Ayi Kwei Armah: through the lens of an ‘Engaged Writer'

Abstract

After publishing the first novel The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born (1968), Ayi Kwei Armah, a Ghanaian novelist was embroiled into controversy because of his outspoken nature that challenges the conventional African literary canon. His critique of post-independence disillusionment in Ghana that delves into political corruption and social turmoil receives both negative and positive connotations. Hence while critiquing Armah, critics choose to analyse his contributions through two distinct manners. Some critics critically examine Armah’s works and praise his innovative narrative style but disapprove his direct criticism of post-independence “Ghanaian” society and political leaders. That leads him to be categorized as an “alienated writer”. However, the reception of his contributions has been positive to some critics who argue, his fictions add profound and tremendous dimensions to the African literary canon. Thus, the primary goal of this paper is to provide a critical analysis of Armah’s explicit language and critique of the socio-political disarray in two of his early novels The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born (1968) and Fragments (1970) that align Armah with Jean Paul Sartre’s idea of an “engaged writer.”