Homeland & Other PoemsIfowodo was a frontline student leader in the early eighties and is a lawyer and civil rights activist. In 1996 he was a writer-in-residence at the Heinrich Boell Foundation. He was imprisoned between 1997 and 1998 and was subsequently adopted by PEN. This is his first collection of poetry which won the 1993 Association of Nigerian Authors Poetry Prize. Many of the poems are responses to politics; or spring from the tensions between writing political poetry, or art for art's sake, and other competing subjects of poetry, such as romantic love. The poet, quoting Neruda, first asks the reader expecting a poetic celebration of his natural world to 'come see the blood in the streets'. In the section section he writes tributes to Tracey Chapman, Winnie and Nelson Mandela and Margeret Thatcher ('the butcher'). The subject of the third section is the rediscovery of romantic love, amidst and beyond turmoil and oppression. |
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Page 49
Houses bitter like a weeping face homes grievous like smoke - pipes walls held
up by pillars of anguish , where lament makes bed and roof . And how do
children grow here ? Out of wombs whipped with want and desire , they burst
forth , to be ...
Houses bitter like a weeping face homes grievous like smoke - pipes walls held
up by pillars of anguish , where lament makes bed and roof . And how do
children grow here ? Out of wombs whipped with want and desire , they burst
forth , to be ...
Page 62
... than a sweet and sour prophecy . I count a long night beyond a disciple ' s
tears and follow the bitter road of the cross , I count the jeers , fears and cheers of
a heated crowd , needing still signs and wonders 62 (iv) The cock may crow
thrice.
... than a sweet and sour prophecy . I count a long night beyond a disciple ' s
tears and follow the bitter road of the cross , I count the jeers , fears and cheers of
a heated crowd , needing still signs and wonders 62 (iv) The cock may crow
thrice.
Page
But you remain my mangrove ponds ' water lilies , they know not the strife of lean
seasons ; you remain the song of all seasons : men sweltering under a bitter yoke
sense your presence in a taste of water and lap your song to sweating brows .
But you remain my mangrove ponds ' water lilies , they know not the strife of lean
seasons ; you remain the song of all seasons : men sweltering under a bitter yoke
sense your presence in a taste of water and lap your song to sweating brows .
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Contents
Untold terrors are gathered | 12 |
Our eyes are born again | 24 |
Her bed is vacant again | 42 |
Copyright | |
9 other sections not shown
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Common terms and phrases
anger arms asked August battle bear beast bed is vacant begin beneath bitter bleeding blind blood bones break breath broken brows carved cast child clean colours count crocodiles cross daily dance death December deep dust dying earth evil eyes face fading faith fear feet fire flesh flowing gathered graves grow guns hand harvest head hear heart heat hope horns January kill laughter lay dying leaves light living look marched mark memory mouth muscle needing night pain past paths plead POEMS poetry poison politicians prize rain rising rivers roads running sadness sand season seek serve shadow soldier song Soon sorrows soul space stars stone streets surer taste tears teeth terror things thirst tongue tree truth turn voice walk walls winds wounds
Bibliographic information
| Title | Homeland & Other Poems |
| Author | Ogaga Ifowodo |
| Publisher | Kraft Books, 1998 |
| Original from | the University of Michigan |
| Digitized | 30 May 2008 |
| ISBN | 9782081957, 9789782081957 |
| Length | 69 pages |
| Subjects | › Poetry / African |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |