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Transcription: [00:11:31]

{SPEAKER name="Brooks B. Robinson"}
Let's listen to a bit from Josiah Kariuki's book 'Mau Mau' detainee.

[00:11:36]

Um, and, you'll hear the very strong writing of Kariuki as he portrays this struggle and the determination with which some of the major characters in both Kariuki's and Ngugi's writing, how the major characters feel about the job they're engaged in and that is in overthrowing the colonizers.

[00:12:02]

{Excerpt from book} I speak the truth and vow before God, and before this moment, the moment of unity, the unity that is put to the test, the unity that is mocked with the name Mau Mau.

[00:12:16]

That I shall go forward to fight for the land. The lands of Kirinyaga that we cultivated, lands that were taken by Europeans.

[00:12:25]

And if I fail to do this, may this oath kill me. May this seven kill me. May this meat kill me.

[00:12:34]

{SPEAKER name="Brooks B. Robinson"}
I think a very good example of the power, the sheer emotionalism of Kariuki's work.

[00:12:40]

And I think that the level of emotionalism in Kariuki's work, as well as in Ngugi's writing is similar to work being written at about the same time in America by black American writers.

[00:12:52]

Almost a protest kind of literature, as for a level of emotionalism is concerned. Now, the fiction writers or novelists I've mentioned are only the most popular or important ones in African English literature, in African English prose or fiction or nonfiction literature.

[00:13:15]

But here again, I'm going to stress the-- the importance of that term and just that way African English because as I aforesaid, African writers were writing in French and in other languages, Arabic included, before they began to write in English.

[00:13:33]

There are just many, many more African English writers, and the numbers are growing, and we'll continue to grow.

[00:13:38]

People like Peter Abrams of South Africa and [[??]] of Nigeria, and just so many more. But I hope I have stimulated to some extent your curiosity and the--

Transcription Notes:
Unsure of the author's names.