Ezekiel Mphahlele (1919–2008)
Author of Down Second Avenue
About the Author
Works by Ezekiel Mphahlele
Es'kia: Es'kia Mphahlele on Education, African Humanism and Culture, Social Consciousness, Literary Appreciation (2003) 2 copies
In Corner B (Penguin Classics) 2 copies
Es'kia continued : literary appreciation, education, African humanism & culture, social consciousness (2005) 1 copy
A Guide to Creative Writing 1 copy
Associated Works
A Writer in Stone: South African Writers Celebrate the 70th Birthday of Lionel Abrahams (1998) — Foreword — 4 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1919-12-17
- Date of death
- 2008-10-27
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- South Africa
- Places of residence
- Marabastad, Pretoria, South Africa (birth)
Lesotho
Nigeria
Kenya
Zambia
France (show all 10)
Denver, Colorado, USA
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Johannesburg, South Africa
Lebowakgomo, South Africa - Education
- University of South Africa (BA|English Literature)
University of South Africa (MA|English Literature)
University of Denver (PhD|Philosophy)
Adams Teachers Training College - Occupations
- academic
novelist
essayist
short-story writer
teacher - Organizations
- University of Pennsylvania
University of the Witwatersrand - Awards and honors
- Order of the Southern Cross (South Africa)
Ordre des Palmes Académiques (1986)
South African Literary Award Lifetime Achievement (2005)
Members
Reviews
Lists
Awards
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 18
- Also by
- 9
- Members
- 359
- Popularity
- #66,805
- Rating
- 3.8
- Reviews
- 4
- ISBNs
- 43
- Languages
- 1
Trust me, I have not spoiled the plot; the facts given above are all revealed quite early in the book.
The three sections are bracketed by chorus-like comic passages involving two refugee prisoners, from Zimbabwe and South Africa. Sometimes they converse with their visitors, Moyo or a South African teacher called Studs Letanka. The tale is set in a fictionalized Malawi immediately before and after independence, in the 1950s and '60s. There is a python motif throughout the book. The characters come from a kaleidoscope of ethnic groups: Bemba, Lozi, Tumbuka, Tonga [Chi]Nyanja, etc. History is invoked, and there are memories of wars with Ngoni and with Yao slave raiders. Studs Letanka says:
That’s a good sample of Mphahlele’s loquacious, unpolished, introspective style. This is a book of thoughts and anxieties about the future.… (more)