Geormbeeyi Adali-Mortty
Geormbeeyi Adali-Mortty (born 16 June 1916) is a Ghanaian poet, writer and literary commentator. He was among the contributors to the pioneering anthology Voices of Ghana: Literary Contributions to the Ghana Broadcasting System, 1955–57 (1958), one of the earliest collections of modern Ghanaian writing. In 1958, he joined the advisory committee of the international literary journal Black Orpheus, and later co-edited Messages: Poems from Ghana (1971) with Kofi Awoonor, an anthology published in the African Writers Series.[1]
Early Life And Education
Adali-Mortty was born on 16 June 1916.[2] He obtained Teacher's Certificate A from Prince of Wales College, Achimota, in 1935. In 1961, while serving at the University of Ghana, Legon, he received a Rockefeller Foundation study award in Business Administration for further study in the United States.(Rockefeller Foundation Annual Report (1961),Pg.186)[3]
Career
In 1958, he joined the advisory committee of the international literary journal that promoted African literature criticism. Black Orpheus.[4] Adali-Mortty was also a contributor to the 1958 anthology Voices of Ghana: Literary Contributions to the Ghana Broadcasting System, 1955–57, edited by Henry Swanzy,[5][6] and contributed both poetry and political commentary to the Legon Observer: for example, "The Spent Scare" (1967) was written in response to the coup that ended Nkrumah's rule.[7]
Adali-Mortty later served as Special Commissioner for Redeployment of Labour. He subsequently became a Lecturer in Human Resources at the University of Ghana, where he continued to contribute to literary and intellectual discourse. (ERIC Document ED063107,Pg.5)[8] In 1971, Adali-Mortty co-edited Messages: Poems from Ghana with Kofi Awoonor as part of Heinemann's African Writers Series. African Writers Series,(Google Books).[9][10]
Works
The following table lists published works by Geormbeeyi Adali-Mortty.
| Year | Title | Type | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1958 | Voices of Ghana: Literary Contributions to the Ghana Broadcasting System, 1955–57[11] | Anthology | Contributor |
| 1958 | "Ewe Poetry" | Essay | Author |
| 1967 | "The Spent Scare" (Black Orpheus, No. 4 (1958), 36-45) | Poem | Author |
| 1971 | Messages: Poems from Ghana (African Writers Series 42) | Anthology | Co-editor (with Kofi Awoonor) |
| 1974 | "Change of Government to the Spoils System Again?" (The Legon Observer 9: 4 (1974)) | Essay | Author |
| 1974 | "Reply to Kwabena Manu's Rejoinder to 'Change of Government to the Spoils System Again?'' (The Legon Observer, 9:6 (1974), p. 166) | Essay |
References
- ↑ "Voices of Ghana", Wikipedia, 2026-03-26, retrieved 2026-07-30
- ↑ "Geormbeeyi Adali Mortty". Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Immigration Cards, 1900–1965. Retrieved 20 September 2025.
- ↑ "Rockefeller Foundation Annual Report (1961)" (PDF).
- ↑ Albert S. Gérard (1986). European-language Writing in Sub-Saharan Africa. John Benjamins Publishing. p. 809. ISBN 978-963-05-3834-3. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
- ↑ Swanzy, Henry (ed.), Voices of Ghana: Literary Contributions to the Ghana Broadcasting System, 1955–57, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, 1958.
- ↑ Smith, Victoria Ellen (ed.), Voices of Ghana: Literary Contributions to the Ghana Broadcasting System, 1955–57, 2nd Edition, Woodbridge, Suffolk: James Currey, 2018.
- ↑ Albert S. Gérard (1986). European language Writing in Sub-Saharan Africa. John Benjamins Publishing. p. 825. ISBN 978-963-05-3834-3. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
- ↑ "ERIC Document ED063107- Career of Geormbeeyi Adali-Mortty" (PDF).
- ↑ "Geormbeeyi - Search Results". search.worldcat.org. Retrieved 2026-07-30.
- ↑ "University of Reading Special Collection(Heinemann editorial archive)" (PDF).
- ↑ Swanzy, Henry (1958). Voices of Ghana: Literary Contributions to the Ghana Broadcasting System, 1955-57. Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.