Criticism and Ideology: Second African Writers' Conference, Stockholm 1986

232 Pages·1988·13.413 MB·English

by  Kirsten Holst Petersen, Per Wästberg

CRITICISM AND
IDEOLOGY
Second African Writers' Conference
Stockholm 1986
Edited by with an introductory essay by
Kirsten Holst Petersen Per Wastberg
Seminar Proceedings No. 20
Scandinavian Institute of African Studies

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Seminar Proceedings No. 20
CRITICISM AND IDEOLOGY
Second African •iters’ Conference
Stockholm 1986
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Edited by %
Kirsten Holst Peters
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with an introductory essc&f'fc)
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Per Wastberg
Scandinavian Institute of African Studies, Uppsala 1988
occidental college library
1600 CAMPUS ROAD
LOS ANGELES, CA 00041
Cover: “Nairobi City Centre”, painting by Ancent Soi, Kenya, reproduced with
the permission of Gunter Peus.
ISSN 0281-0018
ISBN 91-7106-276-9
® Nordiska afrikainstitutet, 1988
Phototypesetting by
Textgruppen i Uppsala AB
Printed in Sweden by
Bohuslaningens Boktryckeri AB, Uddevalla 1988
Foreword
The first Stockholm conference for African writers was held in 1967, at
Hasselby Castle outside Stockholm, to discuss the role of the writer in mo¬
dern African Society, especially the relationship of his or her individuality
to a wider social commitment. It was arranged on the initiative of Per
Wastberg, well-known for having introduced much of African literature to
the Swedish public.
On Per Wastberg’s initiative the Second Stockholm Conference for Afri¬
can Writers was arranged almost twenty years later. This time the Scandi¬
navian Institute of African Studies was again privileged to arrange the con¬
ference in cooperation with the Swedish Institute.
We extend our gratitude to the Swedish Institute, the Swedish Interna¬
tional Development Authority (SIDA), and the Ministry for Foreign Af¬
fairs for generous financial support. We wish to thank our former Danish
researcher Kirsten Holst Petersen for her skilful work in arranging the con¬
ference and editing this book.
Anders Hjort af Ornas
Director
'
Contents
Introduction 7
Kirsten Holst Petersen
The Writer in Modern Africa 17
Per Wdstberg
Ethics, Ideology and the Critic 26
Wole Soyinka
From the discussion 51
The Languages of Our Dreams or 55
the Dreams of Our Languages
Kole Omotoso
The Price of Independence: The Writers’ Agony 60
Eldred D. Jones
From the discussion 65
The Growth of a Literary Tradition 67
Chris Wanjala
From the discussion 78
Reverend Doctor John S. Mbiti is a Thief of Gods 81
Taban lo Liyong
Writing Against Neo-colonialism 92
Ngugi wa Thiong’o
Censoring the African Poem: Personal Reflections 104
Jack Mapanje
The Socio-Psychological Development of Africa 112
David G. Maillu
The Role of the African Writer in National 128
Liberation and Social Reconstruction
Emmanuel Ngara
African Motherhood — Myth and Reality 141
Lauretta Ngcobo
From the discussion 151
To Be an African Woman Writer — an Overview and a Detail 155
Ama Ata Aidoo
Feminism with a small ‘f’! 173
Buchi Emecheta
From the discussion 181
To What Extent is the South African Writer’s Problem
Still Bleak and Immense? 186
Sipho Sepamla
Power to the People: A Glory to Creativity 193
Wally Serote
The Dominant Tone of Black South African Writing 198
Miriam Tlali
From the discussion 203
Beyond ‘Protest’: New Directions in South African Literature 205
Njabulo Ndebele
From the discussion 217
About the Contributors 219