Who is Kofi Konadu Berko?

Kofi Konadu Berko is a Ghanaian writer whose work explores family, identity and relationships. My poetry draws on elements of Akan(Asante) culture - including language, tradition, art, music, dance, proverbs, and riddles to interrogate the Ghanaian identity. Art is one of the ways to preserve our individual and national heritage, and I use poetry as one of the foremost tools to do this. Besides poetry, I have explored other forms of literature including write fiction, comics, and nonfiction.

How does your Ghanaian heritage inform your voice as a poet, especially when presenting your work in international spaces like the Watermill Center?

My poetry is a result of my interactions with the world, and my Ghanaian and Akan heritage is at the core of who I am and how I interact with the world. As such, these are central to the creation and presentation of my work. Personally, it is an intentional decision to focus on Akan, mostly Asante elements, in my work. There is so much I don’t know and so much I believe is being lost in the aftermath of colonialism and Western influence, and for me, it is important to present my work infused with elements of Akan culture to preserve these bits that I know about. In terms of language, riddles, music, art, fashion, and I am conscious of promoting that in international spaces like the Watermill residency.

Ghana has a rich oral tradition of storytelling, from Ananse tales to proverbs. In what ways do you weave these traditions into your poetry, and how do they shape your relationship with audiences?

Most groups in Ghana indeed have a rich tradition of storytelling, and especially Anansesɛm for the Akan nations. These folklore, proverbs and other traditional elements are woven into my work with intentionality. I view this as a tool to both impress upon and teach the audience about these elements of Asante culture. For instance, ‘The Journey of Hopeseekers’ and ‘Are Your Clothes Still in the Sky’, both rely on traditional elements, the former on the aborɔme-Akan riddles, used as a refrain in the poem - Agya rekɔ no ogyaa me adeɛ bi, and I discuss Akan clothing elements Ahenema-traditional slippers, Tsokoto - shorts, Kɔbene - red mourning cloth in the latter. Or sodoɔ a poem on Asante burial rights for the death of the first child of a mother to die. I see that as an invitation for questions and curiosity from my audience, a perfect opportunity for them to learn more about the Akan culture.

Residencies like the Watermill Center often encourage collaboration across disciplines. How do you envision your poetry intersecting with visual arts, performance, or other art forms while here?

I am quite excited about meeting other disciplinary artists at the Watermill residency. Collaboration is at the heart of every artistic practice. My poems are usually prose poems, drawing from Akan(Asante) artistic elements, including the visual, like Adinkra symbols, and performance, like the Adowa dance, nnwonkoro songs, or Mmoguo songs woven into Anansesɛm. So, I see my poems in conversation with other art forms and my poems rendered in any of these forms - as films, art installations, paintings, sculpture, music and so on.

When you think of the Adinkra Poetry Prize and your own body of work, what kind of legacy do you hope to leave for future Ghanaian and African writers?

The Adinkra Poetry Prize is an important development in the Ghanaian literary landscape and its deliberate focus on the Adinkra symbols is a critical focus not only preservation of culture but also on an investment in the creativity of Ghanaian youth and an avenue of nurturing poetry talent in Ghanaian culture. That is the same legacy that I hope to leave for Ghanaians and future African writers - a large body of work that celebrates and preserves not only Akan culture but a Ghanaian and African culture. A body of work that evokes curiosity and a spirit in anyone who encounters my work.

Do you write primarily in English, or a blend of both? What role does language play in preserving cultural memory in your work?

My writing is a blend of both. Switching completely to Twi will make it difficult for the audience to connect with my work. In Ghana, even though a sizeable fraction does speak Twi, most cannot read or write in the language and so my work is mostly a blend of English and Twi.

The Prize itself is named after Adinkra symbols, which hold layered philosophical meanings. Which symbol resonates most with your artistry, and how does it manifest in your creative practice?

The two which I find most underlying in my work is Nea Onnim no Sua a, Ohu, "When he who does not know learns, he gets to know” and Nyansa bon mu ne Mate M’asie – In the depth of wisdom I have heard and will keep. Lifelong learning from the former is how I see my poetry and art as a continuous expression of how I am learning and my growth, my poetry is an archive of who I am - personality, emotions, sensibilities. Mate M’asie for me is still in the spirit of keeping the things that I learn about myself and culture and storing it in my poetry as a record for others to also learn, preservation of my cultural and national identity. 

Bio

Kofi Konadu Berko is the winner of the Adinkra Poetry Prize 2024. As a writer, his work explores family, identity and relationships. His poetry in particular focuses on exploring and preserving his cultural heritage.   His short story, ‘The Sun is White’ is one of 17 stories published in the historic Afro Young Adult anthology, ‘Waterbirds on the Lakeshore(2019). He is an alumnus of the 2022 AKO Caine Prize Workshop and was shortlisted for the Samira Bawumia Literary Prize 2022 in the Fiction category. He is also a co-writer of the children’s graphic novel ‘Aku and the Journey of the Turtle Spirit(2023). He’s been published by Tampered Press, Kalahari Review and other magazines.