This Earth, My Brother
In this debut novel, Kofi Awoonor brilliantly interweaves poetry and allegory into a profound tale of social corruption in post-colonial Ghana.
Rooted in the African oral tradition, This Earth, My Brother paints a picture of post-independent Ghana through two distinctive narratives. In the first strand, we find Amamu, a young lawyer struggling to come to terms with his place amongst the new Ghanaian elite. Frustrated by the debauchery of his peers, and the misery engulfing the country, he decides to leave. During his journey across Europe, Amamu is gripped with a different kind of spiritual alienation – one that he can’t run away from.
Bridging the gaps between Amamu’s story are chapters of rich prose poetry that tell an allegorical tale of new Ghana. From religious suffering to mermaids, Kofi Awoonor lyrically captures the inner workings of a man’s disturbed conscience and the conflicting realities of Ghana’s independence.
'Wonderfully musical prose.' Guardian
'A great and powerful literary personality.' Auma Obama
Kofi Awoonor was a renowned poet, novelist, professor, and diplomat born in the Volta Region of Ghana in 1935. Awoonor was one of the first writers to gain global recognition after Ghana's independence. His poems such as 'Songs of Sorrow' have been required reading for several generations of Ghanaian students. In 1989, he won the Commonwealth poetry award and, in 1991, he received the Ghana Association of Writers distinguished authors award.
Awoonor was Ghana's Permanent Representative to the United Nations from 1990 to 1994, where he headed the committee against apartheid. He also served as Chairman of the Council of State until 2013 and taught as a professor of African literature at the University of Ghana.
Kofi Awoonor was among those tragically killed in a terrorist attack by Somali militants while on his way to speak at the 2013 Storymoja Hay Festival. Awoonor's death sparked an international outpouring of tributes from authors and poets celebrating the significance of his work.