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 15
... funeral crowd of hawker commuter , busboy , pickpocket etc. rushed on bridge rail to pay last respects to one who like them was once flesh and blood , now sailing to a vulture's feast- carrying the curse of a profane world ? Perhaps we ...
... funeral crowd of hawker commuter , busboy , pickpocket etc. rushed on bridge rail to pay last respects to one who like them was once flesh and blood , now sailing to a vulture's feast- carrying the curse of a profane world ? Perhaps we ...
Page 17
... funeral of Bobo " That evening , at Ughelli , when I held you , and you hugged me too strong for limbs hardly out of cartilage I should have known that what gave the hug its bear strength was a waiting sentence of welcome and goodbye ...
... funeral of Bobo " That evening , at Ughelli , when I held you , and you hugged me too strong for limbs hardly out of cartilage I should have known that what gave the hug its bear strength was a waiting sentence of welcome and goodbye ...
Page 32
... 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 peacefully Making you begin at birth battles of sword and sickle 32 Poem ...
... 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 peacefully Making you begin at birth battles of sword and sickle 32 Poem ...
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