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The Parliament of Poets  (2012) is a 294-page epic poem by Frederick Glaysher, which has the moon as its setting and deals with important issues such as science and religion, the current consumerist approach to our economics, profiteering and capitalism, gradual wearing away of morality and spirituality, wars, hunger, general deprivation, race, and more. It is a poem in twelve parts or Books. This review shall be restricted to Book I, which deals with the general issues covered in the individual books, and Book XI, which involves the persona's visit to Africa and involves Achebe's character in Arrow of God,  the Priest Ezeulu. As already stated the setting of this epic poem is the moon, specifically, the Apollo 11 landing site. The gathering of ancient and modern poets from both East and West was called by the Greek god Apollo and the Nine Muses. The main subject for discussion is the meaning of modernity and modern day nihilism. Several poets are gathered: Cervantes, D...

Fathers & Daughters - An Anthology of Exploration  (Ayebia Clarke, 2008; 200) is a collection of essays, poems and short stories about the relationships between daughters and fathers told from the point of view of either the father or the daughter. There is that belief, true or otherwise, that a daughter's first love is the father. Yet, it is all too clear that in Africa, this father-daughter relationship has poorly been explored. Ato Quayson's book is the first book I have come across that donates its pages to such an important exploration. It is said that until the lion learns to speak, tales of the hunt will always favour the hunter. Thus, until fathers learn to tell their side of the stories, men's representation in African novels will always go against them. The role of men in books like Nervous Conditions , So Long a Letter , Joys of Motherhood , Purple Violet of Oshaantu , Purple Hibiscus , Opening Spaces: African Women Writing  and many others are nothing...

Traces of a Life: A Collection of Elegies and Praise Poems (Ayebia, 2008; 124) by Abena P.A. Busia is an anthology of poems, diary entries (sort of) and memorial lectures. The general theme is that of loss - of loved ones, of country, of innocence, of self, of privacy, of culture; but also found interspersed amongst the loss are poems celebrating anniversaries: marriages and birthdays. And even these ones have the pathos of loss built into them; for what could be as sad as celebrating a marriage anniversary in exile. As the title suggests, this collection provides snatches of scenes in the life of the author. And because of her special position as the daughter of an astute politician, whose freedom suffered and personhood abraded on the abrasive and unsmooth playing field of politics, the poems also provide glimpses into some of the not too pleasant part of Ghana's politics: the coups, the arrests, the executions, the route to exiles, living in exile, the exilic life, the zo...

The most difficult to review literary genre is anthologies and within this subgenre, poetry anthologies are at the top. The difficulty increases exponentially when the author is a revolutionary, an avant-garde with a recherche oeuvre. And Kofi Anyidoho, one of Ghana's foremost poets - those aficionados and promoters of oral poetry, that quintessential African literary style - is a member of the intersection set.  Kofi Anyidoho's The Place We Call Home and Other Poems (Ayebia-Clarke, 2011; 94 - Foreword by Femi Osofisan, Afterword by Veronique Tadjo) is a collection of thirty-four (34) poems in three movements. The poems in each movement is threaded together by one theme written from multiple dimensions. Movement One is titled Homage; poems in this movement, including the titular poem, The Place We Call Home, deal with remembrance. But remembrance of a different kind. It is the remembrance of an old man, in the twilight of his life - just before he steps into the other si...

Unjumping  (erbacce-press, 2010; 36) is a collection of poems by Beverley Nambozo Nsengiyunva. The poems in this collection are diverse in themes but are all short and pithy. Beverley succeeds in putting a lot with few words. Themes range from love, sexual harassment, politics, motherhood and more. The first poem which is the title poem talks about regret and that proverbial impossibility of unwinding of time. It is a wish to get a clean slate and to begin life anew. Undo Me  is a plea by a woman, perhaps to her loved one, for reconciliation and fulfilment of their love. This love piece of just six lines and twenty-eight words show is an example of how much Beverley could put into a poem with a few words. Please Boss  is a piece that recounts some of the sexual harassment that goes on at workplaces. Beverley found a way of putting humour in a rather humourless and tensed situation. She writes Please if  we must Then not on the desk You're the boss Y...

Cut off My Tongue (StoryMoja, 2009; 80) is a bold collection of poems by Kenyan author who writes under the name Sitawa Namwalie. My first encounter with Namwalie's poems was when I saw her perform this entire set of poems at the Museum in Kampala, Uganda. That performance will live with me for a very long time. I describe Sitawa's poems as bold because of its subject matter. She is not afraid to call a thing by its name. Yet, in been blunt she didn't sacrifice the musicality and artistic requirement of poetry. All these ingredients are present in this excellent anthology. Whether she is writing about the deeply tribalistic nature of her Kenyan compatriots, an issue that isn't peculiar to that country alone and which has been capitalised by politicians to achieve their personal goals, or she is talking about her identity as a Kenyan and an African, Sitawa minces no words and does so brilliantly. Though her writing covers wide subject matters, the common thread we...

Title: Look Where You Have Gone to Sit Editors: Martin Egblewogbe & Martin Carrick Hill Genre: Poetry Anthology Publishers: Woeli Publishing Services Pages: 63 Year of Publication: 2011 Country: Ghana Look Where You Have Gone to Sit  is a bold literary statement by young Ghanaian writers who have lived in the literary underground for a very long time. It is an anthology that brings hope to a literary scene which on the surface have become lethargic. This lethargy is not a manifestation of a lack of activity, but the lack of opportunity, of space, of medium, for the physical expression of the arts. This lack comes from two main sources: the sensationalism of our media outlets leaves no room for the acceptance and publication of literary arts (poetry, fiction etc). For instance, the most widely circulated newspaper in Ghana Daily Graphic  has no room for poetry or fiction. This is taken care of by its weekly sister newspaper Mirror . Yet, a cursory glance through ...

Title: Accra! Accra! More Poems About Modern Afrikans Author: Papa Kobina Ulzen Genre: Poetry Pages: 28 Publisher: Edward Ulzen Year of Publication: 2011 Country: Ghana At a mere 28 pages, this chapbook manages to pack a lot of within its pages. Whether questioning the reasons why we are still bound in chains, even though our prisoners left many years ago, or questioning his own father for some of the decisions he made - especially why he divorced his mother - or even reminiscing about all the places he has lived, the poems are poignant and straightforward, devoid of the elaborateness and the curlicue phrases common to most poems. Here the reader need not to conjure deeper thoughts to understand the theme or fall in love with the text. All that is required is a ready and prejudice-less mind. The collection begins with 'Kyekyewere' which is a small village about 70km outside Accra. Here the author reminisces a voluntary work he carried out to help construct...

Title: The Chattering Wagtails of Mikuyu Prison Author: Jack Mapanje Genre: Poetry Publishers: Heinemann (African Writers Series) Pages: 99 Year of First Publication: 1993 Country: Malawi For the Africa Reading Challenge Chattering Wagtails of Mikuyu Prison is a collection of forty-five poems grouped under four sections: ANOTHER FOOLS' DAY HOMES IN; OUT OF BOUNDS; CHATTERING WAGTAILS; and THE RELEASE AND OTHER CURIOUS SIGHTS. Together these interwoven poems tell the story of what got the poet arrested, his time in prison and his time out of prison. Jack Mapanje was arrested and detained in Mikuyu Maximum Detention Center for three and half years without charge. This arrest came on the back of the reprinting of his first collection of poems Of Chameleons and Gods . Right from the beginning, in the  Prologue , darkness forebodes as  Laughters and ceaseless tears shed/In the Chaos of invented autocracies//Now darkly out of bounds beyond [...] (Page 1)...

I have known this for a while but wanted to let you in after some time. Some of my poetry pieces have been published in various anthologies. I summarise them below. The War Against War: Poetry about stark realities of war With contributions from poets in Ghana, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, USA, and India, the War Against War contains the voices of poets who represent a growing fatigue with aggression in the world. Each poem looks at war from broken windows - images are disturbing and the sentiments are gloomy. Each poet in this anthology wages a war against war with compelling perspectives. Authors in the collection: Prince Kwasi Mensah, Lord God Almighty, Lila Mensa, Roland Marke, Cosmas Mairosi, Afegbua Shabban, Emmanuel Jakpa, Simbarashe Clever Kavenga, Tinahse Muchuri, Nana Fredua-Agyeman, Timothy Middleditch, Basanta Kar, Carrie Ann Thunell, Darko Antwi and Batsirai Chigama. Whispers in the Whirlwind: A Collection of Poems about Socio-Economic Challenges in Africa As a continent blesse...