Interview with Amelia Blossom Pegram, June 5, 1992

Interview Summary

Amelia Blossom Pegram discusses her family history, and her childhood and education. She describes attending Capetown University (South Africa), and racism there. She talks about living and working in London, attending Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and teaching and acting in England. She talks about moving to Kentucky, living and teaching at Fort Knox, and the University of Louisville. Throughout the interview she discusses methods of composition, Selma Waldman, "Our Sun Will Rise: Poems for South Africa," her relationship with Nelson Mandela, race relations in South Africa and the United States, short stories and essays, plans to become an Episcopal priest, Louisville as an arts community, Louisville's attitude towards black artists, "A Woman Speaks," "You've Struck a Rock: Women in the Struggle," a caste system among artists, future work, and the nature of creativity.

Interview Keyword

Pegram, Amelia Blossom (author) South African Writers House, Amelia Blossom (author) South African Poets Kentucky writers Kentucky poets Black writers Black poets Women writers Women poets Women writers of color Women poets of color South African women Louisville (Ky.) South African literature Black South African women

Interview LC Subject

Authors, American--Kentucky Intellectual life Literature Writing Writers Cape Town (South Africa) Poetry Poets Poets--20th Century--Political and Social views Poets, African--Interviews Poets, American Writers and their background Writers and their works Fiction Creative nonfiction Kentucky South Africans South Africans--Drama South Africans--England--London--Fiction South Africans--Race Identity South Africans--United States Women writers Women writers of color Education--South Africa Apartheid (South Africa)

Interview Rights

All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the University of Kentucky Libraries.

Interview Usage

Interviews may be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, Special Collections, University of Kentucky Libraries.