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 19
... past , casting half - glances pleading in turn , impotent worlds of sorrow where love , lacking muscle , weeps in little graves , hurrying through the broken fence to flee malediction in her fading eyes . The train tolled its horn as I ...
... past , casting half - glances pleading in turn , impotent worlds of sorrow where love , lacking muscle , weeps in little graves , hurrying through the broken fence to flee malediction in her fading eyes . The train tolled its horn as I ...
Page 21
... past , the multitude of mouths needing ceaseless morsels of life failed to cast iron lids on your pots , and strangers lost their fretful brows to the laughter of a new home . Now in mending your broken pots , you marvel at so many ...
... past , the multitude of mouths needing ceaseless morsels of life failed to cast iron lids on your pots , and strangers lost their fretful brows to the laughter of a new home . Now in mending your broken pots , you marvel at so many ...
Page 67
... past and a hoodlum with back on lamppost sheaths his knife and prays for rebirth ; such is the power of your presence . You pass the streets of red light and turn the dry creek's starved leech bleeding pools of alcohol from the dizzy ...
... past and a hoodlum with back on lamppost sheaths his knife and prays for rebirth ; such is the power of your presence . You pass the streets of red light and turn the dry creek's starved leech bleeding pools of alcohol from the dizzy ...
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