Frank Kobina Parkes
Encyclopedia
Frank Kobina Parkes was a Ghanaian journalist, broadcaster and poet. He was the author of one book, Songs from the Wilderness (University of London Press, 1965), but is widely anthologised and is perhaps best known for his poem African Heaven, which echoes the title of Carl Van Vechten's
controversial 1926 novel, Nigger Heaven, and was selected by Langston Hughes
for inclusion in the groundbreaking anthology of African writing An African Treasury. Parkes' poetic style, an intelligent, rhythmic free verse brimming with confidence and undercut with humour is believed to owe much to the Senegalese poet David Diop
, one of the pioneers of the negritude
movement.
to a wealthy pharmacist, a settler from Sierra Leone, and an indigene from the Central Region of Ghana. He was educated in Accra and Cape Coast (where he attended Adisadel College) in Ghana, and Freetown, Sierra Leone and worked briefly as a newspaper reporter and editor before joining the staff of Radio Ghana in 1955 as a broadcaster. A precociously intelligent young man, he continued to pursue his interest in literature and storytelling, occasionally contributing to the BBC's African Writers Club radio show and even dabbling as an actor in London, appearing in a stage version of 'Waiting for Wanda' in the early 1960s before it was produced for TV by the BBC. Parkes also worked as a speech writer for Kwame Nkrumah
, Ghana's first president, and later worked at NAFTI (Ghana's Film and Television Institute). He was later president of the Ghana Society of Writers and in the 1970s he worked for the Ghanaian Ministry of Information in Accra. In 1967 he wrote and presented the BBC radio portrait of the American poet Langston Hughes
, who had been instrumental in Parkes' rise to recognition outside of Ghana. Parkes worked in film for much of his later life and died in Accra in May 2004.
Carl van Vechten
Carl Van Vechten was an American writer and photographer who was a patron of the Harlem Renaissance and the literary executor of Gertrude Stein.-Biography:...
controversial 1926 novel, Nigger Heaven, and was selected by Langston Hughes
Langston Hughes
James Mercer Langston Hughes was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist. He was one of the earliest innovators of the then-new literary art form jazz poetry. Hughes is best known for his work during the Harlem Renaissance...
for inclusion in the groundbreaking anthology of African writing An African Treasury. Parkes' poetic style, an intelligent, rhythmic free verse brimming with confidence and undercut with humour is believed to owe much to the Senegalese poet David Diop
David Diop
David Mandessi Diop was one of the most promising French West African poets known for his contribution to the Négritude literary movement. His work reflects his hatred of colonial rulers and his hope for an independent Africa....
, one of the pioneers of the negritude
Négritude
Négritude is a literary and ideological movement, developed by francophone black intellectuals, writers, and politiciansin France in the 1930s by a group that included the future Senegalese President Léopold Sédar Senghor, Martinican poet Aimé Césaire, and the Guianan Léon Damas.The Négritude...
movement.
Life
Francis Ernest Kobina Parkes was born in 1932 at Korle Bu, Gold CoastGhana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
to a wealthy pharmacist, a settler from Sierra Leone, and an indigene from the Central Region of Ghana. He was educated in Accra and Cape Coast (where he attended Adisadel College) in Ghana, and Freetown, Sierra Leone and worked briefly as a newspaper reporter and editor before joining the staff of Radio Ghana in 1955 as a broadcaster. A precociously intelligent young man, he continued to pursue his interest in literature and storytelling, occasionally contributing to the BBC's African Writers Club radio show and even dabbling as an actor in London, appearing in a stage version of 'Waiting for Wanda' in the early 1960s before it was produced for TV by the BBC. Parkes also worked as a speech writer for Kwame Nkrumah
Kwame Nkrumah
Kwame Nkrumah was the leader of Ghana and its predecessor state, the Gold Coast, from 1952 to 1966. Overseeing the nation's independence from British colonial rule in 1957, Nkrumah was the first President of Ghana and the first Prime Minister of Ghana...
, Ghana's first president, and later worked at NAFTI (Ghana's Film and Television Institute). He was later president of the Ghana Society of Writers and in the 1970s he worked for the Ghanaian Ministry of Information in Accra. In 1967 he wrote and presented the BBC radio portrait of the American poet Langston Hughes
Langston Hughes
James Mercer Langston Hughes was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist. He was one of the earliest innovators of the then-new literary art form jazz poetry. Hughes is best known for his work during the Harlem Renaissance...
, who had been instrumental in Parkes' rise to recognition outside of Ghana. Parkes worked in film for much of his later life and died in Accra in May 2004.