'Hussein Literature' or Literature by Hussein?
ISP
Alex Macbeth
140431
“Hussein Literature or literature by Hussein? A 21st Century re-analysis of the Swahili dramatist Ebrahim Hussein’s works, with specific emphasis on Mashetani (Demons), and their relevance today. ”
TUTOR: DR KWADWO OSEI-NYAME
“Hussein Literature or literature by Hussein? A 21st Century re-analysis of the Swahili dramatist Ebrahim Hussein’s works, with specific emphasis on Mashetani (Demons), and their relevance today. ”
You speak about my language, and say that even in my prose I am a poet. But if my language sometimes goes beyond what is appropriate in a story, you can’t blame me for that, for I had to create my Bengali prose myself. My language was not there, heaped up and ready made…I had to create the prose of my stories as I went along. You often speak of Maupassant and other foreign writers: their language was already made for them. If they had had to create their language as they wrote, I wonder how they would have fared. (Tagore 1991: 27)
INTRODUCTION
Ebrahim Hussein, the Tanzanian dramatist, remains one of the most controversial, ambiguous and misunderstood figures in Swahili literature. Widely regarded as a recluse in recent years, he has not published since 1988, his last published work being Kwenye Ukingo wa Thim (At the Edges of Thim). No other figure in the canon of 20th Century Swahili literature has fallen so dramatically from the sublime to national oblivion; while his plays in the late sixties and seventies were hailed as intricate to the birth of a new, modern Swahili drama, today they are unpublished in the playwright’s home nation, Tanzania. Once the founder of The Department of Performing Arts in Dar es Salaam, he is now not involved in the development of theatre in Tanzania in any way.
Several academics and theatre professionals have attributed Hussein’s decline in popularity to recent changes in Tanzanian politics and theatre, but primarily to the author’s own
Alex Macbeth
140431
“Hussein Literature or literature by Hussein? A 21st Century re-analysis of the Swahili dramatist Ebrahim Hussein’s works, with specific emphasis on Mashetani (Demons), and their relevance today. ”
TUTOR: DR KWADWO OSEI-NYAME
“Hussein Literature or literature by Hussein? A 21st Century re-analysis of the Swahili dramatist Ebrahim Hussein’s works, with specific emphasis on Mashetani (Demons), and their relevance today. ”
You speak about my language, and say that even in my prose I am a poet. But if my language sometimes goes beyond what is appropriate in a story, you can’t blame me for that, for I had to create my Bengali prose myself. My language was not there, heaped up and ready made…I had to create the prose of my stories as I went along. You often speak of Maupassant and other foreign writers: their language was already made for them. If they had had to create their language as they wrote, I wonder how they would have fared. (Tagore 1991: 27)
INTRODUCTION
Ebrahim Hussein, the Tanzanian dramatist, remains one of the most controversial, ambiguous and misunderstood figures in Swahili literature. Widely regarded as a recluse in recent years, he has not published since 1988, his last published work being Kwenye Ukingo wa Thim (At the Edges of Thim). No other figure in the canon of 20th Century Swahili literature has fallen so dramatically from the sublime to national oblivion; while his plays in the late sixties and seventies were hailed as intricate to the birth of a new, modern Swahili drama, today they are unpublished in the playwright’s home nation, Tanzania. Once the founder of The Department of Performing Arts in Dar es Salaam, he is now not involved in the development of theatre in Tanzania in any way.
Several academics and theatre professionals have attributed Hussein’s decline in popularity to recent changes in Tanzanian politics and theatre, but primarily to the author’s own
Bibliography: Achebe, C. (2000) Home and Exile. Oxford University Press. Oxford, UK. Bertoncini-Zubkova, E (1989) Outline of Swahili Literature. E.J. Brill. Leiden, NL. Diawara, M. (1992) African Cinema: Politics and Culture. Indiana University Press. US Fiebach, J Fiebach, J. (1975) “On the Social Function of Modern African Theatre and Brecht” In UMMA pg159-171 (Vol 5 -2) East African Literature Bureau, Dar es Salaam, TZ. Hussein, E (1969) Kinjeketile. Oxford University Press. Dar es Salaam, TZ. Hussein, E. (1971) Mashetani. Oxford University Press. Dar es Salaam, TZ. Hussein, E. (1988) Kwenye Ukingo wa Thim. Oxford University Press. Dar es Salaam, TZ. Kerr, D. (1995) African Popular Theatre: from pre-colonial times to the present day. James Currey. London, UK. Lihamba, A. (2004) “Tanzania” in A History of Theatre in Africa, ed. Banham, M. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge, UK. Macbeth, A (2007) Demons (Unpublished personal translation of Mashetani) Muhando Mlama, P Ricard, A. (2000) Ebrahim Hussein: Swahili Theatre and Individualism. Mkuki na Nyota Publishers. Dar es Salaam, TZ. Ricard, A. (1992) “Ebrahim’s Predicament” in Research in African Literatures pg175-178 (Vol 23 -1) Sengo, T.S.Y Tagore, R. (1991) Selected Short Stories. Penguin Books. London, UK. Soyinka, W. (1995) Myth, Literature and the African World. Cambrige University Press. Cambridge, UK. Wa Thiong’o, N (2003) Decolonizing the Mind: The Politics of Language in African Literature. James Currey. Oxford, UK. Daily Nation, Nairobi 16th Dec. 1969. In: Fiebach, J FILMOGRAPHY Paukwa!, 2007 ONLINE RESOURCES 1) Riccio, T (2001) (2001) National Erotica: The Politics of "Traditional" Dance in Tanzania TDR: The Drama Review - Volume 45, Number 1 (T 169), Spring 2001, pp Hussein, E. (12/07/07 + several preceding dates in 2007). Author’s home, Kariakoo, TZ. By Macbeth, A & Gnecchi, N.