Joe de Graft
Joseph Coleman de Graft, born on April 2, 1924, in Cape Coast, Ghana, was a prominent figure in the Ghanaian arts scene during a pivotal period of national transformation. Educated in prestigious private schools and holding a B.A. from the University College of the Gold Coast, his formative years coincided with Ghana's struggle for independence from colonial rule. De Graft served as a teacher and developed the drama department at Mfantsipim School before moving to the University of Ghana. He was influenced by classic European theater but gradually began to incorporate African themes into his work. His notable plays, such as *Sons and Daughters*, explore familial and generational conflicts, while his landmark drama *Muntu* addresses the African experience of colonialism through allegorical narratives. De Graft's work is characterized by a nuanced exploration of the interplay between cultural identity, tradition, and the impacts of colonial history. He passed away on November 1, 1978, leaving behind a legacy as a father figure of African literature and an important voice in the discourse on nationalism and cultural identity.
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Joe de Graft
- Born: April 2, 1924
- Birthplace: Cape Coast, Gold Coast (now Ghana)
- Died: November 1, 1978
Biography
Joseph Coleman de Graft was born April 2, 1924, in Cape Coast, in what was then called the Gold Coast in western Africa. Born into privilege (his father was a successful coastal entrepreneur), de Graft received the educational benefits of the upper class, attending some of the finest private schools in his country before earning his B.A. at the University College of the Gold Coast (1953). At the time of de Graft’s graduation, Africa was entering a tumultuous decade in which countries, long held within the colonial possession of European powers, began to work toward independence. By the mid-1950’s, the Gold Coast itself, under the bold political initiatives of Kwame Nkrumah, had been renamed Ghana and had begun to develop itself politically and economically. At such a historic threshold, the Ghanaian arts reflected the tensions between the assertion of emerging nationalism, with its deep sense of African pride, and the affirmation of the entrenched traditions and culture of the colonial powers.
During this exciting and revolutionary time, de Graft pursued his interest in drama (particularly the classic expressions of European and British theater), teaching at the Mfantsipim School, where he developed its drama department for four years before accepting a teaching post in theater at the University of Ghana, Legon. A UNESCO Fellowship allowed de Graft to travel extensively, including stays in Great Britain and the United States and eventually an eight-year appointment at the University of Nairobi. During this time, de Graft founded and directed theatrical companies, finding expression not only as a producer and director but also as an actor and teacher. Given his profound admiration for classic theater, when de Graft turned to playwriting, he embraced the emerging African movement with, at best, guarded enthusiasm.
He framed his take on the tectonic social and political changes within the conventions of British class drama. For instance, one of his earliest works, Sons and Daughters, is a generational study of a wealthy African father whose grown children decide to pursue uncertain careers in the arts, which the father dismisses as useless, a play less about African nationalism and more about the psychological study of familial conflicts. Under the influence of the emerging Ghana Drama Studio in the mid-1960’s, however, de Graft began to experiment in his plays more forthrightly with African motifs and to examine the tensions between native cultures and colonial influences.
In 1975, de Graft completed his landmark African work, the allegorical epic drama Muntu, an ambitious and provocative retelling of the African struggle with colonialism that uses as its structural frame African creation myths, pageant, and folktales. It testifies to its impact that when de Graft died quite suddenly on November 1, 1978, he was hailed as a father figure of African letters. However, his dramas testify to a considered and circumspect endorsement of African nationalism. His dramas more reflect his interest in the difficult and often precarious balance necessary between individuals and their culture, between the assertion and evolution of identity against the pressures and influences of race, and, given his deep respect for European culture, the tension between urgent radicalism and conservative tradition.