Description
African Son is a record of the author's many trips to Africa-as a Peace Corps volunteer, Fulbright scholar, teacher, and traveler-over the course of thirty years. These personal essays range from sympathetic descriptions of village life in Senegal and Cameroon to detailed accounts of the rich physical and natural worlds in Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Madagascar to a mock-curriculum vitae for a Cameroonian man whose skill-set is surprisingly extensive. A work of creative non-fiction, African Son describes individual and, later, family experiences in a number of African locations, from villages to major urban centers and from desert to thick, tropical forest.
About the Author
William J. Hemminger teaches English and French at University of Evansville in southern Indiana. He is also a poet, translator, musician, composer, and gardener. After graduating from Columbia University, he served in Senegal as a Peace Corps volunteer. Hemminger earned a Ph.D. in 1988 and since then has worked in Madagascar and Cameroon under the auspices of the Fulbright Program.
Reviews
African Son is one of the best travelogues written about African. Its fifteen insightful, well-written, and well-organized essays tackle important social, cultural, and philosophical issues such as social inequities, cultural differences, man and nature, death, and spirituality. The book skillfully blends honesty and realism: the author's feelings and attitudes towards the people and the land, as well as his scathing satire of human flaws. These exciting essays are 'objective writing' that depicts Africa-its merits and demerits-as well as the Westerners' encounter with the continent. African Son is a great contribution to travel literature, African literature, and nature writing. -- Christine Djockoua Manyaka Toko, professor of American literature, University of Yaounde I
These vignettes of daily life in various African countries and the experiences of ex-patriots provide insights about human agency, which most textbooks fail to convey. This book would make a great supplementary text that would provoke thoughtful discussion so often missing in university classes. -- Richard Bradshaw
Book Information
ISBN 9780761858430
Author William J. Hemminger
Format Paperback
Page Count 104
Imprint University Press of America
Publisher University Press of America
Weight(grams) 172g
Dimensions(mm) 225mm * 152mm * 7mm
About the Author
William J. Hemminger teaches English and French at University of Evansville in southern Indiana. He is also a poet, translator, musician, composer, and gardener. After graduating from Columbia University, he served in Senegal as a Peace Corps volunteer. Hemminger earned a Ph.D. in 1988 and since then has worked in Madagascar and Cameroon under the auspices of the Fulbright Program.
Reviews
African Son is one of the best travelogues written about African. Its fifteen insightful, well-written, and well-organized essays tackle important social, cultural, and philosophical issues such as social inequities, cultural differences, man and nature, death, and spirituality. The book skillfully blends honesty and realism: the author's feelings and attitudes towards the people and the land, as well as his scathing satire of human flaws. These exciting essays are 'objective writing' that depicts Africa-its merits and demerits-as well as the Westerners' encounter with the continent. African Son is a great contribution to travel literature, African literature, and nature writing. -- Christine Djockoua Manyaka Toko, professor of American literature, University of Yaounde I
These vignettes of daily life in various African countries and the experiences of ex-patriots provide insights about human agency, which most textbooks fail to convey. This book would make a great supplementary text that would provoke thoughtful discussion so often missing in university classes. -- Richard Bradshaw
Book Information
ISBN 9780761858430
Author William J. Hemminger
Format Paperback
Page Count 104
Imprint University Press of America
Publisher University Press of America
Weight(grams) 172g
Dimensions(mm) 225mm * 152mm * 7mm
