These two recordings contain fourteen short presentations compiled and presented by South African activist, poet and literary scholar Dr. Vernie February. Born in South Africa in 1938, February lived in exile in the Netherlands from 1968 until the end of apartheid. In each roughly seven-minute talk, Dr. February tells us in eloquent rhetoric of a few of the many rich unique qualities of African literature — such as the great oral tradition, the wonderful stories of Creation and Death and “praise poetry”. He touches on writers like Sipho Sepamla, author of “The Soweto I Love” and Leopold Senghor, one of the earliest Negritude poets and the first president of Senegal. The recordings conclude with two of February’s own stories (“Mice and Snakes” and “Why the Hippopotamus has a short tail”).
Compiled And Presented By Dr. Vernie February (1938-2002)
Produced by Radio Netherlands Transcription Service
Broadcast January 17, 1983