Chambi:
Out of curiosity, a very good friend drew my attention to your posting, which is sensationally captioned above. I also went ahead to click on the write-up you posted about Kalliney's work (as further explained), which included the following quoted unfortunate and sad allegation:
"The CIA was the most active and influential patron of African Anglophone literature during the 1960s. Kalliney's work examines the cultural organizations, magazines, and intellectuals that the CIA funded through its European affiliate, the Congress for Cultural Freedom. Kalliney shows that CIA monies reached nearly all the Anglophone African intellectuals of the day: Chinua Achebe, Ngugi wa Thiong'o, Wole Soyinka, Rajat Neogy, and many others. Of historical importance, he says, is that the real source of the funding was hidden from the recipients."
Thank God that some of us were too young to have benefitted from the alleged CIA largesse. However, my worry is that if the named Anglophone intellectuals or writers did not know that the purported (or alleged) sponsorship of their works was by Congress for Cultural Freedom as a front for CIA "monies", then why bother to mention it that way? For example, as founder and publisher of Transition Magazine in Uganda, Rajat Neogy allegedly benefitted from the support of the said Congress, hence the publication thrived for a while, and he did not hide the Congress' support. If so, did he necessarily know that the funds (or "monies") came from the CIA?
Through my active membership in International P.E.N. writers' organization, which has for many years had its international headquarters in the UK, I got to know some of these writers very well. Considering them to be men and women of the highest integrity, they would have kicked heavily against whatever funding they received from the Congress if they knew that it was a CIA-funding conduit. But was it not also a fact that other foreign intelligence agencies (including the KGB) was also active at the same time in similar ways? Who is investigating that part of foreign funding for socialist-oriented Anglophone or even Francophone writers?
A.B. Assensoh.
.
Sent: Monday, February 09, 2015 7:33 AM
To: Wanazuoni
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Why would the CIA support a generation of African intellectuals?
From:
Date: Fri, Feb 6, 2015 at 12:07 PM
Subject: Fyi: a lecture of interest?--Modernism, African Literature and the CIA
To:FYINational Press Club Press Freedom CommitteeThe Library of Congress > Blogs > Insights: Scholarly Work at the John W. Kluge Center > Modernism, African Literature and the CIATop of FormSearchGoBottom of FormModernism, African Literature and the CIAFebruary 5, 2015 by Travis HensleyIn 2012 and 2013, Dr. Peter Kalliney was a Visiting Fellow at The John W. Kluge Center.Currently the William J. Tuggle Chair in English at the University of Kentucky, during his tenure at the Kluge Center, Kalliney used the Library of Congress collections to research a project entitled, "Commonwealth of Letters: British Literary Culture and the Emergence of Postcolonial Aesthetics," published as a book in 2013 by Oxford University Press.Dr. Kalliney's work focuses on cultural institutions of the English-speaking world. During his research at the Library of Congress, he learned of the Central Intelligence Agency's covert funding of African writing during the Cold War.The CIA was the most active and influential patron of African Anglophone literature during the 1960s. Kalliney's work examines the cultural organizations, magazines, and intellectuals that the CIA funded through its European affiliate, the Congress for Cultural Freedom. Kalliney shows that CIA monies reached nearly all the Anglophone African intellectuals of the day: Chinua Achebe, Ngugi wa Thiong'o, Wole Soyinka, Rajat Neogy, and many others. Of historical importance, he says, is that the real source of the funding was hidden from the recipients.Why would the CIA support a generation of African intellectuals? In his final lecture delivered at the Kluge Center, Kalliney offers his insights, borne from his research at the Library of Congress. He also offers his ideas on the evolution of modernism during this period, and how, in Kalliney's words, "modernism would become attached to and dependent upon the health of literary culture in the decolonizing world." It is a history many people are unfamiliar with: covert action, the struggle for global dominance, and a decolonizing continent setting trends in the global evolution of English literature.Kalliney's lecture, embedded below, tells this captivating story of Africa during the 1960's. An essay drawn from this work, entitled "Modernism, African Literature, and the Cold War," will be published in Modern Language Quarterly in fall 2015.Click video to playPosted in: Government, History, Literature, PoliticsAdd a CommentThis blog is governed by the general rules of respectful civil discourse. You are fully responsible for everything that you post. The content of all comments is released into the public domain unless clearly stated otherwise. The Library of Congress does not control the content posted. Nevertheless, the Library of Congress may monitor any user-generated content as it chooses and reserves the right to remove content for any reason whatever, without consent. Gratuitous links to sites are viewed as spam and may result in removed comments. We further reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to remove a user's privilege to post content on the Library site. Read our Comment and Posting Policy.Top of FormRequired fields are indicated with an * asterisk.* Name (no commercial URLs)* Email (will not be published)* CommentBottom of FormTop of FormSearchGoBottom of FormCategoriesArchivesFind the Kluge Center on:DisclaimerThis blog does not represent official Library of Congress communications.Links to external Internet sites on Library of Congress Web pages do not constitute the Library's endorsement of the content of their Web sites or of their policies or products. Please read our Standard Disclaimer.Connect with the LibraryFind Us On
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