Bediako Asare

Bediako Asare (born 1930) is a Ghanaian journalist and author, initially from Ghana. He began his career working on local newspapers, then relocated to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in 1963,^[1] to help launch The Nationalist newspaper.

In 1969 he published his novel Rebel, about the conflict between traditional ways and modernity in Sub-Saharan Africa.^[2][3] Writing in Africa Report, Sheila Wilson said of The Rebel: "The story is simple and the language unpretentious, and the impact of change and hope gives strength and quality to the novel."^[4] Asare's novel The Stubborn was published in Nairobi in 1976. Stephen H. Arnold, reviewing it in the African Book Publishing Record, noted that its intended audience was "15-18 year olds of East African ruling classes" and that: "The main themes are science versus superstition and the value of counsel from elders."^[4]

Works

• Bediako, K.A. (1966). Don't leave me mercy: Echoes from Owusu's marriage life. Accra: Anowuo Educational Publications.
• Bediako, K.A. (1966). The downfall of Kwame Nkrumah. Accra: Anowuo Educational Publications.
• Bediako, K.A. (1967). A husband for Esi Ellua. Accra: Anowuo Educational Publications.
• Bediako, K.A. (1969). Rebel. London: Heinemann Educational Books, (African Writers Series 59).
• Bediako, K.A. (1972). Mwasi (in Swahili). Nairobi: Heinemann Educational Books.
• Bediako, K.A. (1975). Majuto (in Swahili). Dar es Salaam: East African Literature Bureau.
• Bediako, K.A. (1976). The Stubborn. Nairobi: East African Literature Bureau.

References

1. Chris Kwame Awuyah, "Bediako Asare (1930–)", in Eugene Benson and L. W. Conolly (eds), Encyclopedia of Post-Colonial Literatures in English, Routledge, 2004, p. 69.
2. O. R. Dathorne, The Black Mind: a history of African literature, University of Minnesota Press, 1974, pp. 196–197.
3. Albert S. Gérard, European-Language Writing in Sub-Saharan Africa, Vol. 2, John Benjamins Publishing Company, 1986, pp. 829ff.
4. "Asare, Bediako", in Hans M. Zell, Carol Bundy & Virginia Coulon (eds), A New Reader's Guide to African Literature, Heinemann Educational Books, 1983, p. 130.