Oh Francis, hold your venom against Kwame Okoampa Ahoofe, the scholar pretender who imagines wildly he is of the class of Wole Soyinka or Achebe. The Scarab Beetle is Kwame Nkrumah, and The Brethren is CIA.
Oh Francis, hold your venom against Kwame Okoampa Ahoofe, the scholar pretender who imagines wildly he is of the class of Wole Soyinka or Achebe. The Scarab Beetle is Kwame Nkrumah, and The Brethren is CIA.
GIRLS SP 9 years ago
I only pity the woman who carried Kwarteng for good 9 months in her womb expecting an entity but has resulted to a nonentity insane called Kwarteng.
I only pity the woman who carried Kwarteng for good 9 months in her womb expecting an entity but has resulted to a nonentity insane called Kwarteng.
Mark (UK) 9 years ago
I disagree with you there. You may find Kwarteng's work heavy duty, trust me, I feel your pain, as I found it heavy going myself. You need to understand where Kwame is coming from. Literature plays an important role in a nati ... read full comment
I disagree with you there. You may find Kwarteng's work heavy duty, trust me, I feel your pain, as I found it heavy going myself. You need to understand where Kwame is coming from. Literature plays an important role in a nation's life though it is not so obvious compared to the role of Engineering for instance. It is his take on such themes.
For a Science student to write the way he is, is commendable. Wish I could be that productive. Mmo ne adwuma, Onua.
francis kwarteng 9 years ago
Dear Mark (UK),
How are you? Long time, no see! Thanks for appreciating my work. Your constructive statements here put to shame those like GIRLS SP who cannot seem to see through the thicket.
You have given a good summ ... read full comment
Dear Mark (UK),
How are you? Long time, no see! Thanks for appreciating my work. Your constructive statements here put to shame those like GIRLS SP who cannot seem to see through the thicket.
You have given a good summary to GIRLS SP, a woman-man who sits in Germany and only insults. I hope he learns from capable readers like you who take patience to read dense materials and end up understanding them so perfectly. This is what critical reading is all about. What more can I say to you?
Thank you!
Kweku Donsuro 9 years ago
When Francis sits down to write, I wonder the flurry of ideas which bombard his focus in nano-seconds. A mathematician turned an artist, I wonder how many novels he has read which have turned his head. He lists bizarre and un ... read full comment
When Francis sits down to write, I wonder the flurry of ideas which bombard his focus in nano-seconds. A mathematician turned an artist, I wonder how many novels he has read which have turned his head. He lists bizarre and unknown plus well known authors of novels and non-fiction. The older the better for him. I wonder why in his schema, he never mentions Efua Sutherland's Anowa, or Francis Selormey's Narrow Path, or Abroquah's The Cathechist, or Kobena Sekyi's The Blinkards, or Vincent Senanu and Meyer's Anthology, or Chukwumeka Ike's Toads for Supper, or Money Galore by Amu Djoleto, My Mercedes is bigger than Yours, Man of the People by Cyprian Ekwensi, or Efuru by Flora Nwapa, or On Trial for my Country by Simamkange, African Child by Camara Laye, or Season of Migration by Tahir, Cry the Beloved Country by Alan Paton, etc. etc
francis kwarteng 9 years ago
Dear Kweku Donsuro,
These essays have nothing to do with any individual. I have said repeatedly that the "scholar" is a creatve invention, a fictional character. I want to assure you that I spend quality time thinking and ... read full comment
Dear Kweku Donsuro,
These essays have nothing to do with any individual. I have said repeatedly that the "scholar" is a creatve invention, a fictional character. I want to assure you that I spend quality time thinking and writing about serious writers. I do not allow analytic frivolities to creep into my work when I have to discuss serious matters including literature, literary criticism, etc.
Trust me, Donsuro, I am familiar with nearly all the titles you list here. I know and have read many old titles, not only from Africa but from the rest of the world!
In fact, I try to mention as many relevant titles, old and new, as I possibly can recall. I have an exhaustive psychological library of titles spanning the literary landscape of the entire African world, old and new.
By "African world" I mean Africa and the parts of the world where Africans, ancient and contemporary, have made literary impact. I have mentioned Afro-Brazillians Machado Assis and Abdias do Nascimento (there are many more I know and have read) and the Afro-Russian Alenxander Pushkin, the Father of Russian Literature.
Donsuro, I am also fortunate to have Dr. Kwame Botwe-Asamoah mention some of these important titles to me during many of our convservations. Dr. Botwe-Asamoah is a walking encyclopedia and giant in these matters, you know. There are other titles he has mentioned to me which have not made it to some of my essays yet.
The other point is that I do well when I literally list these titles down before including them in a particular essay. But this is not what I do most of the time. I recall them from memory and then include them in my essays as I write. It saves me more time.
Other times I try to think I have added a title while I write only to realise later I did not. For instance, I had Alan Patton's "Cry, the Beloved Country" in mind when I was writing Part 2 of "Fate of A Misguided Scholar" only to realize I did not include it when I had to re-read the same article on Ghanaweb in order to respond to readers. On the other hand, I did mention Sakyi's "The Blinkards" in Part 2 of "Fate of A Failed Scholar."
That said, there are literally hundreds of titles I have read which I cannot discuss in most of my articles because they have no topical relevance to the things I discuss. I have relied on The New Yorker, The New York Times Book Review, Transition Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, Kwani? (Kwani" is a literary magazine based in East Africa), etc., to keep track of the world of literature. Again, I was fortunate to have a reporter friend with The New York Times.
Finally, I also happened to befriend some of the editors of The Huffington Post in a building I worked in Manhattan, New York. The Huffington Post is probably the largest blog and online news aggregator in America. These editors reviewed books, mostly scholarly, and threw them away once they were done. I gathered them and sent them home. I read all the titles they reviewed while I worked in the building. I worked there for about four years. Adrinna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post, is such a marvelous writer herself. I have always recommended her book "The Fourth Instinct" to my friends. It is a nice read if you will take a look at it!
Also, I have relied on the African Writers Series since 1997 to acquire those African titles (like some of those you mentioned here) which I did not read during my secondary school days, out of my secondary school days. I have read them since I came to America.
Then there are also literally hundreds of popular or Hollywood-style authors, if you will, like Mario Puzo, John Grisham, Danielle Steel, Sydney Sheldon, Ken Follett, Dean Koontz, Michael Crichton, Nicholas Sparks, Jackie Collins, Petru Popescu, etc., whose writings I have read. I even read 99% of such writers in Ghana before relocating to America. However, I continue to read some of them when even when I came to America.
The Brethren is General Akwasi Afrifa, KA Busia, and JB Danquah, not the CIA. I explained this in Part 1 of "The Source of the Nile Decoded." I borrowed the words "The Brethren" from John Grisham's titular novel "The Brethren," a title I read many years ago. You may want to read it if you have the time.
Again "Fate of A Misguided Scholar" has nothing to do with any particular individual.
Thanks.
Dr. SAS, Attorney at Law 9 years ago
You write:
Man of the People by Cyprian Ekwensi..
FYI, that novel is by Chinua Achebe.
You write:
Man of the People by Cyprian Ekwensi..
FYI, that novel is by Chinua Achebe.
Kibaki 9 years ago
Perhaps Kwarteng's articles are more marked by the authors he has NOT mentioned than by those he has mentioned. There's hardly a book you can mention that he has not read.
It is clear that the man is a voracious reader wh ... read full comment
Perhaps Kwarteng's articles are more marked by the authors he has NOT mentioned than by those he has mentioned. There's hardly a book you can mention that he has not read.
It is clear that the man is a voracious reader who reads very fast. I guess he reads like two or three books EVERY SINGLE DAY. Yes, there are some people who can do that. It's an asset, really. Literary theorists and reviewers must reach such phenomenal speeds to be able to do their work well because there are millions of good books in the world. The very best of these have to be read a number of times, not just once.
Most of us, especially Africans, plod through books like termites eating through wood. The main reason many people don't like reading is because they read too slowly. If you take a week to read a "normal" novel of 400 pages, how many can you go through in a year? You even feel reluctant taking the next book when you know you'll be at it for days.
When Kwarteng writes lengthy articles, he assumes that most ghanaweb readers are as fast readers as he is and will take only 2 or three minutes to finish his articles. But most ghanaweb readers can't read that fast. Besides, an article in which there are so many author names will take longer to read. Many people will not know just to scan through those author names or ignore them completely and go to the matter of the article. They may plod thru the reading of all those many names.
But if Kwarteng is more sensitive to the reading difficulties of many of us, he may tune down his pieces a bit and make them more reader friendly to many people. Afterall, the guy is bursting with so many ideas some of which many of us can learn from.
Lastly, I condemn all those people who insult Kwarteng and call him names or say he is mad. What these people should rather do is to pinpoint the weaknesses they think they see in his writings and to criticize his points. Doing this has absolutely nothing to do with Kwarteng's mother who has nothing to do with this and must be left in peace!
YAW 9 years ago
The scholar is so narrow-minded he can see through a keyhole with two eyes.He is content with his over 20 worse than useless books.He despises the Scarab-Beetle because he is more articulate,intelligent,patriotic and more of ... read full comment
The scholar is so narrow-minded he can see through a keyhole with two eyes.He is content with his over 20 worse than useless books.He despises the Scarab-Beetle because he is more articulate,intelligent,patriotic and more of a visionary than his self opinionated and narcissist folk.What a superb piece! No self respecting mind reader will charge the scholar full price if he consults them.His gargantuan brain holds nothing but hatred and ignorance.Let us call the scholar "A SHINNING WIT".
Nana Yaw 9 years ago
My simple question is this, what is the writer of this piece aiming at?? What is the import of this piece? Hmmmmmm,
Thank you.
My simple question is this, what is the writer of this piece aiming at?? What is the import of this piece? Hmmmmmm,
Thank you.
Akyem Sebo 9 years ago
Maybe some of you who understand what Kwarteng writes must try and summarise it for us. I really do not understand his language or what he wants to carry across. Can anybody close to him advise him to be simpler in his delive ... read full comment
Maybe some of you who understand what Kwarteng writes must try and summarise it for us. I really do not understand his language or what he wants to carry across. Can anybody close to him advise him to be simpler in his delivery if he wants to communicate to many people.
Ofei 9 years ago
How do you expect to understand a mental deranged person like Kwarteng?
How do you expect to understand a mental deranged person like Kwarteng?
IDRIS PACAS 9 years ago
Painstakingly read and you'll grasp it all.
Painstakingly read and you'll grasp it all.
francis kwarteng 9 years ago
Dear YAW,
Thanks for a perfect summary of this essay. Wow!
YAW, I will not allow you to kill me with laughter. You made me laugh to death when I read your comment attached to Part 2 of "Fate of A Misguided Scholar." So ... read full comment
Dear YAW,
Thanks for a perfect summary of this essay. Wow!
YAW, I will not allow you to kill me with laughter. You made me laugh to death when I read your comment attached to Part 2 of "Fate of A Misguided Scholar." Soluble drain-pipe?
Oh Francis, hold your venom against Kwame Okoampa Ahoofe, the scholar pretender who imagines wildly he is of the class of Wole Soyinka or Achebe. The Scarab Beetle is Kwame Nkrumah, and The Brethren is CIA.
I only pity the woman who carried Kwarteng for good 9 months in her womb expecting an entity but has resulted to a nonentity insane called Kwarteng.
I disagree with you there. You may find Kwarteng's work heavy duty, trust me, I feel your pain, as I found it heavy going myself. You need to understand where Kwame is coming from. Literature plays an important role in a nati ...
read full comment
Dear Mark (UK),
How are you? Long time, no see! Thanks for appreciating my work. Your constructive statements here put to shame those like GIRLS SP who cannot seem to see through the thicket.
You have given a good summ ...
read full comment
When Francis sits down to write, I wonder the flurry of ideas which bombard his focus in nano-seconds. A mathematician turned an artist, I wonder how many novels he has read which have turned his head. He lists bizarre and un ...
read full comment
Dear Kweku Donsuro,
These essays have nothing to do with any individual. I have said repeatedly that the "scholar" is a creatve invention, a fictional character. I want to assure you that I spend quality time thinking and ...
read full comment
You write:
Man of the People by Cyprian Ekwensi..
FYI, that novel is by Chinua Achebe.
Perhaps Kwarteng's articles are more marked by the authors he has NOT mentioned than by those he has mentioned. There's hardly a book you can mention that he has not read.
It is clear that the man is a voracious reader wh ...
read full comment
The scholar is so narrow-minded he can see through a keyhole with two eyes.He is content with his over 20 worse than useless books.He despises the Scarab-Beetle because he is more articulate,intelligent,patriotic and more of ...
read full comment
My simple question is this, what is the writer of this piece aiming at?? What is the import of this piece? Hmmmmmm,
Thank you.
Maybe some of you who understand what Kwarteng writes must try and summarise it for us. I really do not understand his language or what he wants to carry across. Can anybody close to him advise him to be simpler in his delive ...
read full comment
How do you expect to understand a mental deranged person like Kwarteng?
Painstakingly read and you'll grasp it all.
Dear YAW,
Thanks for a perfect summary of this essay. Wow!
YAW, I will not allow you to kill me with laughter. You made me laugh to death when I read your comment attached to Part 2 of "Fate of A Misguided Scholar." So ...
read full comment