SHALL COMPARE THEE TO A SUMMER DAY ? by William Shakespeare William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616) was an English poet, playwright, and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world’s greatest dramatist. He is often called England’s national poet and the “Bard of Avon” (or simply “the Bard”). His extant works, including collaborations, consist of some 39 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day? is one of the Fair…
Author: Msomi Bora
YOUR PAIN – by Armando Guebuza This poem was written by Armando Guebuza born in 1942 during the struggle for independence in Mozambique. He was a FRELIMO militant from the early stages of the liberation struggles and the later Mozambican president. It expresses his deep concern about Mozambican independence and shows his belief in unity, armed struggle and sacrifice if the need be as the main weapons to overcome colonial rule and regain the lost independence. Armando Guebuza Your Pain – by Armando Guebuza Your pain Yet more my pain Shall suffocate oppression Your eyes Yet more my…
AN AFRICAN THUNDERSTORM – by David Rubadiri James David Rubadiri was a Malawian diplomat, academic and poet, playwright and novelist. Rubadiri is ranked as one of Africa’s most widely anthologized and celebrated poets to emerge after independence David Rubadiri was born in 1930, in Malawi. He studied in Uganda and Cambridge. In 1964, when Malawi gained independence, Rubadiri was appointed Malawi’s first ambassador to the United States of America and the United Nations. He left the government in 1965 when he and President Hastings Banda had a disagreement, but he later returned to the…
THE DYING CHILD – By Freeman Peter Lwanda This is a poem written by a Tanzania poet, Freeman Peter Lwamba. The poem depicts the disillusion of the poor class after independence. It shows that those in the poor class are still living a miserable life and that the Uhuru (Independence) promises have no value to them. The mother is so pessimistic and hopeless that she may not be able to live longer with her son because they have no food. This is the kind of disillusion that most African leaders have created to the common people. The Dying Child Thin and red,…
AFRICA by David Mandessi Diop (1927 – 1960) David Mandessi Diop was a revolutionary African poet born in France to parents of West African descent, and an active member of the Negritude movement. Diop’s poems highlight African problems brought about by colonialism and give a message of hope and resistance to people of the continent. Mandessi published only one book of poetry on which his fame rests. After the independence of Guinea, he went to work there as teacher. He died in a plane crash in 1960 together with his wife. The manuscript of his new book of poetry was also lost…
POETRY – Poetry is an art form in which human language is used for its aesthetic qualities in addition to, or instead of, its notional and semantic content. It consists largely of oral or literary works in which language is used in a manner that is felt by its user and audience to differ from ordinary prose. – Poetry is a type of literature, or artistic writing, that attempts to stir a reader’s imagination or emotions. Poem – A poem is a form of art in which the skillful choice and arrangement of words achieves a desired emotional effect. – a composition in…
THE BEAUTYFUL ONES ARE NOT YET BORN By Ayi Kwei Armah About the Author Ayi Kwei Armah (born 28 October 1939) is a Ghanaian writer whose work deals with corruption and materialism in contemporary Africa. He is also an essayist, as well as having written poetry, short stories, and books for children. He is best known for his novels including The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born (1968), Two Thousand Seasons (1973) and The Healers (1979). In his first novel, The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born (1968), Armah showed his deep concern for greed and political corruption in a…
A MAN OF THE PEOPLE (By Chinua. Achebe) About the Author Chinua Achebe (1930-2013) was a novelist, poet, professor at Brown University and critic. He is best known for his first novel, Things Fall Apart (1958), which is the most widely read book in modern African literature. Raised by his parents in the Igbo town of Ogidi in southeastern Nigeria, Achebe excelled at school and won a scholarship to study medicine, but changed his studies to English literature at University College (now the University of Ibadan). He became fascinated with world religions and traditional African cultures, and began writing stories as a university student. After graduation, he…
DIVINE PROVIDENCE (by Severine Ndunguru) The story begins when Hosanna gives birth and her child is dead, so she complained about it and decided to call Father Wolfgang in order to confess her sins. Before Father Wolfgang died he told Hossana that her husband and child were alive and he would pray for her in order to meet her family. The story continues in the Harbors Corporation where Richard Mwandikaulaya works. There was a murder case and Richard discovered the one who did it. Richard went to Europe to study, under the sponsorship of Professor Huxley, who rescued by Richard from…
I WILL MARRY WHEN I WANT (1986) (By Ngugi wa Thiong’o and Ngugi wa Mirii) Synopsis of the Play I Will Marry When I Want is a Gikuyu play co-written by Ngũgĩ wa Mirii and Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o. First produced in Kenya in 1977, the story depicts a farmer who is tricked into risking his land due to social and religious pressures. The prominent themes reflect a commentary on the hypocrisy and…
