Author: Msomi Bora

BUILDING THE NATION By Christopher H. M. Barlow About the Author Building the nation is a poem by a Ugandan poet Christopher Henry Muwanga Barlow (1929-2006). was a Ugandan poet notable for his poem Building the Nation. He was one of the recipients of the Uganda Golden Jubilee medals in 2013. Henry Barlow attended King’s College Budo (1936–48), where he excelled in cricket and lawn tennis. It was at Budo that Barlow discovered poetry. He joined Makerere University College (1949–53), graduating with a BA degree (London). He was among the 13 pioneer graduates to be awarded degrees. Before, the university used to award only diplomas. Christopher H.…

SONG OF LAWINO AND OCOL By Okot P’Bitek Song of Lawino is a poem written by Ugandan poet Okot p’Bitek (1931 – 1982). First published in 1966 in Acholi Luo, it was quickly translated into other languages, including English. Song of Lawino has become one of the most widely read literary works originating from Sub-Saharan Africa. It has also become culturally iconic within Africa, because of its scathing display of how African society was being destroyed by the colonization of Africa. Okot p’Bitek Song of Lawino describes how Lawino’s husband, Ocol, the son of the tribal leader of their Acholi tribe, has taken another wife, Clementine, who is educated and acts European. Although Ocol’s polygamy is accepted by society, and by…

EAT MORE By Joe Corrie About the Author Joe Corrie (1894–1968) was a Scottish miner, poet and playwright best known for his radical, working class plays. He was born in Slamannan, Stirlingshire. His family moved to Cardenden in the Fife coalfield when Corrie was still an infant and he started work at the pits in 1908. He died in Edinburgh in 1968. Shortly after the First World War, Corrie started writing. His articles, sketches, short stories and poems were published in prominent socialist newspapers and journals, including Forward and The Miner. Eat More is one of the poems he wrote responding to the commercial slogans that insist on eating balanced diet regardless of their social and economic status.…

KINJEKETILE by Ebrahim Hussein About the Play Kinjeketile is a play written by Ebrahim Hussein, a Tanzanian author. He first wrote the play in Swahili, and it was also first performed in Swahili. You will read an English translation of the play that was done by the author. The play tells the story of the Maji-Maji rebellion in 1904-05 that was led by Kinjeketile Ngwale in what was at the time called Southern Tanganyika. The play, Kinjeketile (1969), written in Swahili is considered “a landmark of Tanzanian theater.” The play soon became one of the standard subjects for Kiswahili exams in…

THE SWAMP DWELLERSBy Wole Soyinka About the Author Wole Soyinka (born 13 July 1934) is a Nigerian playwright, novelist, poet, and essayist in the English language. He was awarded the 1986 Nobel Prize in Literature, the first sub-Saharan African to be honoured in that category.After studying in Nigeria and the UK, he worked with the Royal Court Theatre in London. He went on to write plays that were produced in both countries, in theatres and on radio. Wole SoyinkaTHE SWAMP DWELLERS We have two analysis for you about this playAnalysis 1 and Analysis 2 ANALYSIS 1 About the Play The Swamp Dwellers is a play that was written by Wole Soyinka and was…

THE TRIAL OF DEDAN KIMATHI By Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o About the Play The play was first published in 1976, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o and his collaborator, Micere Githae Mugo, built a powerful and challenging play out of the circumstances surrounding the 1956 trial of Dedan Kimathi, the celebrated Kenyan hero who led the Mau Mau rebellion against the British colonial regime in Kenya and was eventually hanged. A highly controversial character, Kimathi’s life has been subject to intense propaganda by both the British government, who saw him as a vicious terrorist, and Kenyan nationalists, who viewed him as a man of great…

THE GOVERNMENT INSPECTOR By Nikolai Gogol The Government Inspector, also known as The Inspector General It is a satirical play by the Russian and Ukrainian dramatist and novelist Nikolai Gogol. Originally published in 1836, the play was revised for an 1842 edition. Based upon an anecdote allegedly recounted to Gogol by Pushkin, the play is a comedy of errors, satirizing human greed, stupidity, and the extensive political corruption of Imperial Russia. Nikolai Gogol THE GOVERNMENT INSPECTOR By Nikolai Gogol Setting: Russia Cast of Characters – Anton Antonovitch – Mayor – Artemy Filipovitch – Charity Commissioner – A’mmos Fyodorovitch – Judge.…

THE DILEMMA OF A GHOST By Ama Ata Aidoo The Dilemma of a Ghost is a play by Ghanaian poet and novelist Ama Ata Aidoo. The play centres around Ato Yawson, a Ghanaian who recently completed his studies in the United States and returns home with an American bride, Eulalie. From the beginning it is clear that Eulalie isn’t like the girls back home, and that there is potential for conflict here. Already in the opening scene, a short prelude, Eulalie and Ato are arguing. Still, here there seems hope that love can conquer all — at least that’s…

THE TRIALS OF BROTHER JERO By Wole Soyinka The Trials of Brother Jero is a play by Nigerian writer Wole Soyinka. It was first produced in the dining hall at Mellan by Hall, University College, Ibadan, Nigeria, in April 1960. The play was first published in Nigeria in 1963 and by Oxford University Press in 1964. The Trials of Brother Jero is a light satiric comedy that takes aim at religious hypocrisy in the form of a charlatan, or fraud, named Brother Jero, who preaches to his followers on Bar Beach in Lagos, Nigeria. Jero is a master of…

THE VOTER By Chinua Achebe The Voter is a short by a Nigerian poet and novelist, Chinua Achebe. This story is about the main character that has to choose between the modern culture and the traditional culture and this has to be through his political campaigns and elections. Chinua Achebe planned to study medicine, but love of literature and his country’s nationalist movement forever changed his plans. As a student, he came to realize the destructive effects of colonialism and dedicated himself to redefining Africa, to telling Africans’ true story, including their achievements and failures. Chinua Achebe THE VOTER Chinua…