Education Duodu was born in
Asiakwa He began writing while still at school, the first story he ever wrote ("Tough Guy In Town") being broadcast on the radio programme
The Singing Net and subsequently included in
Voices of Ghana, a 1958 anthology edited by
Henry Swanzy that was "the first Ghanaian literary anthology of poems, stories, plays and essays".
Early career Duodu was a student teacher in 1954, and worked on a general magazine called
New Nation in Ghana, before going on to become a radio journalist for the
Ghana Broadcasting Corporation from 1956 to 1960, becoming editor of radio news (moonlighting by contributing short stories and poetry to
The Singing Net and plays to the programme
Ghana Theatre). From 1960 to 1965 he was editor of the Ghana edition of the South African magazine
Drum, and in 1970 edited the
Daily Graphic, According to one recent critic, "Duodu simultaneously represents two currents in West African literature of the time, on the one hand the exploration of cultural conflict and political corruption in post-colonial African society associated with novelists and playwrights such as
Chinua Achebe and
Ama Ata Aidoo, and on the other hand the optimistic affirmation of African cultural strengths found in poets of the time such as
David Diop and
Frank Kobina Parkes. These themes come together in a very compassionate discussion of the way that individual people, rich and poor, are pushed to compromise themselves as they try to navigate a near-chaotic transitional society." Duodu also writes plays and poetry. His work was included in the anthology
Messages: Poems from Ghana (
Heinemann Educational Books, 1970). and
The Guardian. He is the author of the blog "Under the Neem Tree" in
New African magazine (London), and has also published regular columns in
The Mail and Guardian (
Johannesburg) and
City Press (Johannesburg), as well as writing a weekly column for the
Ghanaian Times (Accra) for many years. Duodu has appeared frequently as a contributor on
BBC World TV and
BBC World Service radio news programmes discussing African politics, economy and culture. ==Personal life==