Renowned Ghanaian writer and former diplomat, Abena Pokua Adompim Busia, recently shared how her father, Kofi Abrefa Busia, shaped her love for poetry. In an interview on Channel One TV’s The Chat, Abena Busia spoke about her childhood filled with poetry anthologies, thanks to her father’s influence.
As the former Prime Minister of Ghana and an intellectual giant, Kofi Abrefa Busia fostered an environment that encouraged his children to indulge in poetry and literature.
Abena Busia fondly recounted how it was a tradition in their household to read, memorize, and recite poems, a practice that greatly impacted her artistic journey.
Growing up in a family that valued the arts, Abena and her siblings were immersed in the world of poetry from a young age. Her father’s insistence on reciting poems after Sunday dinners instilled a deep appreciation for rhythm, structure, and language in her.
“We grew up in a household that appreciated the arts. We grew up listening to the King James version of the Bible. One of the first things our father did was to buy a whole bunch of poetry anthologies and said to us to choose any poem and recite it to him after every Sunday dinner,” Abena shared.
This upbringing not only nurtured her creative sensibilities but also instilled in her a profound love for the power of words.
