The Literary Corner: Introduction to African English Poetry with Brooks Robinson (side a) / Dennis Brutus’ Life and Works (side b): Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

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].

Side A: “Introduction to African English Poetry with Brooks Robinson”

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.

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.”

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1978
• Created by: Brooks B. Robinson Ph.D., American
• Interview of: Dennis Brutus, South African, 1924 - 2009
• Subject of: Christopher Okigbo, Nigerian, 1932 - 1967
• Subject of: Shaaban bin Robert, Tanzanian, 1909 - 1962
• Directed by: Robert Cham
• Type: audio cassettes
• Medium: plastic and tape
• Dimensions: H x W (audiocassette): 2 3/4 × 4 1/4 × 5/8 in. (7 × 10.8 × 1.6 cm)
• Dimensions: Duration (side a): 00:14:48
• Dimensions: Duration (side b): 00:14:51
• Place made: United States, North and Central America
• Place depicted: West Africa, Africa
• Place depicted: East Africa, Africa
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Colonialism
• Topic: Literature
• Topic: Poetry
• Topic: Radio
• Object number: 2010.17.1.10a
• Credit Line: 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.
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: © Brooks B. Robinson Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.