The Word Behind Bars and the Paradox of Exile

Book excerpt: The Word Behind Bars and the Paradox of Exile grew out of a workshop that brought together a group of African writers, including many who suffered imprisonment in their home countries and/or exile abroad. For some, the workshop prompted their first attempt to write about their experiences and to compare them with others whose life and art had come under similar constraints. This collection represents their assessments--in prose, poetry, and drama--of the many facets of the exile experience. The papers are as graphic, eloquent, and thought-provoking as they are varied in their subject matter and mode of communication. A powerful fusion of the personal and the political, The Word Behind Bars and the Paradox of Exile offers a timely perspective on conditions of literary production in many parts of Africa today.