John Benibengor Blay (born 1915) was a Ghanaian journalist, writer, publisher and politician, who has been called "the father of popular writing in Ghana". His work encompasses fiction, poetry and drama published in chapbooks that have been compared with Onitsha Market Literature.Abotsi, Maureen
"J. Benibengor Blay"
, Ghana Nation, 13 September 2013. From Douglas Killam and Ruth Rowe (eds), ''The Companion to African Literature'' (James Currey 2000).

Life and career

Blay was born in

Half Assini Half Assini, also known as Awiane, is a small town and is the capital of Jomoro Municipal District, a municipality in the Western Region (Ghana), Western Region of Ghana. It is the hometown of Kwame Nkrumah's father. Nkrumah, the first president o ...

, Western Ghana, and educated at the Regent Street Polytechnic in London.G. D. Killam, Alicia L. Kerfoot, ''Student Encyclopedia of African Literature'', Greenwood press, 2008, p. 68. He began writing poetry in 1937, publishing stories from the early 1940s onwards. Some of his work was published by his own publishing company, the Benibengor Book Agency,

Aboso Aboso is a town near Tarkwa, and is the capital of Wassa West district, a district in the Western Region of Ghana.

. He later became a politician, and in 1958 Blay was elected to the Ghanaian National Assembly. He later served as Minister for Art and Culture (1965–66) under

Kwame Nkrumah Kwame Nkrumah (born 21 September 190927 April 1972) was a Ghanaian politician, political theorist, and revolutionary. He was the first Prime Minister and President of Ghana, having led the Gold Coast to independence from Britain in 1957. An in ...

, about whom he published a biography in 1973.

Works

;Stories *''Emelia's Promise'', 1944 *''Be Content with Your Lot'', 1947 *''Parted Lovers'', 1948 *''Dr Bengto Wants a Wife'', 1953 *''Operation Witchcraft'', 1956 *''Tales for Boys and Girls'', 1966 *''After the Wedding'' (continuation of ''Emelia's Promise'') *''Emelia's Promise and Fulfilment'',

Accra Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...

: Waterville Publishing House, 1967 *''Alomo'', Aboso, 1969 *''Coconut Boy'', Accra: West African Publishing Company, 1970 ;Poetry *''Immortal Deeds'', Ilfracombe: Stockwell, 1940. *''Memoirs of the War'', Ilfracombe: Stockwell, 1946 *''King of the Human Frame'', Ilfracombe: Stockwell, 1947 *''Thoughts of Youth'', Aboso: Benibengor Book Agency, 1961 *''Ghana Sings'', Accra: Waterville Publishing House, 1965. With an introduction by

. ;Other *''The Gold Coast Mines Employees' Union'', Ilfracombe: Stockwell, 1950 *''On The Air: (B.B.C. Talks)'', Aboso, 1970 *''Legend of Kwame Nkrumah'', 1973 *''The Story of Tata'',''The Story of Tata''
"a very comprehensive account of the life of Mr. Joshua Kwabena Siaw ... one of Ghana's most prominent business men". c. 1976

References

External links

Brief biography of J. Benibengor Blay
1915 births Possibly living people Ghanaian novelists Ghanaian male poets Ghanaian publishers (people) Ghanaian MPs 1956–1965 20th-century Ghanaian poets 20th-century male writers 20th-century Ghanaian journalists Journalists from Gold Coast (British colony) African poets {{Ghana-journalist-stub