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| Transition (periodical) | |
|---|---|
| Title | Transition |
| Discipline | Literature; Cultural Studies; Political Thought |
| Language | English |
| Country | United States |
| Frequency | Quarterly |
| Firstdate | 1961 |
Transition (periodical) is a literary and cultural journal founded in 1961 that has published essays, fiction, poetry, and criticism engaging African, African diaspora, and global modernist networks. The journal has served as a nexus linking figures active in decolonization debates, postcolonial theory, and avant-garde literature, fostering dialogue among writers, intellectuals, and artists across continents and institutions. Over decades it has intersected with major historical moments and movements while showcasing a wide array of contributors from established authors to emerging voices.
Founded in 1961 in Kampala during the era of African independence movements, the journal emerged amid interactions among intellectuals from Uganda, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, and elsewhere, connecting salons and reading publics in Kampala, Accra, Lagos, Nairobi, London, Paris, and New York. Early associations included activists and writers who engaged with pan-African conferences, independence leaders, and cultural organizations such as the Organisation of African Unity and the Pan-African Congress, situating the journal within debates sparked by events like the Congo Crisis, the Ghanaian revolution under Kwame Nkrumah, and the Algerian War of Independence. Migration of editorial operations and contributors followed transatlantic academic and artistic circuits linking Makerere University, the University of Ibadan, SOAS, the New School, Columbia University, and Howard University. Through the Cold War and the civil rights era, the periodical intersected with dialogues involving figures connected to movements such as the African National Congress, the Black Panther Party, and the Non-Aligned Movement.
The editorial mission has centered on publishing writing that negotiates modernity, decolonization, and diasporic identities while experimenting with form and interdisciplinary practice. Editors and editorial collectives have positioned the journal as a forum for exchanges among poets, novelists, historians, anthropologists, and visual artists drawn from networks that include cultural institutions like the British Museum, the Schomburg Center, the Musée du Quai Branly, and universities such as Yale, Oxford, and the University of Cape Town. Emphasis on translation and cross-cultural critique linked contributions in conversation with canonical and avant-garde lineages—from modernists associated with the Parisian salons and Bloomsbury Group to later theorists affiliated with the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales and the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies. The periodical has aimed to bridge literary aesthetics and political praxis, engaging interlocutors connected to trade union federations, liberation movements, and international human rights organizations.
Across its run the journal has published work by novelists, poets, critics, and intellectuals who have also appeared in venues and networks associated with figures like Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, Léopold Sédar Senghor, Ama Ata Aidoo, and Derek Walcott; theorists and historians of comparable prominence; and artists linked to movements including Negritude, Caribbean modernism, and African modernism. It has carried essays and creative work in dialogue with scholarship and practice from individuals connected to institutions such as the Institute of Advanced Study, the Centre Pompidou, and PEN International. The journal has also featured translations and archival recoveries of texts resonant with collections like the British Library and the National Archives of Nigeria, and commentary engaging major works and events such as Frantz Fanon’s writings, Aimé Césaire’s poetry, and the Bandung Conference. Contributions have spanned reportage on cultural festivals, manifestos associated with publishing houses and presses, and interdisciplinary projects involving curators from Tate Modern and academics from Columbia’s Institute for Research in African-American Studies.
Published on a quarterly schedule in various phases, the periodical’s production migrated across cities and presses, involving collaborations with university presses, independent imprints, and cultural foundations. Distribution channels have included academic subscriptions through university libraries, listings in major bibliographic databases, and sales via independent booksellers and museum shops. Back issues and special themed volumes were acquired by major research libraries such as the Library of Congress, the Bodleian Library, the Schomburg Center, and national libraries in Ghana and Kenya. Editions often coincided with conferences, symposia, and exhibitions at venues like the African Studies Association annual meeting, the Hay Festival, and international biennials that expanded readership among scholars, students, curators, and policy researchers.
The journal has been recognized in academic and literary circles for shaping postcolonial studies, comparative literature, and diaspora studies, influencing curricular developments at institutions like Harvard, Princeton, and the University of California system. Critics and reviewers in periodicals and newspapers tied to cultural institutions and publishing sectors have cited the journal for foregrounding African and diasporic modernisms, and for providing early platforms to writers later awarded prizes such as the Nobel Prize in Literature, the Neustadt Prize, and international literary awards. Its role in archival recovery and translation has informed museum exhibitions and scholarly monographs produced by presses including Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, and Duke University Press.
The journal’s positioning at the intersection of aesthetics and politics has invited critique from various quarters: debates concerning editorial decision-making, representation of gender and regional diversity, and relationships with funding sources connected to foundations and governmental cultural agencies. Some scholars and activists have scrutinized its editorial choices in relation to gatekeeping practices observed in literary fields at institutions like the Modern Language Association and the Association for Commonwealth Literature and Language Studies. Questions regarding accessibility, pricing, and the balance between scholarly and creative content prompted discussions within networks spanning NGOs, press collectives, and independent literary forums. These debates have paralleled broader disputes about canon formation, restitution controversies surrounding museum collections, and the politics of publishing in postcolonial contexts.
Category:Literary magazines