Series: The Ten O'Clock News
Date: 1982-03-26
Duration: 00:16:30

Subject: South Africa - Apartheid; Poets
People: Brutus, Dennis; Lydon, Christopher;
Geography: South Africa|

Clip Description
Christopher Lydon interviews Dennis Brutus (South African poet, scholar, and activist). Brutus reads one of his poems, "The Sounds Begin Again." Brutus discusses his various roles as poet, leader and activist; his concern with human rights and justice all over the world; his sense of exile from his country. Brutus reads one of his poems, "Sequence for South Africa." Brutus says that he tries to describe certain places and events in South Africa when he speaks to people who are unfamiliar with the country. He discusses the Sharpeville Massacre and reads one of his poems, "Sharpeville." Brutus discusses the current situation in South Africa, the growing repression and increasing resistance. Brutus talks about Solomon Mahlangu (South African activist), who was hanged by the government in 1979. He reads a poem that he wrote for Mahlangu.

Series Description
A local program aimed at the Boston audience, The Ten O'Clock News debuted on January 15, 1976. Its two immediate predecessors were The Reporters and Evening Compass. A news and public affairs show focusing on neighborhood, local and state issues, The Reporters was produced and broadcast on WGBH from 1970 to 1973. The Reporters was then replaced by Evening Compass, which expanded into a twice-nightly news broadcast during the tense moments of Boston's busing crisis. On the air from 1973 to 1975, Evening Compass found an audience through its in-depth coverage of school desegregation in Boston, which began in 1974. The Ten O'Clock News stood out as an in-depth news program. It strove for a balance between local and national stories, between politics and the Arts. The last The Ten O'Clock News program was broadcast on May 30, 1991.

See also: http://main.wgbh.org/ton/programs/1741_01