tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7618276.post7172300616903927426..comments2024-03-14T05:19:03.379-05:00Comments on Koranteng's Toli: Poetry as Cultural MemoryKorantenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05280138409675883100noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7618276.post-64277023238547792802009-10-17T20:01:53.079-05:002009-10-17T20:01:53.079-05:00Have you taken a look at Kevin Gaines' recent ...Have you taken a look at Kevin Gaines' recent book, "African Americans in Ghana: Black Expatriates and the Civil Rights Era"? What do you think about it?<br /><br />Also, when Brew writes "that while we take the blow and seem unhurt, speechless, we also watch and wait," in 'Philosophy of Survial,' I could not help but hear the faint echo of Claude Mackay's "If We Must Die," <br /><br />If we must die, let it not be like hogs<br /><br />Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot,<br /><br />While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs,<br /><br />Making their mock at our accursed lot.<br /><br />If we must die, O let us nobly die<br /><br />So that our precious blood may not be shed<br /><br />In vain; then even the monsters we defy<br /><br />Shall be constrained to honor us though dead!<br /><br />O kinsmen! We must meet the common foe!<br /><br />Though far outnumbered let us show us brave,<br /><br />And for their thousand blows deal one death blow!<br /><br />What though before us lies the open grave?<br /><br />Like men we’ll face the murderous, cowardly pack,<br /><br />Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7618276.post-11244983496337413982009-04-08T14:26:00.000-05:002009-04-08T14:26:00.000-05:00As a child of Ananse I recognize the aspects of tr...As a child of Ananse I recognize the aspects of truth telling and myth making in every story. I suppose I prefer my tales complicated and contrarian, I'm just wired that way.<BR/><BR/>For the longest time, the story of Ghana seemed to have a glossy sheen - perhaps because it was often written by outsiders. That is my jaundiced perspective of course.<BR/><BR/>One of the greatest comforts of the past few years is that Ghanaian voices are increasingly being heard with all the complexity that brings - we are a diverse lot. I hope that this is an irreversible trend and that no one can ever again talk about a culture of silence (something Kwesi Brew reacted against in his life and not so long ago). We should all get on with it and write the story of Ghana in our own way.Korantenghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05280138409675883100noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7618276.post-68457251690307568072009-04-08T06:31:00.000-05:002009-04-08T06:31:00.000-05:00As a Ghanaian writer who is yet to write that book...As a Ghanaian writer who is yet to write that book, I have a few comments about the story of Ghana. Is it possible that perhaps what you see to be the fairytale is also a true tale, and that the the not so great aspects about Ghana are also true tales. So that as in the story of the man who touched the ear of the elephant and described the elephant to be like a fan, and the lady who touched its side and described the elephant to be like a wall, our writers sometimes tell different parts of the whole story. At times I think the task of the storywriter is to tell the entire story, but isn't there a place for parts to be told as long as they are told well and truthfully...as the writer perceives them?Esi Cleland Yanksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12878505768152174019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7618276.post-31928381689442481702009-03-27T12:11:00.000-05:002009-03-27T12:11:00.000-05:00I always enjoy your thought provoking posts - I'm ...I always enjoy your thought provoking posts - I'm a great fan of Maya Angelou's books and poems, however, until now, I had not heard of the others - thanks for sharing :)Here, There, Elsewhere... and morehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13744553877892974926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7618276.post-82001971244666822732009-03-18T09:25:00.000-05:002009-03-18T09:25:00.000-05:00A nice reminder that it is not sooo bad yet, here ...A nice reminder that it is not sooo bad yet, here in America.orchid loverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14354823174262080557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7618276.post-86342737080088170042009-03-18T07:23:00.000-05:002009-03-18T07:23:00.000-05:00ciao dall'italiaciao dall'italiaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com