ISBN 9789987753383
Pages 154
Dimensions 234 x 156mm
Published 2016
Publisher Mkuki na Nyota Publishers, Tanzania
Format Paperback

Abdilatif Abdalla: Poet in Politics

edited by Rose Marie Beck, Kai Kresse

Abdilatif Abdalla: Poet in Politics ­celebrates the work of Abdilatif Abdalla, one of Kenya’s most well-known poets and a committed political activist. It includes commentary essays on aspects of Abdilatif Abdalla’s work and life, through inter-weaving perspectives on poetry and politics, language and history; with contributions by East African writers and scholars of Swahili literature, including Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Said Khamis, Ken Walibora, Ahmed Rajab, Mohamed Bakari, and Sheikh Abdilahi Nassir, among others.

Abdalla became famous in 1973, with the publication of Sauti ya Dhiki (Voice of Agony), a collection of poems written secretly in prison during three years of solitary confinement (1969-72). He was convicted of circulating pamphlets against Jomo Kenyatta’s KANU government, criticizing it as ‘dictatorial’ and calling for political resistance in the pamphlet, 'Kenya: Twendapi?' (Kenya: where are we heading?). His poetry epitomizes the ongoing currency of classic Swahili form and language, while his work overall, including translations and editorships, exemplifies a two-way mediation between ‘traditional’ and ‘modern’ perspectives. It makes old and new voices of Swahili poetry and African literature accessible to a wider readership in East Africa, and beyond. Abdalla has lived in exile since 1973, in Tanzania, London, and subsequently, until now, in Germany. Nevertheless, Swahili literature and Kenyan politics have remained central to his life.

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Review

"This slim volume is a celebration of the genius, as well as the artistic and political contributions of one of Africa’s premier poets, the Mombasa born Abdilatif Abdalla."

About the Editors

Rose Marie Beck

Rose Marie Beck is Professor of African Languages and Literatures at the University of Leipzig.

Kai Kresse

Kai Kresse is Associate Professor of African and Swahili Studies at Columbia University, New York.

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