne

Paris: L'Harmattan, "Critiques littéraires" series, 2017.

328 pp.

EAN 9782343119779

34.00 EUR

Publisher's Description:

Today, Anglophone and Francophone Caribbean literature is characterized by a profound questioning, and even deconstruction, of imposed Western norms. Born out of a context of violence and the denigration of Black identity, this literature is marked by a form of resistance rooted in historical marronnage. This study aims to show how contemporary creative processes draw upon the past—particularly marronnage—as an emancipatory approach to Caribbean art and literature.

Alexandra Roch holds a PhD in Anglophone Studies. Her research focuses on marronnage in the literatures and cultures of the Anglophone and Francophone Caribbean. She is the author of several articles, including 'Le kompa direk ou le marronnage culturel des artistes haïtiens' in Rodolphe Solbiac and Alexandre Alaric, Littératures et arts postcoloniaux dans l’émergence civilisationnelle caribéenne (L’Harmattan, 2016).

The concept of marronnage historically refers to the escape of enslaved people from bondage to establish free communities, a practice that has profoundly shaped the cultural and historical landscape of the Caribbean. In postcolonial studies, this notion is frequently invoked to examine how writers and artists resist dominant colonial paradigms and assert independent cultural identities. Literary expressions from the region often engage with this legacy, reflecting a continuous dialogue between historical experiences of displacement and contemporary creative expression within both Anglophone and Francophone traditions.

Alexandra Roch examines how contemporary Caribbean creative processes draw upon the past, specifically exploring marronnage as an emancipatory approach to art and literature. Readers interested in postcolonial studies, Caribbean cultural history, and the intersection of history and literature may find this work relevant.