The Literary Corner: Jonathan Peters on Wole Soyinka (side a) / A Comparative Analysis of African and Afro American Literature with Mildred Hill and the Conclusion to the Literary

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 / Jonathua Peters on Wole Soyinka]. The typewritten text on the other side reads [THE LITERARY CORNER / Conclusion of Dr. Mildred Hill].

The episode begins with a voice reading an excerpt from Wole Soyinka’s oeuvre, before host Brooks Robinson introduces his guest as Professor Jonathan Peters. The topics covered in this episode are Wole Soyinka’s early works; Jero’s Metamorphosis; comparisons of Wole Soyinka and other major African writers, such as Léopold Senghor and Aimé Césaire; major themes that Soyinka explores in his writing, such as nonlinear history and violence; Soyinka’s imprisonment during the Nigerian civil war. Toward the end of the episode, Jonathan Peters states that he believes that there is a movement beyond nihilism in Soyinka’s work. He comments that Soyinka believes of an Africa changing, but still the same, an Africa that has a lot of potential for development, an Africa where people and culture intermingle and interface. He continues to say that Soyinka believes, against the principle of Yoruba cosmology, that there is the possibility for change in the cycle of violence. After Peters’ final words, Brooks Robinson recites the outro and the episode ends.

Side B: “A Comparative Analysis of African and Afro American Literature with Mildred Hill and the Conclusion to the Literary Corner Series”

The episode begins with the Literary Corner soundtrack. Host Brooks Robinson then mentions that this episode is the conclusion to the Literary Corner radio show, and it will summarize the conversation on African and African American literature by examining the similarities among diasporic black literature. In the interview, Dr. Hill states that there are patterns/similarities between African and African American written literature that are nonexistent in traditional American and English writings. She says that these differences can be divided into two main categories: thematic features and stylistic features. She mentions that within the thematic features, there are four subcategories: rituals, folklore/religion, family, and the Africans’ confrontation with the West. At the end of the episode, Robinson thanks all those who he claims were responsible for the Literary Corner: his cohost, Professor Pam Johnson, as well as his regular analysts, Professors Daniel Kunene, Sarah Fabio and Edris Makward.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1978
• Created by: Brooks B. Robinson Ph.D., American
• Interview of: Jonathan Peters PhD, Sierra Leonean
• Interview of: Mildred Hill Lubin, American, 1933 - 2018
• Subject of: Wole Soyinka, Nigerian, born 1934
• Subject of: Langston Hughes, American, 1902 - 1967
• Subject of: Chinua Achebe, Nigerian, 1930 - 2013
• Directed by: Robert Cham
• Type: audiotapes
• 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): 00:14:49
• Dimensions: Duration (side b): 00:14:50
• Place depicted: Nigeria, West Africa, Africa
• Place depicted: United States, North and Central America
• Place made: United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Africa
• Topic: Drama (Theatre)
• Topic: Literature
• Topic: Poetry
• Topic: Radio
• Object number: 2010.17.1.13a
• 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.