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 18
Ogaga Ifowodo. she would have cringed from wrapping with stained plantain leaves one whose mouth was yet to speak sin ; She would have known we would make your choice a battle : out of love , you stayed your feet longer on our hearts ...
Ogaga Ifowodo. she would have cringed from wrapping with stained plantain leaves one whose mouth was yet to speak sin ; She would have known we would make your choice a battle : out of love , you stayed your feet longer on our hearts ...
Page 34
... mouth , a highway , trafficks mountains of strange sorrows His shoulders , broadened for all the stars and swords of " Marshall of the World " twinkle with blind stars , crossing swords with enemy shadows And his voice , ah , his voice ...
... mouth , a highway , trafficks mountains of strange sorrows His shoulders , broadened for all the stars and swords of " Marshall of the World " twinkle with blind stars , crossing swords with enemy shadows And his voice , ah , his voice ...
Page 61
... mouths . Your breast , milk - mellon multiplied to cure the thirst of multitudes enough for my famished mouth , enough for my hunger - dredged gullet I claim against tooth , nail , water . Your waist is the continent's coast of gold ...
... mouths . Your breast , milk - mellon multiplied to cure the thirst of multitudes enough for my famished mouth , enough for my hunger - dredged gullet I claim against tooth , nail , water . Your waist is the continent's coast of gold ...
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