Tuning in…
Tuning in…
Castaway
1 appearance
Poet described as the most important African poet writing in English; imprisoned in Malawi; now teaches at Newcastle University.
On the island
Eight records
There was a time when, to be honest, prison was the only place we understood what was going on. So that we were actually singing as prisoners, political prisoners, I can see so this is why I love this.
Doctor Banda's concubine or mistress was called Cecilia, and the only way anybody could fight back is to sing this song. The thing is, after singing it for some time, everybody thought this song referred to Cecilia and and Banda, and as a result, it was banned.
This is a traditional African prayer done in modern guitars and modern instruments.
This was the link record between me and my family when I was put in prison. On my first birthday, for instance, in prison, the children wrote me a letter which was smuggled in and they said, Dad, we're going to put Shalala for you on your birthday.
This one is um is very special to me because it talks about love and so on and occasionally and on this island I would like to to remember my o memories of um of the lo loved ones.
This one is um a jolly celebratory sort of um record. I love it and um every time I I I take my car and drive to to Newcastle to teach, I put this record on.
Dido Armstrong & Rollo Armstrong
Thirteen years I've been living effectively in a suitcase, traveling from one place to another... I haven't had a home at all till last year when Newcastle gave me the permanent job. So I've been a sort of a wanderer, and this one just does it for me.
Ave MariaFavourite
Janet Coxwell & Christopher Enston
When I came to England, Gillian Tyndall, Alistair Niven, and all those who had been fighting for me, invited me to celebrate a Thanksgiving service at St. Bride's in Fleet Street... So that was very special from St. Bride's and effectively thank you to everybody who fought for me.
In conversation
Presenter asks
1:27How long, in fact, were you in prison, Jack?
Three years, seven months, sixteen days and more than twelve hours.
Presenter asks
5:46Did you hold [the poems] all in your head and just fish them out later, or were they still there, intact?
After about year one there I had written in my head about twenty five poems, and these were complete from the title to to the last line. By the time I was uh released from prison after three and a half years, I only remembered the titles. I can tell you right now that I have recovered about uh twenty out of the twenty five.
Presenter asks
8:14Did you take that decision [to take the regime on using your writing]?
Today I can say yes is the answer, but in fact, it was a joint thing. We established what was called a writers' group, who simply said we're going to meet and help each other write and write well.
Presenter asks
The keepsakes
The luxury
I would like somebody to buy me a guitar. I've always wanted to play the guitar, so can I take a guitar as a luxury on this island?
Can you describe [your childhood on the shores of Lake Malawi] to me, the scenery, the scents?
Half of the country is the lake and I was born um c very close to it... I was born of a very poor family. My mother was not educated, but she was a very good... short story, Taylor. She used to gather us at night to tell us stories and folk tales... My father left my mother when she was pregnant of me. He went to South Africa... and um never returned.
Presenter asks
22:06How did the world know to shout for you?
The day I was arrested... a priest friend of ours walked in. I showed him my handcuffs... he rang up his friend in Galway, Republic of Ireland, and he spoke in Gaelic so that the special branch in Malawi would not understand... Landy Gwyde immediately tells the BBC, tells Amnesty International, tells the whole world... That, I think, may have saved my life
Presenter asks
28:41Are you gradually leaving the prison experience behind, or does it keep [coming back]?
It it keeps coming back in, but um one of the biggest problems of anybody who has been a political prisoner like me is how much your your prison experience is going to be left behind and whether um you're going to move on and what you're going to move on to.
“Accidentalize was a word that the writers' group in the university invented... It means um to kill somebody and pretend it's an accident, officially kill and tell the world it's an accident.”
“I have already in fact part been on a desert island. It's it's horrific.”
“It's amazing what humans can actually do to help other humans in situations of this sort.”
“I think the world is a little prison... and uh what we're all trying to do is to try and make the best of of our prison experience and our prisoner situation.”