African Writers of Today; William Abraham

Item Information

Title:
African Writers of Today; William Abraham
Description:
This program takes place in the library at the University of Ghana near Accra. Once again host Lewis Nkosi is joined by Wole Soyinka, this time to talk with William Abraham, associate professor of philosophy at the university and author of one of the most significant books on modern Africa: The Mind of Africa. This discussion is devoted almost entirely to the function of the writer in Africa. The tone of the conversation is markedly different from that of the other interviews - more tense, more formal, and at times, more heated. Professor Abraham devoted considerable time to characterizing the "ideal" African writer. If a writer is to be called "African" he believes, he will not be defined ultimately in terms of skin color but in terms of his expression of a living African heritage, a tradition which should determine the style, idiom, and the content of his work. To be writing as part of a living heritage, Abraham maintains, means to see clearly and to absorb the many facets of modern African society (including the old, but still very much alive, oral tradition, and the foreign influences, Moslem and Euro-Christian), and to be able to present, as a result of this perspective, a comprehensive literary "critique of society." (As a prime example of a novelist who has been able to write from a living heritage, the philosopher refers to Chinua Achebe.) Hence, he feels, the African should write primarily for Africa, just as African scientists undertake to solve Africa's scientific problems. Soyinka objects to this thinking. He says he sees it in "a kind of constriction of the artist within society... a sort of political expectation in his work." Abraham replies by stressing the necessity of the African author being a part of his society to the extent that he really understands and reflects its soul. In this respect the professor criticizes Senghor for not writing as an "African" poet but rather as essentially a French poet who incorporates African allusions into his work. Despite Senghor's ability to utilize African mannerisms in his rhythms and cadences, says Abraham, his "axis" does not lie within Africa. (Description adapted from documents in the NET Microfiche) That Africa is a simmering continent is no surprise to anyone these days. The number of African nations which have, during the past few years, stood up to declare their independence and their desire to be counted in international trade circles and forums of political arbitration in an unprecedented phenomenon in history. And, as part of the continent's adolescence in its rapid evolution into modernity, there are the current touchy events in the east African countries of Zanzibar, Tanganyika, Kenya, and Uganda; the continued racial suppression in South Africa; and the recent wooing your of Chou En-lai. These are political situations and economic situations - and, in these areas, the American public is reasonably well informed. But a simmering continent is not all politics and it's not all economics. There is an emerging culture as well, and, in this case, a body of literature which demands to be called "African." For all of the information that comes to the United States from the African continent, so little is known about their writers. Who are they? What are their backgrounds? What are their reactions to the cultural revolution which surrounds them? For whom are they writing? Are they turning to the forms of the tribal oral traditions or are they rejecting them? How do the individual writers react to the philosophy of "Negritude?" What is the influence of current European literature and of the literature of the American Negro on their works? And what is the reciprocal influence of African novels, stories, plays and poems on the literature of these other cultures. In African Writers of Today, National Educational Television is giving US audiences an opportunity to find out about the contemporary literature of Africa and to meet some of the most significant African figures in the literary world. Devoted primarily to interviews with the writers themselves, the 6 half-hour episodes were filmed in Ghana, Nyasaland, The Cameroon Republic, Nigeria, Senegal, England, and France, the home settings of the featured personalities. African Writers of Today is a 1964 production of National Educational Television in collaboration with the Transcription Center, London. (Description adapted from documents in the NET Microfiche)
Production company:
National Educational Television and Radio Center
Production company:
Transcription Center, London
Producer:
Dor, Henry A.
Creator:
Soyinka, Wole
Host:
Nkosi, Lewis
Creator:
Abraham, William
Date:
1964
Format:
Film/Video
Genre:
Talk Show
Location:
Indiana University Libraries Moving Image Archive
Collection (local):
American Archive of Public Broadcasting Collection
Series:
Indiana University Libraries Moving Image Archive > African Writers of Today
Subjects:
Literature
Race and Ethnicity
Extent:
00:29:28
Link to Item:
https://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-512-ks6j09x35r
Terms of Use:
Rights status not evaluated.
Contact host institution for more information.
Notes:
Episode Number: 5