David Rubadiri
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James David Rubadiri lukin Hendricks (19 July 1930 – 15 September 2018) was a Malawian diplomat, academic and poet, playwright and novelist. Rubadiri is ranked as one of Africa's most widely anthologized and celebrated poets to emerge after independence."Poet David Rubadiri dies at 88"
''Malawi24'', 16 September 2018.


Education and career

Rubadiri attended
King's College, Budo King’s College Budo is a mixed, residential, secondary school in Central Uganda (Buganda). Location The school is located on Naggalabi Hill, in southern Wakiso District, off the Kampala-Masaka Road. This location lies approximately , by road, ...
, in Uganda from 1941 to 1950, then Makerere University in Kampala (1952–56), where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in English literature and History. Between 1960 and 1962, he studied Literature at King's College, Cambridge, earning an MA degree. He went on to receive a Diploma in Education from the University of Bristol. At Malawi's independence in 1964, Rubadiri was appointed the country's first
ambassador to the United States The following table lists ambassadors to the United States, sorted by the representative country or organization. See also *Ambassadors of the United States Notes {{reflist, 30em External linksCurrent and former Ambassadors to the United Sta ...
and the United Nations (UN). When he presented his credentials to President Lyndon B. Johnson at the White House on 18 August 1964, he expressed the hope that his newly independent country would get more aid from the USA; he said that Malawi needed help to build its democratic institutions and noted that Malawi was already receiving US economic and technical help. That same year Rubadiri appeared on the National Educational Television (New York City) series ''African Writers of Today''.Keith A. P. Sandiford, ''A Black Studies Primer: Heroes and Heroines of the African Diaspora'', Hansib Publications, 2008, p. 392. Rubadiri left the Malawian government in 1965 when he broke with President Hastings Banda. As an exile, Rubadiri taught at Makerere University (1968–75), but he was again exiled during the Idi Amin years.Lwanda, John Chipembere
"James David Rubadiri: Professor, Poet, Diplomat, Teacher, Educationalist, Mentor"
''The Society of Malawi Journal'', vol. 71, no. 2, 2018, pp. 46–53, via JSTOR. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
He was also Visiting Professor of English Literature at Northwestern University in 1972. Rubadiri subsequently taught at the University of Nairobi, Kenya (1976–84), and was also briefly, along with
Okot p'Bitek Okot p'Bitek (7 June 1931 – 19 July 1982) was a Ugandan poet, who achieved wide international recognition for '' Song of Lawino'', a long poem dealing with the tribulations of a rural African wife whose husband has taken up urban life and wis ...
, at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria, at the invitation of Wole Soyinka. Between 1975 and 1980, Rubadiri was a member of the Executive Committee of the National Theater of Kenya. From 1984 to 1997, he taught at the University of Botswana, where he was dean of the Language and Social Sciences Education Department. In 1997, after Banda's death, Rubadiri was reappointed Malawi's ambassador to the UN, and he was named vice-chancellor of the University of Malawi in 2000. He received an honorary doctorate from the University of Strathclyde in 2005. Rubadiri died on 15 September 2018, aged 88, at Mzuzu Central Hospital.


Writings

Rubadiri's poetry has been praised as being among "the richest of contemporary Africa". His work was published in the 1963 anthology ''Modern Poetry of Africa'' (East African Publishers, 1996), and appeared in international publications including '' Transition'', '' Black Orpheus'' and ''
Présence Africaine ''Présence Africaine'' is a pan-African quarterly cultural, political, and literary magazine, published in Paris, France, and founded by Alioune Diop in 1947. In 1949, ''Présence Africaine'' expanded to include a publishing house and a bookstore ...
''. His only novel, ''
No Bride Price No (and variant writings) may refer to one of these articles: English language * ''Yes'' and ''no'' (responses) * A determiner in noun phrases Alphanumeric symbols * No (kana), a letter/syllable in Japanese script * No symbol, displayed 🚠...
'', was published in 1967. It criticized the Banda regime and was, along with
Legson Kayira Legson Didimu Kayira (Neither the year nor the date of Kayira's birth were recorded with precision. He himself chose to celebrate 10 May 1942 as his birthday. – 14 October 2012) was a Malawian novelist. An ethnic Tumbuka, he received an educatio ...
's '' The Looming Shadow'', among the earliest published fiction by Malawians.


Selected works

* ''Growing Up With Poetry: An Anthology for Secondary Schools'', 1989 * ''Poems from East Africa'' (ed., with David Cook), 1971 * ''No Bride Price'' (novel), 1967 * ''Come To Tea'' (play), 1965 * "African Thunderstorm" (poem)


References


External links


Curriculum Vitae
United Nations biography {{DEFAULTSORT:Rubadiri, James David 1930 births 2018 deaths 20th-century male writers Alumni of the University of Bristol Ambassadors of Malawi to the United States Makerere University academics Makerere University alumni Malawian diplomats Malawian novelists Malawian poets People from Ruvuma Region Permanent Representatives of Malawi to the United Nations University of Botswana faculty University of Malawi faculty University of Nairobi academics Vice-chancellors of universities in Malawi