Synopsis
South African writer and political activist Nadine Gordimer joins Studs Terkel to talk about her book “A Guest of Honor,” a novel that explores African politics in a post-colonialism era. As an introduction to their conversation, Terkel plays a clip of an interview with Conor Cruise O’Brien, where an interaction with former Ghanaian president Kwame Nkrumah is discussed. Gordimer connects O’Brien with her main character, an English colonial named James Bray, and they continue to discuss the main themes of her novel, including changing roles of white people in African nations, the fear of socialism, and the common search for the meaning of life. Terkel plays a part of an interview with journalist James Cameron about colonialism in India, which ties back to the question Gordimer raises: “What happens when people are free from colonialism?” In addition to talking about the plot of her book, Gordimer comments on the response she received from conservatives and touches on white liberalism’s place during revolutionary times in Africa. Studs concludes the interview with a segment from an interview with South African leader Chief Albert John Mvumbi Luthuli.
