Critical Perspectives on Dennis Brutus

Poet, activist, teacher, and scholar, Dennis Brutus is one of the foremost names in African literature—as a creative force, a cultural influence, and a personality. Exploring Brutus's life and writings, this collection opens with a biographical introduction to his "art and activism," covering his childhood, his university days, his arrest and imprisonment in 1964–1965, his years in exile, and his eventual return to South Africa in 1991. Subsequent essays focus on Brutus's poetry, though his politics are not ignored, and several pieces are personal accounts of meetings with the writer. The book includes an interview with Brutus and an annotated bibliography.