Dennis Brutus

Dennis Brutus is an exiled South African poet. Brutus was active in the anti-apartheid movement in the country which led to his imprisonment and eventual exile. Brutus moved to the United Stated in 1970, and gained permanent residence status in 1983 after a struggle in which the U. S. attempted to deport him. Brutus joins the show to give his impressions of the South African government's proposed reforms and the current violent ant-apartheid protests in the country, as well as read several of his poems.

South African poet and anti-apartheid activist Dennis Brutus was in part responsible for blocking his home country's athletes from participating in the Olympic games. After leaving the country to avoid political persecution, he now faces possible deportation from the United States.

Fresh Air broadcasts a lecture featuring poet Dennis Brutus, who reads his works and explains his literary influences and the experience of being a writer in South Africa during apartheid.