Conversations with African Poets and Writers Series

The ‘Conversation with African Poets and Writers’ Digital Archive consists of a set of live web-cast interviews with current African diaspora writers committed to the literature of continental and diasporic Africa (fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama, literary criticism), and readings from their written works.  Authors/interviewees include both established and highly talented ‘new’ and emerging writers.  The archive is a multi-partner literary program between the Library of Congress African and Middle Eastern Division, the Library of Congress Poetry and Literature Center and the Africa Society of the National Summit on Africa. 

Consistent with the Library’s responsibility to preserve and make collections accessible on a global scale, the project is conceived to provide new input into the Library’s digital audiotape archive collections.  This material should prove invaluable to students of African literature and stimulate a broader appreciation of the African literary tradition and heritage.  The series will also afford opportunities to expose present-day African diaspora writers; and also, contribute to greater cross-cultural understanding and dialogue.

Mandlakayise C. Matyumza	September 25, 2012 Mandlakayise C. Matyumza discusses African poets and writers in an event co-sponsored by the Africa Society for the National Summit on Africa.Mandlakayise C. Matyumza is the executive director of the Centre for the Book, a unit of the National Library of South Africa in Capetown. View a Webcast of this Program

Helon Habila	May 1, 2012 Award-winning Nigerian novelist Helon Habila read excerpts from his novel "Oil On Water" and discussed his new anthology "The Granta Book of the African Short Story" in a program cosponsored with the Africa Society of the National Summit on Africa. View a Webcast of this Program

Donato Ndongo	April 4, 2012 Donato Ndongo appears in a program co-sponsored by the Library, the Africa Society for the National Summit on Africa and Embassy of the Kingdom of Spain. Donato Ndongo is a prominent writer and journalist from the Republic of Equatorial Guinea. View a Webcast of this Program

Keorapetse Kgositsile

April 3, 2012 South African poet and political activist Keorapetse Kgositsile discusses the state of contemporary African culture, including poetry and literature. Keorapetse Kgositsile also known as "Bra Willie," is a South African political activist and poet. He served in the African National Congress in the 1960s and 1970s and was inaugurated as South Africa's National Poet Laureate in 2006. View a Webcast of this Program

Dr. Susan Nalugwa Kiguli	November 16, 2011 The African Section of The African and Middle Eastern Division, and the Poetry and Literature Center of the Library of Congress, and the Africa Society of the National Summit on Africa presented African Studies Association Presidential Scholar for 2011, Dr. Susan Nalugwa Kiguli. View a Webcast of this Program

Professor Ali Mazrui

October 7, 2011 The African Section of the African and Middle Eastern Division, The Library of Congress Poetry and Literature Center and the Africa Society of the National Summit on Africa presented a dialogue with Pan-Africanist Scholar, Ali Mazrui. Professor Mazrui discussed the state of contemporary African culture and post-independence literary production. Ali Mazrui is an academic and political writer on African and Islamic studies and North-South relations. He is an Albert Schweitzer Professor in the Humanities and the Director of the Institute of Global Cultural Studies at Binghamton University in Binghamton, New York View a Webcast of this Program

Chinua Achebe

November 3, 2008 The Library of Congress African Section and the Center for the Book, and The Africa Society of The National Summit On Africa, and The Ralph J. Bunche International Affairs Center, Howard University and The Department of African Studies, Howard University TransAfrica Forum co-hosted a Symposium and Evening Program to Commemorate the 50th Anniversary Publication of "Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe. Morning Session Webcast Afternoon Session Webcast Evening Program Webcast

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