UNVEILING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF AMA ATA AIDOO: TOYIN FALOLA INTERVIEWS AND PAWA HOST PANEL DISCUSSION
By Wole Adedoyin
The Toyin Falola Interviews, in collaboration with the Pan African Writers Association (PAWA), is thrilled to announce a highly anticipated panel discussion on the life and legacy of Ama Ata Aidoo, the renowned Ghanaian author, poet, playwright, politician, and academic. This insightful event will take place on Sunday, July 2, 2023, at 4:00 PM in Ghana, 5:00 PM in Nigeria, and 11:00 AM in Austin CST.
Ama Ata Aidoo, who was born on March 23, 1942, and sadly passed away on May 31, 2023, played a pivotal role in African literature. She made history as the first published female African dramatist with her groundbreaking play, The Dilemma of a Ghost, which was published in 1965. Additionally, Aidoo's novel Changes earned her the prestigious Commonwealth Writers' Prize in 1992. In recognition of her remarkable contributions to African literature, she established the Mbaasem Foundation in Accra in 2000, aimed at promoting and supporting the work of African women writers.
This panel discussion aims to honor Ama Ata Aidoo's extraordinary life and the lasting impact she has had on the literary world. The event will be an opportunity for participants to gain insights into Aidoo's unique perspective, creative process, and political activism. Through engaging discussions and personal anecdotes, the panelists will shed light on Aidoo's works, her cultural influence, and the ways in which she shaped African literature.
The esteemed panel of discussion will feature prominent individuals who have been deeply influenced by Aidoo's work and have a profound understanding of her contributions. Among the distinguished panelists are Dr. Akwasi Aidoo, Bisi Adjapon, Ashraf Aboul-Yazid, H.E. Abena P A Busia, and Prof. Peter Amuka. Their diverse backgrounds and expertise will provide a comprehensive exploration of Aidoo's life and legacy, allowing participants to gain a multifaceted understanding of her impact.
In addition to the panel discussion, the event will feature a captivating performance by Oswald Okaitei, a talented artist whose work resonates with Aidoo's themes and artistic vision. His performance will add a unique dimension to the event, showcasing the profound influence that Aidoo's works have had on various art forms.
To participate in this enlightening panel discussion and celebrate the life and legacy of Ama Ata Aidoo, interested individuals can register and watch the event through the Toyin Falola Interviews website at [https://www.tfinterviews.com/post/ama-ata-aidoo]. The event will also be accessible via Zoom at [https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86580894258].
The Toyin Falola Interviews and PAWA are excited to bring together a diverse community of literature enthusiasts, scholars, and creatives to honor the exceptional contributions of Ama Ata Aidoo. This panel discussion promises to be a memorable and enriching experience, providing participants with a deeper understanding of Aidoo's impact on African literature and her enduring legacy.
Below are the profiles of the Panelists
DR. AKWASI AIDOO is a philanthropy professional and a creative writer. He is currently a Senior Fellow at Humanity United, and was the founding Executive Director of TrustAfrica – a foundation dedicated to promoting equitable development, social justice, movement building and democracy in Africa. Dr. Aidoo currently serves on the Boards of several international organizations including Human Rights Watch, International Development Research Centre, and the Centre on African Philanthropy and Social Investment at Wits Business School at the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa. In the 1970s and 1980s, Dr. Aidoo taught at universities in Ghana, Tanzania, and the United States. He was educated in Ghana and the United States and received a Doctor of Philosophy degree in medical sociology from the University of Connecticut in 1985.
BISI ADJAPON is the author of the critically acclaimed novels, Daughter in Exile (Harper Collins, 2023) and The Teller of Secrets (Harper Collins, 2021), The latter, her debut, has been named a best book by The American Library Association, Washington Post, Boston Globe, Globe and Mail (Canada), Pop Sugar, Essence, and Ms Magazine. The short story version, Of Women and Frogs, was nominated for the Caine Prize.
Her second novel, Daughter in Exile, is a New Yorker Magazine and Amazon Editors' Best Book, and has received starred reviews from many publications including Publishers Weekly, American Library Association's Booklist, Library Journal, Book Browse, and World Literature Today. It has also been listed a must-read by The Root and Essence. Adjapon's writings have appeared in journals and newspapers including The Guardian, McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, The Sun Magazine, Aljazeera, New York Times, Washington Times and Brittle Paper.
A former International Affairs Specialist for the US Foreign Agricultural Service, she won the Civil Rights Award for Human Relations. As an educator, she won An Excellence in Teaching Award in Fairfax County, Virginia. For four years, she was Artistic Director of the Young Shakespeare Company in Washington. Now she is a fulltime writer, dividing her time between the United States and Ghana.
ASHRAF ABOUL-YAZID (1963): He worked in Cultural Journalism for more than 35 years. He authored and translated 42 books. An anthology of his poetry books, A street in Cairo, The memory of Butterflies, The Memory of Silence, and The Whisper of the Sea and The Shells, has been published in English, Sindhi, German, Russian, Persian, Turkish and Spanish. He is the President, Asia Journalist Association, Editor in Chief, THE SILK ROAD LITERATURE SERIES. Of his awards: Grand Manhae Prize in Literature, Korea (2014), Arab Journalism Award in Culture, UAE (2015), The Gold Medal in LIFFT Eurasian Literary Festival, Turkey (2021) and Sawiris Cultural Award, Children Literature, Egypt (2023).
H.E. ABENA P A BUSIA is a Ghanaian diplomat and internationally known poet, H.E. Abena P. A. Busia, currently serving as her country’s Ambassador to Brazil, is a Professor Emerita, having served forty years in the Departments of English and Women’s & Gender Studies and Comparative Literature at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.
She has received Fellowships and awards from numerous organizations, including the Rockefeller, Fulbright and Ford Foundations, and the Rutgers University President’s Award for Distinguished Public Service.
She has published widely, lectured extensively, and taught workshops and masterclasses on curriculum transformation, around the world, in the areas of gender, race, and multi-cultural studies.
She is a Founding Board member of several international organizations including the Busia Foundation for which she serves as International Liaison Officer, the African Women’s Development Fund [AWDF] for which she served as the founding Program Committee Chair and AWD Fund-USA for which she served as Executive Chair.
She is also one of the three Project co-directors and series editors of the award winning four volume Women Writing Africa project, published by the Feminist Press 2002-2008.
Ambassador Busia has given numerous interviews and poetry readings on radio, performed and read at conferences, universities, churches and poetry and Jazz festivals around Europe, North America, and West Africa, including the celebrated New Orleans Jazz Festival and the welcoming ceremonies for Nelson Mandela on the steps of City Hall, Los Angeles.
First published by the late Chinua Achebe, her poetry has appeared in various anthologies and magazines on three continents, in West Africa, North America, and Europe.
As a board member of the Women’s Learning Partnership, a South-South network of women’s organizations dedicated to women’s leadership and empowerment, she is the curator of “Lifelines: The Poetry of Human Rights” presenting readings annually at the UN Commission on the Status of Women and other NGO fora.
PROF PETER AMUKA is a Kenyan Professor of Comparative Literature. He holds a PhD in Comparative Literature from the University of California, Los Angeles, MA and BA degrees in Literature from University of Nairobi. He was a Research Fellow/Lecturer at the Institute of African Studies until 1987 when he moved to Moi University.
Currently he is a Professor of Comparative Literature at Kibabii University in Bungoma, Kenya.
Prof. Amuka has over 40 publications comprising book reviews, feature articles, critical essays and book chapters in African oral and written literatures and short fiction. In 2021, he published a novella, WANJIRA and her HITLERS.
OSWALD OKAITEI is a young multi-award winning Ghanaian poet, spoken word artiste, playwright, Storyteller and a ‘creative artpreneur’. He has been featured on many national and international platforms and shared stage with poetry/spoken word legends as Muta Baruka, Prof. Atukwei Okai, Prof. Kofi Anyidoho, Rocky Dawuni among others.
Oswald represented Ghana at the 2016 Storymoja Festival in Nairobi, Kenya and at the Babishai Poetry Festival in Kampala, Uganda in 2015 and 2016 as a Resource Person and an Artiste.
In 2016, he was adjudged the Pan-African Poet/Spoken word artiste in Ghana. Other awards received by Okaitei include World Poetry Empowered Poet 2013 & World Poetry Theatre Ambassador award 2014 [by the World Poetry & Canada International] and the Pentasi B. Inspirational Poet Award 2015 [by Pentasi B. World Poetry Friendship International in Philippines]. Oswald Okaitei is currently the Organising Secretary of the Ghana Assoc of Writers
