<I>The Literary Corner: Introduction to African English Poetry with Brooks Robinson (side a) / Dennis Brutus’ Life and Works (side b)</I>
date: label: Date
content: 1978
name: label: Created by
content: Brooks B. Robinson Ph.D., American
label: Interview of
content: Dennis Brutus, South African, 1924 - 2009
label: Subject of
content: Christopher Okigbo, Nigerian, 1932 - 1967
label: Subject of
content: Shaaban bin Robert, Tanzanian, 1909 - 1962
label: Directed by
content: Robert Cham
notes: label: Description
content: A white plastic cassette tape with recordings of two episodes of the radio program The Literary Corner. The cassette has a beige label on which typewritten text on one side reads [THE LITERARY CORNER / Intro to African English Poetry]. The typewritten text on the other side reads [THE LITERARY CORNER / Dennis Brutus].
label: Description
content: Side A: “Introduction to African English Poetry with Brooks Robinson”
label: Description
content: Episode 18 of the Literary Corner radio program. The episode is entitled “Introduction to African English Poetry with Brooks Robinson,” and begins with host Brooks Robinson providing an overview of the episode. Some of the main subjects covered in this episode include the three major themes in African oral poetry; non-English, 19th-century, written poetry (French, German, Arabic); African poetry in the 1930s and 1940s; Anglophone African poets/poetry such as Wole Soyinka, John Pepper Clark, Gabriel Okara and Christopher Okigbo; differences between the negritude poets of the 1930s-40s and the anglophone African poets; East African poets/poetry such as John Mbiti and Shabaan Robert; comparisons between East and West African anglophone poetry; anglophone poets/poetry from southern Africa such as L.D. Raditladi, B.W. Vilakazi, Vernon February, Daniel Kunene and Dennis Brutus. The episode concludes with Robinson thanking technical director Bob Cham.
label: Description
content: Side B: “Dennis Brutus’ Life and Works”
label: Description
content: Episode 19 of the Literary Corner radio program. It begins with host Brooks Robinson introducing his guest, South African poet, Dennis Brutus. Some of the topics discussed in the episode include how and when Brutus began writing poetry; Brutus’ first poetry piece; Brutus’ attempts to challenge South Africa’s apartheid structure; his participation in the sporting boycott of South Africa during apartheid that led to the country being banned from the Olympics; retribution Brutus faced because of his anti-apartheid activities, including his imprisonment; Brutus’ published works, including Letters to Martha, a collection of poetry he penned while in Britain, exiled from South Africa. Brutus also reads some of his poetry, including “one for the children who died in the 1976 Soweto massacre.” The episode concludes with Brutus reading his poem “A Sequence for Beatriz Allende.”
label: Transcription Center Status
content: Transcribed by digital volunteers
place: label: Place made
content: United States, North and Central America
label: Place depicted
content: West Africa, Africa
label: Place depicted
content: East Africa, Africa
title: label: Title
content: Cassette tape with two episodes of the Literary Corner radio program
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Colonialism
label: Topic
content: Literature
label: Topic
content: Poetry
label: Topic
content: Radio
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Portfolio/Series
content: The Literary Corner: Black Writers of the World
label: Classification
content: Time-based Media - Audio
label: Movement
content: BAM (Black Arts Movement 1965-1976)
label: Movement
content: Anti-apartheid movements
label: Movement
content: Negritude
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Contributed in memory of Professor Sarah Webster Fabio (1928-1979), poet, educator, Black Arts Movement icon, and one of the Literary Corner's analysts.
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2010.17.1.10a
objectType: label: Type
content: audio cassettes
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: © Brooks B. Robinson
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: plastic and tape
label: Dimensions
content: H x W (audiocassette): 2 3/4 × 4 1/4 × 5/8 in. (7 × 10.8 × 1.6 cm)
label: Dimensions
content: Duration (side a): 00:14:48
label: Dimensions
content: Duration (side b): 00:14:51