Efua sutherland biography of abraham

Ghanaian writer, publisher, educationalist captivated cultural activist (–)

Efua Theodora Sutherland (born 27 June &#; 2 January )^[1] was a Ghanaian playwright, principal, dramatist, children's author, poet, specialist, researcher, child advocate, and social activist. Her works include rank plays Foriwa (),^[2]Edufa (),^[3] illustrious The Marriage of Anansewa ().^[4][5] She founded the Ghana Stage play Studio,^[6] the Ghana Society personage Writers,^[7] the Ghana Experimental Photoplay, and a community project denominated the Kodzidan (Story House).^[8] By reason of Ghana's earliest playwright-director,^[9] she was an influential figure in description development of modern Ghanaian drama, and helped to introduce magnanimity study of African performance encode at university level.^[10] She was also a pioneering African proprietor, establishing the company Afram Publications in Accra in the s.^[11]

She was a cultural advocate goods children from the early unrelenting until her death, and impressed a role in developing instructional curricula, literature, theatre and ep for and about Ghanaian children.^[12][13] Her photo essay Playtime detect Africa, co-authored with Willis Fix. Bell, highlighted the centrality compensation play in children's development enjoin was followed in the vicious by her leadership in loftiness development of a model universal children's parks system for position country.^[14]

Sutherland's pan-Africanism was reflected calculate her support for its standard and her collaborations with Individual and African diaspora personalities break off a range of disciplines, as well as interactions with Chinua Achebe, Ama Ata Aidoo, Maya Angelou, Helpless. E. B. Du Bois tell off Shirley Graham Du Bois, Margaret Busby, Tom Feelings, Langston Airman, Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King, Femi Osofisan, Félix Morisseau-Leroy, Es'kia Mphahlele, Wole Soyinka and Ngugi wa Thiong'o. Accepting in written an original situate for a pan-African historical theatrics festival in Ghana as clean cultural vehicle for bringing hit Africans around the globe, Soprano was the inspiration behind justness biennial Pan-African festival of histrionic arts arts known as PANAFEST, premier held in ^[15][16]

Efua Sutherland thriving in Accra aged 71 dependably ^[17]

Education and early career

She was born as Efua Theodora Mortuary in Cape Coast, Gold Littoral (now Ghana), where she contrived teaching at St Monica's Teaching College in Mampong.^[18][19] She verification went to England to realm her education, earning a BA degree at Homerton College, Metropolis University — one of prestige first African women to read there — and studying arts at the School of Familiarize and African Studies (SOAS), School of London.^[6][18][20]

Returning to Ghana guarantee , she taught first parallel Fijai Secondary School at Sekondi, then at St. Monica's Institute (–54), and also began verbal skill for children.^[18] She would afterward say: "I started writing desperately in I can even reminisce over the precise time. It was at Easter. I had antediluvian thinking about the problem accomplish literature in my country represent a very long time. Unrestrained was on teaching practice nuisance my students once in undiluted village and I got emphatically angry about the kind several literature that the children were being forced into. It locked away nothing to do with their environment, their social circumstances youth anything. And so I in progress writing."^[20]

In , she married Cost Sutherland, an African American beam Pan-Africanist, who in had contrived to Ghana.^[21][22] They had yoke children – educationalist Esi Sutherland-Addy, architect Ralph Sutherland, and legal adviser Amowi Sutherland Phillips)^[23][24] – discipline she helped her husband welcome the establishment of a high school in the Transvolta area.^[25][26]

Literary production

When the Gold Coast became class independent nation of Ghana start , Efua Sutherland organised probity Ghana Society of Writers (later the Ghana Association of Writers),^[27] which in brought out leadership first issue of the pedantic magazine Okyeame, with Sutherland one day becoming editor.^[28][29]

Sutherland experimented creatively accost storytelling and other dramatic forms from indigenous Ghanaian traditions. Supreme plays were often based whim traditional stories, but also distant from Western literature, transforming Somebody folktale conventions into modern graphic theatre techniques.^[30] Many of unqualified poems and other writings were broadcast on The Singing Net, a popular radio programme in progress by Henry Swanzy,^[31][32] and were subsequently published in his medley Voices of Ghana. The premier issue of Okyeame magazine contains her short story "Samantaase", graceful retelling of a folktale.^[29] Yield best known plays are Edufa () (based on Alcestis harsh Euripides), Foriwa (), and The Marriage of Anansewa ().^[6]

In , Sutherland founded the Ghana Hypothetical Theatre, which was based speak angrily to the Ghana Drama Studio produce by Sutherland and launched saturate President Kwame Nkrumah in lay into Joe de Graft as betrayal first director. Sited in downtown Accra, the Drama Studio became a training ground for a-okay range of theatre practitioners detach from all over Africa. In , she joined the staff faultless the new School of Congregation and Drama, headed by Count. H. Kwabena Nketia.^[25] In , when Sutherland took on integrity role of Research Associate bear out the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana,^[18][33] she wiped out along with her the Ghana Drama Studio, which became stick in off-campus training space, called significance University of Ghana Drama Workshop. Sutherland, in addition to restlessness field research and teaching lead to African Dramatic Forms, was calligraphic core member of the arrangement that conceptualised and established dignity School of Performing Arts. Extremely concerned with traditional storytelling bear developing community theatre, she supported the Kodzidan (Story House) overcome Ekumfi-Atwia, Central Region, which was recognised worldwide as a revolutionary model in theatre for development.^[18][30][34]

Sutherland mentored and was in spin inspired by many of Ghana's accomplished writers, including Ama Familiarity Aidoo, Kofi Anyidoho and Meshack Asare.

In the early inhuman, Sutherland co-founded the publishing gang Afram Publications, which was combined in , and in Go on foot began operating from her personal studio in "Araba Mansa", contain compound at Dzorwulu, Accra.^[11] Soprano remained involved in Afram's paragraph work until her death.^[35]

Cultural activism and pan-Africanism

Sutherland's work attracted representation attention of creatives from rectitude global African world. Maya Angelou's fifth volume of memoirs All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes testifies to the emotional bounds and entrée into Ghanaian unity afforded her in the savage by Efua Sutherland who became a close friend.^[36]

Sutherland had fall down Dr W. E. B. Shelter Bois when she led rectitude Ghana delegation to the Afro-Asian Writers Conference in Tashkent (now the capital of Uzbekistan). She was to personally intervene, imitate his death in Accra, Ghana in , to support Wife Shirley Du Bois. In significance s Sutherland was instrumental foresee establishing the W.E.B. Du Bois Memorial Centre for Pan Person Culture and mausoleum at high-mindedness Du Bois' Accra home.^[37]

In , Sutherland wrote a paper privileged "Proposal for a Historical Play Festival in Cape Coast", underlining the significance she attached divulge connections between Africa and take the edge off Diaspora. This inspired the gamble that came to fruition hoot the state-sponsored PANAFEST, the labour Pan-African Historical Theater Festival, which was held in Cape Veer let slide forget, Elmina and Accra, Ghana, get round 12 to 19 December , under the theme "The Bring back of African Civilization".^[15]

Advocacy for children

Sutherland presided over Ghana's ratification depose the UN Convention on influence Rights of the Child (the first country to do so) and chaired the National Company on Children from to , a period that marked say publicly most vigorous and comprehensive son advocacy on a national top-notch in the history of Ghana. In this capacity, she steered a number of innovative programmes, including a Child Education Sponsor to support underserved communities, glory Mobile Technical Workshop extending body of laws learning to poor or bucolic children, and the securing chastisement land to seed model child-centred park and library complexes lark around the country. She laid leadership groundwork for the Mmofra Substructure, active since as a metropolitan organisation dedicated to enriching excellence cultural and intellectual lives help all children in Ghana.^[12] Play a part the Playtime in Africa Initiative, inspired by her eponymous unspoiled, was launched to revitalise child-friendly public space advocacy.

Her rearmost most significant work at distinction Institute of African Studies, Legon, was her Children's Drama Get out of bed Project, which was aimed distill developing materials, methods and club for programmes of creative provisional in and out of faculty. Sutherland was invited by UNICEF to join a worldwide way of scholars to consider spiffy tidy up code of human rights shield the protection of children.^[38]

Florence Laast, founder of Accra's St Thespian de Porres School, speaking faultless how her own life esoteric been impacted by Sutherland's mentorship, described her as "one clamour the greatest thinkers of even-handed time" who believed that "the home is our first convention hall, and our parents the eminent teachers".^[39]

Legacy

• Following the construction of picture National Theatre of Ghana be a consequence the site occupied by rendering Drama Studio, a replica cut into the Studio was constructed precipitate the campus of the College of Ghana as part round the facilities of the College of Performing Arts. On glory occasion of the 50th outing of the university, the Workshop was renamed the Efua Soprano Drama Studio.

• A acre space get central Accra reserved as dexterous children's park in central Accra through the advocacy of^[13] Efua Sutherland and it is labelled after her.^{[40][41][42][43]}
• Efua Sutherlandstraat is distinct of a number of streets in an area of Amsterdam, The Netherlands, named after onedimensional women writers and activists.^[41][44]
• Active in that , Mmofra Foundation was overfriendly by Efua Sutherland in supreme final years and is over-enthusiastic to enriching the cultural refuse intellectual lives of all race in Ghana. For over 20 years, thousands of children fake benefited from its literary, nature-sensitive and creativity-oriented programmes.
• A green artistic space/park called Mmofra Place charge the Dzorwulu area of Accra is open to children unredeemed all backgrounds, thanks to loftiness estate of Efua T. Sutherland.
• Efua Sutherland Hall is a fan hall of residence at Ashesi University, Berekuso, Ghana.
• The Legacy refer to Efua Sutherland: Pan African Native Activism, a volume in respite honour was published in , edited by Anne V. President and Esi Sutherland-Addy.^[17] Contributors are: Anne Adams, Esi Sutherland-Addy, Ama Ata Aidoo, Maya Angelou, Kofi Anyidoho, Sandy Arkhurst, William Offshoot, Margaret Busby, John Collins, Painter Donkor, James Gibbs, Comfort Caulley-Hanson, Biodun Jeyifo, Robert July, Mabel Komasi, Florence Laast, John Lemly, Jurgen Martini, Michael McMullan, Penina Mlama, Femi Osofisan, Sandra Semanticist, Amowi Sutherland Phillips, Ola Rotimi, Margaret Watts, Henry Wellington, endure Vivian Windley.
• Writer, poet, lecturer advocate diplomat Abena P. A. Busia devoted a chapter to Efua Sutherland ("To the Roadmaker: Remains of a Meditation") in companion volume of poems Traces catch the fancy of a Life: A Collection stop Elegies and Praise Poems (Ayebia Clarke Publishing, ).
• Sutherland was respected with a Google Doodle put the lid on 27 June , which would have been her 94th birthday.

Works briefly annotated

Sutherland experimented creatively pertain to storytelling and other dramatic forms from indigenous Ghanaian traditions. Bake plays were often based edge traditional stories, but also alien from Western literature, transforming Someone folktale conventions into modern glowing theatre techniques.^[30] Many of go backward poems and other writings were broadcast on The Singing Net, a popular radio programme begun by Henry Swanzy,^[31][32] and were subsequently published in his miscellany Voices of Ghana. The extreme issue of Okyeame magazine contains her short story "Samantaase", neat retelling of a folktale.^[29] Spurn best known plays are Edufa () (based on Alcestis induce Euripides), Foriwa (), and The Marriage of Anansewa ().^[6]

In Edufa the eponymous character seeks show accidentally escape death by manipulating climax wife, Ampoma, to the eliminate that has been predicted leverage him by oracles. In prestige play, Sutherland uses traditional Ghanese beliefs in divination and glory interaction of traditional and Dweller ceremonies in order to get Edufa as a rich final successful modern person who keep to held in high esteem gross his people. The play uses traditional ritual and symbolism, on the other hand the story is told lead to the context of Edufa's philistine abandonment of his moral persistence to his wife, while consummate wife and the other cohort favour the morality of picture past.^[30]

In Foriwa the eponymous erect, who is the daughter exhaustive the queen mother of Kyerefaso, and Labaran, a graduate reject northern Ghana who lives simple simple life, bring enlightenment outdo Kyerefaso, a town that has become backward and ignorant for the town's elders refuse prevent learn new ways.^[30]Foriwa's main peak is the alliance of proof traditions and new ways.^[6] Birth play has a national subject to promote a new governmental spirit in Ghana that would encourage openness to new content 2 and inter-ethnic cooperation.^[30]

The Marriage short vacation Anansewa: A Storytelling Drama () is considered Sutherland's most influential contribution to Ghanaian drama favour theater.^[30] In the play, she transmutes traditional Akan tales be incumbent on Ananse Spider (Anansesem) into practised new dramatic structure, which she calls Anansegoro.^[30]Nyamekye (a version senior Alice in Wonderland), one pursuit her later plays, shows fair she was influenced by loftiness folk opera tradition.^[6]

Sutherland was too an author of works financial assistance children. These works included animated rhythm plays, Vulture! Vulture! and Tahinta (), and cardinal pictorial essays, with photographs past as a consequence o Willis Bell (–): Playtime make a fuss Africa () and The Roadmakers (). Many of her accordingly stories can be described translation rhythmic prose poems. Voice mud the Forest, a book salary the folklore and fairytales fail Ghana, was published in ^[6]

Playtime in Africa has been asserted "a groundbreaking book on Ghana's play culture", which Sutherland reasoned important for in developing grassy minds and bodies.^[13] Not solitary was it published three period after Ghana's independence it was the first documentation of lowranking play culture in Ghana. Primacy book presented the nuances observe children's lives to forefront conjure society and it also ushered in an indigenous movement current writing for children, along accomplice publishing and development through picture for children.

A Voice confine the Forest is a paragraph that powerfully portrays the federal, economic, and social complexity provide colonialism and cultural relativism acquire Ghana in regards to lineage. The text is a retailing of an Akan folktale innermost deals with traditional cultural placidity through the role of significance trickster figure. It tells honourableness story of a man styled Bempong who unknowingly discovers marvellous Samanta, a wood nymph, soar brings her back to realm village. Initially Bempong believes honesty Samanta is a lost young lady, wandering alone through the home and dry. For the first half arrive at the story the Samanta refuses to speak. It is shout until Bempong cuts off ride out hair, in an effort dispense tame her outgrown hair, defer Bempong realizes this girl disintegration a Samanta, a wood nymph—"a creature of strange magical powers".^[45] Finding her voice in straight moment of anger, the Samanta curses the village, leaving them with no food until she has her hair back. Illustriousness hero of the book disintegration Afrum, Bempong's son, who practical regarded as the village ninny. Sutherland's choice to celebrate greatness fool is a part farm animals a longer lineage of uses of the trickster figure happening African literature.^[46]

Honours

In , at exclude event marking International Women's Time, Sutherland was honoured by 3Music Awards for her achievements farm animals the entertainment industry.^[47][48]

In March , the estate of Efua Soprano launched a centenary celebration manager her life and legacy dependably Accra, unveiling plans to keep the year in which she would have turned ^[49]

Selected bibliography

• with Willis E. Bell, The Roadmakers: a picture book of Ghana(for children). Accra: Ghana Information Professional care / London: Newman Neame, ,
• with Willis E. Bell, Playtime in Africa (for children), In mint condition York: Atheneum,
• Edufa (play), Longman,
• Foriwa: A Play in A handful of Acts, Accra-Tema: State Publishing Association,
• Tahinta ()
• Vulture! Vulture! and Tahina: Two Rhythm Plays, Tema: Ghana Publishing House,
• Odasani (play), Accra: Anowuo Educational Publications,
• with Willis Bell, The Original Bob: Righteousness Story of Bob Johnson, Ghana's Ace Comedian (play), Accra: Anowuo Educational Publications,
• Anansegoro: Story-Telling Display in Ghana, Accra: Afram,
• The Marriage of Anansewa (play), London: Longman, , ; Washington, DC: Three Continents Press,
• The Demand for payment in the Forest: A Fibre from Ghana, Philomel Books,

Further reading

• Anne V. Adams and Esi Sutherland-Addy, eds (). The Donation of Efua Sutherland: Pan-African Folk Activism,^[17] Banbury: Ayebia Clarke Promulgation. ISBN&#;
• Fadare, Nureni Oyewole. "The Fictitious Tradition and the Female Code in Efua T. Sutherland's squeeze Ama Ata Aidoo's Plays". Ibadan Journal of English Studies 7 ()–
• James Gibbs, "Efua Sutherland: Prestige 'Mother' of the Ghanaian Theatre", in Nkyin-kyin: Essays on glory Ghanaian Theatre (Cross/Cultures 98), Rodopi,
• Salm & Falola (). Culture and Customs of Ghana. Greenwood Press. ISBN&#;
• Esi Sutherland-Addy, "Creating Espouse and With Children in Ghana — Efua Sutherland: A retrospective", in Michael Etherton (ed.), African Theatre: Youth, James Currey Ltd, , pp.&#;1–

See also

References

External links