‘Colour of Hope’ causing teaching, learning stir

Morris Mtisi
SOME Literature set-books prescribed for study in the schools are too difficult . . . for nothing, if we can add. It is true that some authors, novelists, playwrights and poets alike enjoy being ‘very complicated’ to tell very simple stories. Do we need that in Literature? Well, I wonder. And is ‘Colour of Hope’ by Taban Lo Liyong one of those dangerous experiments of authorship recently prescribed as an ‘A’ Level set-book?

At a Literature seminar held at Knowstics College early June, several literature teachers expressed anxious concern about this new set book saying it was too difficult, too allegoric and too confusing.

One literature teacher did not hesitate to blame those who prescribe set books and lashed at the author.
“He is imitating Shakespeare and strangely brings unnecessary medieval or Elizabethan England literary sophistication into a simple African story otherwise told best in direct literary narrative,” he said.

The Knowstics league of Literature teachers agreed to form a Literature Teachers’ Club whose aim it would be to share teaching and learning wisdom with a common outcome of improving the pass rate in Literature. One other purpose agreed was to demystify the ‘complexity’ of COLOUR OF HOPE for both teachers and learners studying the play.
Next week one literature expert begins his take on the ‘difficult’ nut-to-crack for the sake of my readers.
DON’T MISS YOUR COLUMN!