GUEST POST kINNA ON WORLD CUP OF WRITERS – GHANA

As Ghana play today and hopefully get through to the next round I ask Kinna who lives in Ghana to do the Ghana writers post for me ,many thaks Kinna and best of luck for the black stars .

World Cup of Writers – Ghana

 Writers

I’m Ghanaian by birth and so I’m quite familiar with the writers of my country.  I will discuss some of my favorites. I consider Efua Sutherland as the mother of Ghanaian writing.  She was a dramatist and her plays, Edufa and the Marriage of Anansewa, are masterpieces and quite representative of African drama.  Then there is Ama Ata Aidoo, a novelist, dramatist and poet.  Aidoo’s books include Changes, Our Sister Killjoy and No Sweetness Here. All really good. Her play, Anowa, is an excellent exploration of Ghana’s role in the Slave Trade.   Next, Ayi Kwei Armah, the novelist.  His novel, The Beautiful Ones Are Not Yet Born is also a favorite of mine.  I also like the works of Kojo Laing.

Among the ‘younger writers, I love the works of Nii Ayikwei Parkes – his latest book is Tail of the Blue Bird. Amma Darko, who in Faceless, explored the plight of street children in Ghana.  Others include Mohamed Naseehu Ali, his book The Prophets of Zongo is a good read. I know of two writers who write mysteries/crime drama, a rarity among African writers.  They are Yaba Badoe, her book is True Murder.  The other is Kwei Quartey and his book is Wife of the Gods.

World cup memories – 

 Ghana’s national soccer team is known as the Black Stars.  Although, we’ve been quite a force on the African continent, the country qualified for the FIFA World Cup in 2006. We played well and managed to get out of the group stages into the round of 16.  The most memorable game was the final game in the group against the United States. Ghana won the match 2-1.  Unfortunately, we faced Brazil in the round of 16 and were sent home.