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 25
... cassava soil there are so worsening a hostility of rain floods , of creek - invasion , with the curse of oil : And what grudge , galled ' to greenness so long avoids the deluge of split skies ? A fisherman knows the fury of windstorms ...
... cassava soil there are so worsening a hostility of rain floods , of creek - invasion , with the curse of oil : And what grudge , galled ' to greenness so long avoids the deluge of split skies ? A fisherman knows the fury of windstorms ...
Page 32
... cassava and corn . that bellies be not a grave for the guts to ward off funerals of the living Have left the world to itself and governments , politicians , soldiers multiply God , guns and greed . where a child and his tree play too ...
... cassava and corn . that bellies be not a grave for the guts to ward off funerals of the living Have left the world to itself and governments , politicians , soldiers multiply God , guns and greed . where a child and his tree play too ...
Contents
For arts sake | 11 |
Poem to the child of my time | 32 |
Mandelas mantle | 41 |
Copyright | |
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anger anguish arms asked August battle bear beast beneath bitter bleeding blood bones break breath broken brows carved cast child close colours count crocodiles cross daily dance death December deep dust dying earth evil eyes face fading faith fear feet fire flesh flowing forest gathered graves grow guns hand harvest head hear heart heat hope horns January kill laughter lay dying leaves light living marched mark memory mouth muscle needing night pain past paths plead pledged POEMS poetry poison prize rain rising rivers roads 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 wear weeping whip wider winds wondered wounds