Explorations in Sights and Sounds
Orginal Publication Date
1986
Journal Title
Explorations in Sights and Sounds
Volume
6
Issue
ess/vol6/iss1
First Page
55
Last Page
56
Abstract
The sub-title of this enigmatic book is "A Study of the Influence of Marxism on African Writing." The first of the two parts of the books deals primarily with definitions of Marxist aesthetics. For a serious work, not only are the cliches and terminology tiresome but the choice of quotations is unfortunate. Ngara quotes Marx's and Engel's opinion that Dickens, Thackeray, Emily Bronte and Gaskell wrote novels "whose graphic and eloquent pages have issued to the world more political and social truths than have been uttered by all the professional politicians, publicists and moralists put together." Ngara adds a pronouncement from Mao Tse-Tung on art and literature: " ... all literature and art belong to definite political lines. There is in fact, no such thing as art for art's sake .... " Commitment is all.
Rights
Copyright, ©EES, The National Association for Ethnic Studies, 1986