Product Description

Nobel Laureate in Literature Wole Soyinka considers all of Africa--indeed, all the world--as he poses this question: once repression stops, is reconciliation between oppressor and victim possible? In the face of centuries-long devastation wrought on the African continent and her Diaspora by slavery, colonialism, Apartheid, and the manifold faces of racism, what form of recompense could possibly suffice? In a voice as eloquent and humane as it is forceful, Soyinka boldly challenges in thesepages the notions of simple forgiveness, confession, and absolution as strategies for social healing. Ultimately, he turns to art--poetry, music, painting, etc.--as the one source that can nourish the seed of reconciliation: art is the generous vessel that can hold together the burden of memory and the hope of forgiveness. Based on Soyinka's Stewart-McMillan lectures delivered at the DuBois Institute at Harvard, The Burden of Memory speaks not only to those concerned specifically with African politics, but also to anyone seeking the path to social justice through some of history's most inhospitable terrain.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #671176 in Books
• Published on: 1999-12-15
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .56 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

From Amazon.com
When a book begins with a statement such as "In the 1992 presidential elections, it would appear that the United States stood a reasonable chance of acquiring a new president in the person of a certain Mr. David Duke," a reader must wonder if the author is being deliberately alarmist or has simply lost contact with reality. (After all, Duke had little national credibility, and even his campaigns in his home state of Louisiana could best be described as highly problematic.) On matters concerning his native Nigeria, and on the rest of the African nations, Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka is perhaps more reliable, albeit still somewhat longwinded. The Burden of Memory is based on a set of lectures Soyinka gave at the W.E.B. Dubois Institute and faithfully preserves their highly academic orality, whether he is advocating massive reparations for the people of Africa for the historical injustices to which they have been subject, or using literary criticism to explore the ways in which Africans have been willing to "forgive" Westerners in the hopes of assimilating into the culture that formerly treated them as vassals.

From Booklist
In three essays, Nobel laureate Soyinka examines Africa's recent history and the ways African and other countries have dealt with horrendous crimes against humanity. Like his Open Sore of a Continent (1996), this work is based on lectures at Harvard University's W. E. B. DuBois Institute. The first essay, "Reparations, Truth, and Reconciliation," deals most directly with the issues Tina Rosenberg addressed in her prizewinning study of post-Communist Eastern Europe, The Haunted Land: "How on earth does one reconcile reparations, or recompense, with reconciliation, or remission of wrongs?" Although Soyinka respects the generosity of spirit behind South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, he points out that failure to demand restitution may build an expectation of impunity that can only encourage further crimes. In the essays "L. S. Senghor and Negritude" and "Negritude and the Gods of Equity," Soyinka examines the response of writers with African roots to the effects of slavery and colonialism as well as to the cruelties imposed on Africans by many of their own postcolonial leaders. Mary Carroll

Review
"Robust with extensive allusions to politics, religion, history, and, of course, literature....Soyinka's quest in this book is for true restitution for all the moral and material wrongs done to Africa, whether through slavery or colonialism, whether by the West or the East."--San Francisco Examiner and Chronicle

"Daunting and worthwhile....Soyinka's view through the microscope at the end of the Petri dish that is Africa is, in itself, important....It is a book that forces you to read each sentence, drink it, absorb it and move to the next."--ForeWord

"Wole Soyinka's distinction as a writer and his courage as a spokesperson for democracy in Africa are unparalleled. With a vast cultural perspective enriched with poetic resonance, Soyinka stages here a dramatic representation of existence."--Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Harvard University

"Powerful."--Kirkus

"The Burden of Memory, the Muse of Forgiveness offers a moving and eloquent look at a handful of African nations once torn by repression."--America

"Soyinka's arguments, delivered with furious eloquence, are wide in scope and should be taken seriously."--San Diego Union-Tribune

"Soyinka is at all times provocative, engaging and enthusiastic in his journey to discovery. Soyinka challenges the readers with ideas, questions and continued searching as he explores the future of Africa with a close eye on its past. The Burden of Memory, the Muse of Forgiveness serves up important reminders in rebuilding nations and the spirits of its citizens." --Jason Zappe, Syndicated

"Inspiring and original....Soyinka's analysis of the 20th century problem of memory and forgiveness in the African world is both timely and important. Soyinka's analysis of the problem is an initial volley in what will surely become a 21st-century debate." --Caryl Phillips, New York Times Book Review