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 16
... gravestones to prompt pilgrimage of tears and flowers . So let corpses like driftwood like slain dog on highway , live with us to mark the rotting of living flesh . 31 August , 1991 ; For Onoriode ( who peeped into earth , took fright 16.
... gravestones to prompt pilgrimage of tears and flowers . So let corpses like driftwood like slain dog on highway , live with us to mark the rotting of living flesh . 31 August , 1991 ; For Onoriode ( who peeped into earth , took fright 16.
Page 18
... tears . But we all crave happiness , and though for every laughter we wail twice as long fail in strength to renounce a world whose comforting palms are talons of pain leaving us to mourn our weakness , and funereal courage . 1 June ...
... tears . But we all crave happiness , and though for every laughter we wail twice as long fail in strength to renounce a world whose comforting palms are talons of pain leaving us to mourn our weakness , and funereal courage . 1 June ...
Page 64
... tears from the cabinet sprays its seeds in the streets , aided to vegetal growth by temperate winds , scars of colonial wounds are cold comfort to their festal reopening : the serpent's second sting is lethal . Tortured memory ...
... tears from the cabinet sprays its seeds in the streets , aided to vegetal growth by temperate winds , scars of colonial wounds are cold comfort to their festal reopening : the serpent's second sting is lethal . Tortured memory ...
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