One Ghana, One Voice

O! Jebu! Stared At The Beginning As Ananse Tickled Himself In The End - Novisi Dzitrie

2012-01-28T00:02:00.003Z

O! Jebu! climbed the mountain and stood atop, akimbo!
As if as if...
looked deep down the valley into the hole;
raising his head next to look up at the empty sky.

This system is sick...
O! Jebu! must face the tasks:
put things apart; make sense of the whole;
bring the pieces back together!
But where...
where do we place the noesis?

O! Jebu! stretched his right hand upwards...
The sky was nowhere within his reach!

So let us tell tales...
for the lack of knowledge
between the hole deep down the valley and the empty sky high above.
Let us say... they say...

They say Mawu used to live on the next floor upstairs!
And as it used to be... they say...
O! Jebu! could stand on his two feet and touch the sky
or when he felt like it, he could look out of his window
and give Mawu a wink or a wave of high five!

But it came to pass... the ancestors disobeyed Mawu!
Day after day
they lifted their heavy pestles skywards
and pounded the peace of Mawu
as they crushed yam, coco-yam, plantain and cassava into fufu.
So Mawu stormed out in anger
and removed the sky from within the reach of man!

And so O! Jebu! must now rent the services of an intercessor,
born of a virgin or of pure oracles,
if he ever wishes to speak to Mawu the omnipresent!
And yet little did Mawu the all-knowing know
O! Jebu! would soon fly aircrafts into his sky.
Mother of palmwine! Mawu Sodza!

The same God who remains the same, they say,
and yet changes regardless without prior notice.
Mother of palmwine! Mawu Sodza!

So let us tell another tale.

They say, again, so let us say:
Let us say Kweku Ananse the spider took the place of O Jebu
and presented himself before Death
in a puzzle of many a great complication.

So Death said to Ananse:
"Because you have eaten my food,
you must die...you will die! You and your family!"

But Ananse did not want to die. No!
Instead, Ananse pedaled his many legs
in one heart-throbbing attempt to flee...
So they say... and so let us say...
Let us say it is the reason why Ananse is seen caught in his own web
in corners or on ceilings of buildings in his attempt to flee…
Flee...flee from Death!

So we tell tales...
Tales to fill up the space, to make up for the lack of knowledge
between the hole deep down the valley and the empty sky high above;
strange-tales... fairy-tales...

Tales that make us cry maa maa! Or make us laugh kwa kwa kwa!

Tales of why the crab is headless,
Tales of why the moon dies,
... of why soldier-ants move in a file,
... of why indeed the monkey has a tail!

Author Profile - Novisi Dzitrie

2012-01-28T00:01:00.003Z

Biography:

Novisi Dzitrie is a Ghanaian who was born in Kakata, Liberia. He moved to Ghana when he was four years old, long before the war. Novisi has ventured a number of genres of writing but poetry comes pleasingly to him as a first love. Some of his short stories have been published in The Mirror, and two of his poems were recently published in the anthology Look Where You Have Gone To Sit, edited by Martin Egblewogbe and Laban Hill.

Five Questions with Novisi Dzitrie:

1. How long have you been writing poetry?

I started writing poetry by some "accident" in 1999. So that makes about 13 years now.

2. Who are your favourite poets? Which poets have most informed and inspired your work?

I must confess I didn't read much poetry before I found myself writing it. So I’m yet really in the process of discovering the works of other poets. However, I generally tend to like works from Nigeria for the force behind their words and for their palpable frankness. Niyi Osundare, Ogaga Ifowodo, J P Clark, Christopher Okigbo, and Wole Soyinka readily come to mind. Elsewhere, I like works by Eavan Boland, someone I consider, if you want, a man of a woman in her writing. And closer home in Ghana, I have developed some connections with works by Kofi Anyidoho and Martin Egblewogbe. These are poets whose works I have been informed and inspired by in many ways than I can consciously mark out.

3. What do you hope to accomplish with your poetry?

I write to express myself; to free my head from being flooded with thoughts and keep me from going mad. I like to brood over issues and search for logical threads but I don’t like to memorize points. I think there is enough storage media in the world for that. Yet I don’t think there are enough words, breath or punctuation to hold the places in the expression of ideas by any one individual, and that is where poetry comes in handy for me. Poetry can say a lot in a few words.

So I’d say I want simply to contribute my thoughts to the body of ideas that already exist in society so I don’t need to be around in person before anyone can access these. That for me is critical because I hold the firm position that human beings have come very far and so should have enough to learn from so that we can minimize the mistakes we make.

4. Your poems are punctuation-rich (lots of exclamation marks and ellipses and colons and question marks). What drove you to adopt this style?

I just don’t seem to have enough words to capture the moments between speech and thought, the moments between high and low pitches of sound, the moments between choking on something and the welling up of tears in the eyes and so on. Such moments, for me, are rich and need somehow to be communicated, however inadequately, even with the form of text on paper, so that one needs not be told these moments explicitly. That is how I find life to be. Genuine tears, for example, are not announced, they just happen by the kick of some emotions. So I don’t know if I should call it a style really, but I try to employ punctuations to capture those moments when thought processes are not complete or when sentences need not be completed before communication is effected and so on.

5. Do you believe that poetry can affect the politics of Ghana? If so, how? Are there particular types of poetry that are better suited to accomplishing this than others?

I’d say yes, poetry can affect the politics of Ghana and I think it already does in varying ways that may not be readily obvious. It depends on the quality of the discourse. If the discourse is about triviality then I’d not expect positive impacts. So to answer the question of how, I’d say the debates must be high on sustainable philosophical and theoretical postulations or affirmations. And poetry is one tool for capturing theories succinctly in as much as they help in dissecting issues.

I’d not say some particular types of poetry are better suited. I’d rather say, like any other political tool, it must just be appealing no matter how it’s crafted, and then people’s attention can be captured for the intended message. Even for mere aesthetics, which poetry provides in abundance, we can observe that Obama in America, for example, won an election by delivering awe inspiring prose-poems on his campaign. The phrase "Yes We Can" speaks volumes. Nkrumah did a similar thing in his speeches for Ghana’s Independence and for African unity, and the poet holds the unique place in society for establishing such influences in the political discourse with his/her craft. Indeed I actually hold the position that a poet has no option than to speak to political choices, either directly or indirectly, because a poets art is affected by the political forces.

Contact Novisi:

dnovisi(at)gmail.com

The Still Small Voice - Dela Bobobee

2012-01-21T22:45:00.000Z

As we welcome the first month
when a new voice is first heard
our blunted ears may we whet
to hear the new still small voice

a voice of reason
a voice of unity
a voice of humanity
a voice of hope

while we try to read subtle signs
as first glimpse of hidden fruition
to herald the other side of the coin
in the hues kaleidoscopic cycle brings
may our loins not amass greedy children
who would torch a barn to assuage hunger
and may we not abet hot-headed progeny
who would set a granary on fire to trap a squirrel

if what binds us together as one voice
is truly greater than what divides us
then may our minds now be as one
to turn our diverse lyrics into harmony

if we have done it before
then we can still do it again
if only we rise above greed, hatred
and just listen to the still small voice.

Author Profile - Dela Bobobee

2012-01-21T22:41:00.000Z

Biography:

Dela Black Bobobee is a Ghanaian writer. He was educated in Ghana and Nigeria. He holds a B.A English, and a Masters of International Law and Diplomacy (MILD), both from the University of Lagos. His hobbies are writing, studying local and foreign languages, and cinematography. He is a Life Member of the prolific Theatre 15 (University of Lagos), Abuja Literary Society (ALS), Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), and Peace and Collaborative Development Network.

Five Questions with Dela Bobobee:

1. This poem seems to have been written in anticipation of the 2012 elections in December. What impact do you hope that reading this poem will have on voters in the lead up to that event?

Yes, you are very correct, this poem is indeed written in anticipation of Ghana’s next general elections in December 2012. Thanks to One Ghana, One Voice (OGOV) for the consideration to publish it. I also want to say here that the inspiration of this poem actually came from OGOV. I already know that OGOV online magazine enjoys a very wide readership, believe it or not. It is my strong belief that for those who would read this poem, its impact would be to make them reassess the enormous power they have in their hands to effect change in Ghana by voting wisely. It is the God-given right of the people to elect leaders of their choice, but they must do so wisely and choose leaders who have the genuine interests of the masses at heart. Perhaps we would learn something from “the still small voice” inside all of us, urging us silently to do the right thing at the right time, for the right reasons without being told to do so.

2. How optimistic are you that the 2012 elections will be successful and peaceful? What can Ghanaians - both the people and the government - do to increase the likelihood of that?

My optimism is very high, I must tell you. Although, Ghana for some time now has proved to the entire world that democracy has come to stay for good, I believe there is still the need for more work to be done by both the people and the government to maintain and improve upon it. The people must be strongly cautioned against the trap of electoral violence, because ironically it is the ordinary people that would face the brunt of such hostilities rather than the political leaders who seek the vote and mandate of the people. They should be free to choose anybody suitable for the job of good leadership irrespective of tribal sentiments or for any greedy reasons whatsoever. There is a strong democratic wave sweeping across the entire globe. We all know what the Arab Spring means, but political changes must not all end in violence.

On the part of the government, there must be a strong commitment to ensure free, fair and transparent polls. This can be done when the government adequately resources the Ghana Electoral Commission and put credible officials with proven integrity at the helm of affairs. When all these measures are fully implemented it would increase the likelihood of a successful and peaceful election come December 2012. I do believe that democracy can only flourish if there is an independent Electoral Commission, strong press, rule of law and other social institutions that operate with total transparency and commitment to the welfare of the masses.

3. Do you think this poem can only function in relation to Ghanaian politics in 2012, or can it have greater meaning beyond that?

It is hoped that the impact of this poem would transcend Ghanaian politics in 2012, and continue to have a greater meaning anywhere in the world. I must confess that in spite of the much touted free and fair election feats in Ghana, past experiences have shown that in the aftermath, animosity, mistrust, and tribal sentiments are sometimes whipped by some unscrupulous politicians for their own selfish reasons, out of a strategic desire to cause disunity among the people. Ghanaians must rise above hate and greed, and live in peaceful coexistence, as entrenched by the tenets of Freedom and Justice which our founding fathers fought for with their lives. They are the past heroes whose labour must never be allowed to be in vain. We must rather maintain and improve upon it.

We must practice our democracy in the unique circumstances of our environment, but I also commend a country like Canada as a model for the practice of democracy, and we must as well learn from their success stories as a roadmaps. Good governance is all about full participation in electoral process, transparency, accountability, predictability and social responsibility to our societies.

4. Like many of our readers, you went back through our archives to prepare for voting for your favourite OGOV poems of 2011, eventually voting for Martin Elorm Dogbo's "Forgotten Heroes" as your favourite. Were there other poems that stood out for you, or was Martin's poem clearly a cut above?

Many poems mean a lot of different things to me in various perspectives at varying points in time. It all depends on the significance of the poem in question to the specific situation on ground and what is at stake. Yes, there are many other good poems that merit my vote but it was rather unfortunate that readers are not allowed to vote for more than one poem. What I will do is to go back and write intensive appreciation of most of the good poems from the archives that I have already missed. Initially, I chose "The Burial of Saint Domeabra" by Darko Antwi, but was told that poems published before 2011 are not eligible. Now, if you look critically at these two poems; you would see the subtle similarities between the thematic preoccupations of these two OGOV poets. In any case, I guess they both exhibit an elegiac undertone of real or mock postmortem experience of their subjects. It brings sad memories of the slain Muammar Gaddafi to my mind. History essentially repeats itself and would either prove posterity wrong or right. Only time alone can tell whether an individual is a true hero or villain. Like I said – “This poem's theme is very universal. The sad songs of “Forgotten Heroes” are sung in every language of the world, but it was handled with poetic artistry by Martin Dogbo with such melancholic undertones that pluck on emotional strings.” – just like the dirge poetry of Kofi Awoonor.

The OGOV Editorial Staff Picks of "Mother of Ikemefuna" and "Mother of Equiano" by L.S. Mensah, was also a very good choice from a rather judicious point of view. LS Mensah is such an excellent poet with profound intellectual depths. Every “stardust” sprinkled on her for such good works is truly merited. Her works show such a remarkable insight into human nature. I was not surprised of the choice of staff pick, it only proved that I was not alone in my high opinion of her literary prowess.

Other poems that I would have loved to vote for are "Accra" by Prince Mensah, and “18 Miles to Yeero” written by Nana Agyemang Ofosu. The poem “Accra “ is a very realistic piece. This is what I call a "slice of life." Nice work, Prince Mensah. Now, coming to “18 Miles to Yeero”… Hmmm…. I must say here that, Rob Taylor has already done a very excellent and an in-depth appreciation of that poem. That poem is very apt to the political situations we find ourselves in Africa today. It is a colour reflection typical of our political experience in this part of the world. It showcases how crafty politicians only remember the ordinary people during election periods but always renege on their promises to them after the elections are over. Another history is about to repeat itself come December 2012. Poetry can indeed be a very useful tool in the hands of the poet for the benefit of the masses, by sensitizing them to effect ideal political change in their various societies. Intelligence is not a privilege, it is a gift and it must be used for the benefit of mankind.

5. It's been a year and a half since you were last profiled on OGOV. What have you been doing in the interim? Any new undertakings in your life? New writing projects?

I have been busy trying to balance my career demands with family issues. I have spent quality time with my family, getting to know my kids and monitor their formative stages with keen interest. I heartily welcome our own honourable OGOV Snr. Poet Darko Antwi, who has recently joined the Fatherhood League. Lol. In the interim, I have been very busy doing other things like academic researches, and moonlighting to jumpstart my own company which was incorporated in 2011.

New writing projects? Yes, I have devoted myself mostly to screenplays, but I have also written a handful of poems, short-stories, and about to complete another full length manuscript.

Congratulations to Rob and Mariska on the publishing your new books. Well-done guys. These are some of the cheering news I wish to be hearing about other OGOV contributors.

I am also very happy to be back. I thank all the regular contributors here, and the OGOV editorial crew for holding the fort, and keeping this laudable dream alive. It could only get better. I wish you all a Happy New Year!

Contact Dela:

delab(at)mtnnigeria.net

From the Archives: "Atonement" by Vida Ayitah

2012-01-16T01:03:00.000Z

They will bring our gold back
Our timber shall return on ships
Having been transformed into fine furniture
They will, they pledge solemnly
Erect statues and monuments
One each for the men who died
In the struggle for freedom
Our freedom
My freedom
The crowd cheers
Clapping wildly
Stumping stocky feet in the sand
The sands of our lands, of our blood
Go up in the air
But I wait
My eyes fixed on the stage
I wait for more
But no one says a thing
About bringing back
The thousand and one men and women
Who died
No one says
"I'll bring back your fathers and mothers
Your sons and daughters"
They say it's a national reconciliation
They smile and shake hands
But I
I call it something else
As quietly I leave the cheering crowd

Old poems at OGOV don't die, but live on in our archives. Every once in a while we will dust one off for our newer readers to enjoy. "Atonement" was orginally published on OGOV on May 12th, 2007.

Author Profile - Vida Ayitah

2012-01-16T00:01:00.000Z

Biography:

Vida was born on July 19th, 1978 in a small farming community in the Volta Region. She has three sisters and one brother. She enjoys music and dancing as much as she does writing.

Five Questions with Vida Ayitah [Note: This interview was conducted in May 2007]:

1. What do you think is the role of poetry in modern Ghanaian politics?

People listen to speeches delivered by their leaders. They also believe them. Sadly most of the promises made during the heat of desiring power never come to fruition. That is why people say politicians are liars. Hopefully, poetry can both give hope and awareness, and serve as a reminder of what our leaders are supposed to deliver to their people and the country they swore to serve and protect.

2. Why do you think Ghanaian poetry appears to be so dominated by men? Is it that men are writing more, or that women don't receive the same exposure, or something else? What do you think can be done to promote Ghanaian poetry written by women?

For ages, the Ghanaian woman has been known as the silent voice at home, meekly following in the husband’s steps. This has somehow created a situation where women in our society still expect our men to take the lead in just about every aspect of our lives. It’s not that men write more than women. It’s simply that we expect the men to be out there on top. But I think we’re breaking out of this dormant circle.

On the subject of promoting Ghanaian poetry written by women, I think every individual can contribute to this. We can set up support groups, by women for women, in our various communities to discuss and advise. In this regard, any woman interested in this idea should kindly contact me. We have to help ourselves if we expect help from outside. Gradually, I know the female voice will be just as loud and strong as that of our male counterparts.

3. Your poetry, like that of Kobena Eyi Acquah, seems to be strongly influenced by contemporary American and European writing, and perhaps less influenced by more "traditional" writing styles, as practiced by Atukwei Okai and others. Do you feel this is true? If so, why do you think you have developed this style?

I grew up reading Robert Browning. Hard as it was to understand him then, his way of expressing himself somehow stuck with me. I suppose this is because his was the first book of poems I laid hands on. Later I discovered Mr. Kobena Eyi Acquah and instantly fell in love with his writing. Basically I think every writer has his/her way of expressing thoughts and emotions. Sure we are influenced by what we see and read, especially at a young age. So yes, I can say I’m not very traditional in this regard. But my hope is that I am still able to convey the right message no matter which form it takes.

4. Would you consider "Atonement" as being primarily "historical" in focus, or as dealing with problems in current day Africa/Ghana?

"Atonement"... I really don’t know how the reader sees this. But it feels good – very good – to be freed from oppression and slavery. But our fight shouldn’t end with one group of people (outside) only to start with another (amongst ourselves). Leaders throughout Africa need to take a closer look at their people and do the best for them. Not just deliver big colorful speeches. Work must be done as well. Good work must be done.

5. "Atonement", with its mentions of wild crowds, "statues and monuments" and bringing back gold and timber "transformed into fine furniture" brings to mind the state in Ghana today during the "Ghana @ 50" celebrations. What is your view on these celebrations? Is it in line with your general criticisms presented in the poem?

I know that people all over the world deal with tragedy the best way they can. You don’t hang onto the past. But my feeling here, as expressed in "Atonement" is that we easily get blinded by what we see and forget the cost of our freedom. We all know what Nkrumah did for Ghanaians. His hopes and aspirations for this country. But do we see his dreams coming true? Who speaks for the men and women who lost their lives in the struggle for our freedom? Those people didn’t die just for some corrupt and greedy individuals to come to power and mock what they bled for. What did they die for? There is so much more to be desired of the people we trust and put into power.

Contact Vida:

akusefako(at)yahoo.com

Favourite Poems of 2011

2012-01-03T21:06:00.005Z

2011 was an interesting year for OGOV. Our fifth year in operation, it was our first year in which we took some time off, as we republished poems from our archives throughout the summer. Our readership dipped a bit at that point, but rebounded strongly by the end of the year, both in the quality of our submissions and the re-emergence of some vibrant commentary from our community of writers and readers.

Highlights from the year included our two-part Roundtable Discussion on "African Writing and the Internet" (you can read part one here, part two here) and our feature series of poems by Nii Ayikwei Parkes, entitled "The Makings of You". We also added two new additions to our "How Poems Work" series, written by Prince Mensah and Rob Taylor.

But we're here for the poems, right? So without further adieu, here are the results of the "Favourite Poem" voting for 2011. Happy New Year, all!

Readers' Picks:

portrait of a lotto prophet as savior of the people by Prince Mensah (Issue 5.38, September 24th - 30th, 2011)

Comments on portrait of a lotto prophet as savior of the people:

"Time is very important in this poem, and I like how Mensah uses the temporal divisions (Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow) to point up the inevitability of the people's fate. By fixating on immediate material needs, they condemn themselves to exploitation when they, like the refrain, dwell only in the present. The Lotto Prophet is the Pied Piper, this time he punishes the people for the mistake of wanting more, ironically, by taking what little the people possess. It could be applied to the present financial crisis." - L.S. Mensah

"When two or three lines in a poem stick to your memory, when you love to read that poem again and again, then that poem has some qualities that cannot be measured. An example of that poem is Prince Mensah's "portrait of a lotto prophet as savior of the people"" - Darko Antwi

A Text Message To My Friend, Jake, Who Died For Their Sake by Philip Addo (Issue 5.50, December 17th - 23rd, 2011)

Comments on A Text Message To My Friend, Jake, Who Died For Their Sake:

"I love the poem because it touches on a very sensitive issue: "Slave trade in our modern time." I think I adore the poem. - Molai Addo

"Well done to Philip Addo for his amazing poem." - Darko Antwi

Forgotten Heroes by Martin Elorm Dogbo (Issue 5.45, November 12th - 18th, 2011)

Comment on Forgotten Heroes:

"This poem's theme is very universal. The sad songs of “Forgotten Heroes” are sung in every language of the world, but it was handled with poetic artistry by Martin Dogbo with such melancholic undertones that pluck on emotional strings." - Dela Bobobee

Staff Picks:

Mother of Ikemefuna and Mother of Equiano by L.S. Mensah (Issues 5.42 - 5.44, October 22nd - November 11th, 2011)

Comments on Mother of Ikemefuna and Mother of Equiano:

"L.S. Mensah does a great job by writing about two mothers of two characters; one fictional (Ikemefuna) the other actual (Equiano). Both men were slaves; Ikemefuna in another neighboring tribe, Equiano in another foreign nation. "Mother of Ikemefuna" executes an excellent juxtaposition of death and life against a background of hollow traditions. Ikemefuna's mother speaks, as a microcosm of women in stagnant cultures. In "Mother of Equinano", the mother is a collector of memories, a woman whose small heart has enough space to contain all the places her lost son had ever stepped on." - Prince Mensah

"What a treat it was to feature this pair of poems by L.S. Mensah. "Mother of Equiano" in particular, especially that cracking ending, has haunted me more than almost any poem featured on OGOV to date. And in addition to the poems, L.S. is one of the most thoughtful and generous interviewees we've ever had (see here for yourself). What more can we ask for?" - Rob Taylor

Thinking aloud, while sipping palmwine in England by Darko Antwi (Issue 5.52, December 24th - 30th, 2011)

Comments on Thinking aloud, while sipping palmwine in England:

"In compelling diasporan mode, Darko Antwi pulls the strings of nostalgia to the notes of change (or vice versa). As he sips palmwine in England, the poet makes a clear statement that he refuses to drink English alcohol and, ironically, it is the only thing in his culture that still tastes right. Using the backdrop of rain, the poet muses about home, about the sheer simplicity and sensuality in the way of life. Amidst all that, there are serious issues that have managed to morph themselves into normalcy. Issues that continue to undermine the progress of society. Darko captures questions that run in the diasporan state of mind: is home still the same way I left it? Are people still dependent on rain (a euphemism for external factors) to make important decisions about their lives? " - Prince Mensah

"This poem is rich with images of home. Heavy with them. They spill from it like rain from the "pelvis of the roof". You can feel the weight of it all as you read. You can feel the ache. Beautiful stuff." - Rob Taylor

Ayitey, 1973 by Nii Parkes (Issue 5.10, March 5th - 11th, 2011)

Comment on Ayitey, 1973:

"As with many year-end awards, poems published on OGOV near the end of the year tend to get more attention than early-year poems that have slipped from our collective memory. This often leads to wonderful poems being overlooked, something which cannot be allowed to happen for the poems in Nii Ayikwei Parkes' "The Makings of You" series. "Ayitey, 1973" stands out in particular, weaving its web between Accra and London, Vietnam and 9/11, George Foreman and Bruce Lee, Picasso and Nas. And Neruda leaning over it all. It is a mesmerising poem." - Rob Taylor

Thinking aloud, while sipping palmwine in England - Darko Antwi

2011-12-24T08:33:00.000Z

Perhaps it's raining
in my hometown
And the roaming goats
must have sought shelter
under the barn of maize and dried cassava

Perhaps it's raining
And the old lady is keeping some firewood
safe for morning porridge
and lukewarm bathwater

Perhaps it's raining
And Papa ought to rise
from his reclined chair
and place a barrel under the pelvis of the roof
to contain the pleasurable thrust of the waterfall

Perhaps it's raining
And the village boys and girls
are having an athletic fair:
cartwheeling themselves across fields,
or molding clay into Rubus fruticosus,
or reshaping the plastic soil to form urban houses,
owned by distant relatives
who have become pregnant men at Santasi

If it does not rain tomorrow,
will those boys and girls
cross the boundaries of the village
and trot around the globe
in chase of wild goose,
and wear out their fiber and cerebral,
for nickels and dimes?

Perhaps it's raining. Perhaps it's raining...
raining in the place of my birth...
raining cats and dogs.

Author Profile - Darko Antwi

2011-12-24T08:31:00.001Z

Biography:

Darko Antwi was born in Kumasi in May 1976. After his secondary education at Bekwai Seventh Day Adventist, he taught in local kindergarten and primary schools from 1997 - 2002. He served as a columnist for African Echo newspaper from 2007 until 2009.

During the Emancipation Day 2006 at Cape Coast, Antwi’s epic, Nkrabea, was adapted for recitation. Also, it has a regular reading feature at Black History Month - Britain. One of Antwi's poems has recently been published at Phillis Wheatley Chapter.

Five Questions with Darko Antwi:

1. You mentioned in the comment section of last week's OGOV poem that "Thinking aloud..." "shapes itself between" Juanita Tsikata's "Wake Up, I'm Home" and Philip Addo's "A Text Message To My Friend, Jake, Who Died For Their Sake". Could you expand on this observation a bit? How do you think your poem sits between them? And what new territory does it cover that the other two do not?

Whereas Juanita Tsikata's title reviews a case of national identity and cultural deviation as a result of long term emigration, mine takes a preview of the subject. I noticed that the voice in Tsikata's poem makes decisive statements, very opposite to my contemplative rhetorical questions, be they legitimate or not.

Although it does not predict the aftermath of the voluntary movement of people "in the oracles of unseen" chains, Philip Addo's poem views, reports or bears witness to the event. The following lines are expressive: "The lions are marching with ants into pits for grains / The sheep are diving into the sea for fishes / They are going back to the mud."

There is mass movement of skilled/unskilled, legal/illegal Ghanaian immigrants in Europe and elsewhere. Yet settling in another country is not peculiar to Ghanaians, considering the socio-economic advantages and disadvantages that are being reaped globally. So depending on the angle one looks at continental migration, the theme, tone and the mood of the three poems can be compared and contrasted in minute traces.

2. Was "Thinking aloud..." written, at least in part, as a conscious response to similarly-themed poems by other writers, or was it written "independently" (i.e. only sub-consciously in relationship with other poems)?

It's neither of them. I wrote it during a difficult time in London. I had no job for nearly three months. So it's definitely a reflection of opportunities and resources in Ghana versus my jobless state. I never thought of responding to, or bearing relationship with other poems. Anyway, it would have been interesting writing with some sort of conscience other than the explained.

3. How important do you think it is that we as poets "challenge" one another on important issues? Do you think such criticism/debate is best accomplished through prose writing, or through further poems?

Very important. It has to be prose, since it elaborates and could better untie the tight knots of poetry.

4. Earlier this year a poem of yours, "The Burial of Saint Domeabra", was given a close reading by Prince Mensah as part of our "How Poems Work" series. How did it feel to have a poem of yours analysed in this way? Was it useful to you? Did it help you look at your writing, and your writing process, in a new light?

I was excited. I felt honoured. Prince Mensah's detailed work confounds me. It renewed my mind as to the fact that a poem has a message. But it never scared me of playing with words!

5. In a recent comment on the site, you expressed your regret that discussion of OGOV poems is down in 2011. Since we're at the end of the year, with voting currently on for our "Favourite Poems of 2011", what one or two OGOV poems from 2011 do you think should have garnered more attention and discussion from our readers?

The "The Makings of You" Series was a sensation. We could have had a lengthy discussion on Nii Ayikwei Parkes' prodigious output. But we made less out of "The Makings of Ourselves". In October, L.S. Mensah recreated the "Mother of Equiano" and the "Mother of Ikemefuna" for our veneration, but to my disappointment we paid little homage to her courtesy. David Urion's "Arthur Wharton, A Black Star Shines in Space" should have had a rocket discussion, but it lifted-off to nowhere.

Contact Darko:

darko.antwi@yahoo.co.uk

A Text Message To My Friend, Jake, Who Died For Their Sake - Philip Addo

2011-12-17T21:30:00.000Z

Dear friend, I have a message to send:

The lions are marching with ants into pits for grains
While elephants roam in their dens in the plains;
The crabs are jumping into soups which burn their skin
And swabbing the pretty blankets that make them kin;
The sheep are diving into the sea for fishes
While leaves grow green on the land for dishes;
And the peacocks are complaining they are not beautiful
Just because they are not dutiful.
They are all moving in the oracles of unseen chaining
And the designers embrace them in feigning.
They are going back into the mud
Singing hallelujah 'backwards change' from the bud.

Author Profile - Philip Addo

2011-12-17T21:28:00.000Z

Biography:

Philip Addo was born in Accra on February 24th, 1982. He had his basic education at the Gyemmah Preparatory School and Lartebiokorshie Presby Junior Secondary School, both in Accra. After, he furthered to Accra Academy for his senior secondary school education. He has a diploma in Airline Ticketing and Reservation from the International School of Aviation, Tema. Currently, he is pursuing a degree course in English Language education at the University of Education, Winneba.

Philip writes all kinds of literary works. He loves to preach peaceful co-existence and love for one another.

Five Questions with Philip Addo:

1. A text message to a friend who has died is, needless to say, an unexpected form of elegy. What inspired you to take this route?

The poem is a grief song in an invisible text message to the world of our ancestors, to whisper to them that their fight against the slave trade and colonialism has been a waste of time and a needless loss of precious lives.

My inspiration came from the pain of seeing people, especially highly educated Africans, struggle to steal out of their countries only to be serfs elsewhere when The Great One has endowed us with all the natural resources we need. To add to the above is the pain they go through before traveling: joining long queues at embassies; traveling long distances on deserts; paying huge amount of monies to individuals as bribes etc. Therefore, the persona’s cry in this poem is simple; to bring to light a naked truth: the slave trade still exists but the chains are now invisibly in the mind.

2. This poem has a number of biblical overtones. Do you consider it to be a religious poem?

Critics may look at the poem from different perspective, but personally, I do not consider the poem a religious one. Jake in the poem alludes to all dead people who were against the slave trade and colonialism. They have fought for their motherland and they died a death of pride. However, the people who they laid down their lives for are now embracing a well- packaged slave trade in the form of visa lotteries and other decorated lies.

3. Your poems are often feature a great deal of rhyme and repetition (though there is no repetition in this poem). What draws you to these devices? Do your favourite poems by others use these devices?

Though some of my favourite poems use these devices, I use mine depending on what I want to achieve in the poem.

4. How is your schooling going at Winneba? Is it everything you hoped it would be? Is there anything about the course that is surprising you?

I am now on my out-segment (internship). Studies on campus was great though a little bit stressful. Academically, the experience has been much rewarding.

5. You've made a move from working in the airline industry to training to teach English. Have you noticed any skills that you developed in the airline industry that are transferable to English education, or is it like starting all over?

I don’t think the skills I acquired at the aviation school are total wastes. For example, my Salesmanship and Communication Skills at the aviation school are really complimenting my English Language course.

Contact Philip:

philadogh(at)yahoo.com

Cry Around Tables - Kodjo Deynoo

2011-12-10T08:43:00.000Z

And there were the forefathers
How I remember them
All seated around tables,
The notion of a dream

Sankofa, this is our land to be built on
Heritage, this is our destiny
Dreams of a united continent

Colourful riches
Of this here land seen in
Reflections of what we wear,
This is our fabric

This is our clay
And ants build skyscrapers with it,
Birds leave architecture on acacia trees
That stand with majesty

Watch the cream of the sun
Shower the land with beauty,
At sunset stands
Paradise here on earth

And others will,
And do, envy
For just a fraction
What we have, we own

But our leaders
Heads went missing
Over the want of greed
Of selfish self-indulgence

And a notion in motion
Sometimes, too often,
Goes without directions
So I sit and cry around headless tables

Author Profile - Kodjo Deynoo

2011-12-10T08:40:00.003Z

Biography:

Kodjo Deynoo grew up in Dansoman, then moved to St. Johns near Achimota. He left Ghana in his early twenties and since then has been living in the UK. He just completed an MSc in construction project management and now works with an interior fit out construction company in Bristol, UK. He sees himself as more of a Dansoman guy, as he spent his first decade there.

He blogs at http://poetrysoundbites.blogspot.com/ and tweets at @Kodjo_Poetry.

Five Questions with Kodjo:

1. How long have you been writing poetry?

I have been writing poetry since my teenage years. I would scribble things on paper and then lose them. Then a friend bought me a little green book on my birthday, with a few of my own quotes she had written in. From then on I only wrote in that book. My elder sister then encouraged me to open up a blog a year later. That was in 2009, so I guess I would say 2008.

2. Who are your favourite poets? Which poets have most informed and inspired your work?

I will first mention Pablo Neruda. I could add a few more names, but I am going to only add Phillis Wheatley. Hers is an inspiring story that I feel a lot more people should get to know.

3. What do you hope to accomplish with your poetry?

When I write poetry, it is more to do with the underlying message it conveys, which is mostly defined in a social sense. I like to challenge conceptions and encourage others to think and not just accept the status quo. I hope to, in my little way, help change what needs changing for a better future.

4. You run a blog where you publish your own poetry. What inspired you to set this up? Are you satisfied with your poems being published on your own blog, or do you have a desire to see them published in magazines, journals, other websites, etc., as well?

I needed a platform to share my work. I felt that the more I shared my work and the more people read my work, the more inspired I would become to write further. And with 250 hits a day on the blog I was proved right.

Like every up and coming artist I want my work to be recognised for its worth, and there is no better way than to have it published, and hopefully used in schools. That is my ambition for my work.

5. A visit to your blog reveals that you are constantly publishing new poems. Do you write every day? How many hours a week do you devote to writing poetry?

Those around me suffer the most, because not only do I write everyday, I have to have reading sessions with anyone who will listen. My mind works on overdrive, fueled by my passion for poetry. As of writing up this interview, this day I have written three poems which will feature on my blog in the coming days.

Contact Kodjo:

Email: kodjodeynoo(at)gmail.com
Blog: http://poetrysoundbites.blogspot.com/

Vote for your Favourite OGOV Poems of 2011

2011-12-03T23:18:00.000Z

*NOTE: THE DEADLINE FOR VOTES HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO DECEMBER 30TH*

Every year, the readers here at OGOV vote for their favourite poems. We hope you will take a bit of time to review our archives and vote for your favourite poem of 2011! Whether you are an active contributor or occasional reader of OGOV, we'd like to hear from you.

Not only does your vote help give more exposure to a poem you love, but it also aids us in deciding which poems to nominate for the annual Best of the Net competition. So, please take a look through our archives and send your vote, along with a short message about why the poem is your pick, to oneghanaonevoice(at)gmail.com, subject line: Favourite Poem 2011. Please note that only new poems (i.e. not poems listed as "From our Archives") are eligible for nomination.

Want to lobby for a poem? Feel free to use the comment section below this post. But be sure to vote via email as well, as only those votes will be tallied.

The deadline for votes is December 30th, 2011 at Midnight GMT. Results will be posted on January 1st, 2012.

You can review readers' favourite poems from previous years here.

p.s. Poems posted throughout December will be up for consideration as well - if something great comes out after you've already voted, we'll allow you to revote.

How Poems Work #4 - Rob Taylor on Nana Agyemang Ofosu's "18 Miles to Yeero"

2011-11-26T00:01:00.009Z

The following is the fourth installment in our "How Poems Work" series. This series aims to give OGOV readers and poets an opportunity to talk about some of their favourite poems previously featured on the site. Nana Agyemang Ofosu's "18 Miles to Yeero" initially appeared on our site on November 27th, 2010, and that original posting can be read here.

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18 Miles to Yeero - Nana Agyemang Ofosu

The car ran like a hare’s sprint
In a blink we left them to squint
To see us through the vaporizing sand
The whole mass of brown land
Danced in the atmosphere

The journey was not smooth
So rough like an aching cough
Soon I was at Kadoli
And I anticipated Gudayiri

Along the route I numbered the houses
About thirty at Kadoli
And the rest I considered abandoned
The place was a corpse

But at Kadoli we met two women
Each with a child wrapped at the back
Their destination, Gudayiri
But they were nowhere near

They had walked miles with dust
On their feet that could turn a pond brown
I was lost in the sweat from their faces
As they jumped in the wagon

Scattered houses along the route
Dilapidated and rotten thatch roofs
Hung loosely on waste-away bricks
Life in the interior, an eye saw

I wished there was space to accommodate
The many more women along the route
Who paddle their hearts, early morning, to Wa
And back with hope of a better life

I am at Yeero
Don’t think it Yaro, a man’s name
In a flash I went round the town

My journey was only an eighteen mile trek
But I saw the countryside
And witnessed the pain of women
And the neglect of remote towns

If you get time tell others
Of these many villages
Where the politicians visit once in four years
Say that we need them to act
And it is now and no other time.

First off, full disclosure: I am the head editor of One Ghana, One Voice. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that I am a fan of "18 Miles to Yeero" by Nana Agyemang Ofosu – it is a poem I chose to publish, after all. That said, every poem published on OGOV isn’t automatically a favourite of mine. If OGOV was a traditional literary magazine with a general publishing mandate and four (or less) issues a year, perhaps every poem published would be deeply loved by me. But OGOV isn’t standard by any stretch. We publish weekly and function as much as a community-building forum as a venue to highlight literary gems. So, regularly I will publish poems which aren’t my favourite, but which do something interesting or unexpected, or which show potential (especially in the case of first-time contributors).

Initially, "18 Miles to Yeero" was one such poem. I was intrigued by its content (rarely do we have poems submitted to us that are set in the Upper West region), but little else. Moreover, I was bothered by the sudden dropping of the rhyme scheme after the first stanza (although a full-length poem with an AABBC rhyme scheme would probably have been worse!). Still, the inconsistency concerned me. Nonetheless, I thought the poem was interesting enough to merit publication, so I posted it on OGOV in late November 2010.

In the year that’s passed since then, "18 Miles" has grown to be one of my favourites on the site. I love its rich images, like the “feet that could turn a pond brown” and the roof hanging from “waste-away bricks”. I love the women “Who paddle their hearts, early morning, to Wa / And back with hope of a better life” - the joyous, sweeping nature of the line; how oddly natural the verb “paddling” feels within the dusty scene, “Wa” echoing as “Water” in my mind and on my tongue.

I love, also, the poem’s regionalism. Having only ever travelled through Upper West Region once myself, and briefly at that, all of the place names (beyond Wa) are foreign to me, as I suspect they would be to many readers. But this in no way diminishes the poem. We have all been to towns like Yeero, where you can count all the houses in town as you drive by and “where the politicians visit once in four years”. But by including these rather obscure names, Ofosu is allowing us to feel alienated along with his narrator, as if we, like him, are journeying into an unknown. By tapping universal themes without abandoning an honest description of these real (and remote) places, Ofosu leaves the reader in flux between the known and the mysterious. This, to me, is the optimal space to inhabit as a reader. It is a space rife with possibility for engagement and the discovery of new meaning. And, in part, it is Ofosu’s devotion to regional accuracy that makes entering that space possible in "18 Miles".

I love the end of the poem too, where it takes a turn towards the unabashedly political. This is the kind of turn that many in North America (where I am writing from) would find off-putting, expecting a more “artistic” ending, instead of a direct call for political action. This poem, instead, fits into the rich vein of African literature that faces vital political issues head on. Reading "18 Miles" reminded me very much of Ama Ata Aidoo’s response to a question about the “practicality” of the American “hippie” art of the Sixties:

It comes with freedom - a certain type of freedom which I think no black person in this world has right now. It's almost like doing something which is beautiful and nice because you want to do it - like writing a story about lovers in Paris - it is beautiful, it is nice.... [but] I cannot see myself as a writer, writing about lovers in Accra because you see, there are so many other problems... You know, I feel a responsibility and I feel that it’s the same type of responsibility I think black people all over feel. (African Writers Talking, Heinemann, 1972)

Obviously, much has changed in Ghana since Aidoo spoke these words in 1967. But much has stayed the same, as well, especially in remote Northern towns like the poem's Yeero. So here we have Nana Agyemang Ofosu refusing to talk about lovers in Paris. In a 2010 twist on Aidoo’s 1967 analysis, however, Aidoo waits until the end, like the volta in a sonnet, to spring the political angle on the reader. Ofosu’s is a hybrid poem, then - a descriptive narrative and a political poem fused together by that deep sense of responsibility that has fuelled so much of the best of African writing. Indeed much has changed and much has stayed the same: in poems like Ofosu's the plane may now take off for Paris, but it still lands in Accra, at the gates of Osu Castle.

This brings me to the subject of form (which was the source of much of my original displeasure with "18 Miles"), more specifically that oh-too-smooth AABBC rhyme scheme that opens the poem. What can I say? Here, too, I was won over. At first glance, the poem can seem hastily constructed, as though Ofosu began with a rigorous rhyme scheme and grew tired of its demands after one stanza. Perhaps this is the case, though I doubt it. I doubt it chiefly because of the first unrhymed line, which opens the second stanza: “The journey was not smooth”. With that line, the rhyme scheme falls off, and never recovers. It is as if, in that moment, we have taken a turn off the main highway and on to the potholed dirt road that we will be travelling for the eighteen bumpy miles of the poem.

I’m reminded here of a poem called “Sampling from a Dialogue” by the Canadian poet Don Coles. A poem about an argument between a husband and wife, its form starts off as a traditional sonnet, but slowly unravels as the poem (and argument) proceeds. On the (lucky) thirteenth line, the wife interjects “Well / maybe there is just such a thing as / having enough of somebody”, and the poem’s form falters. The poem ends up being twenty lines (not the sonnet’s traditional fourteen), and both the form and the relationship are left in ruins.*

In both Coles' and Ofosu’s poems, then, a traditional form is played with in order to heighten the felt effect of the poem, with the form itself enacting the content of the poem. It’s a risky thing to do – perhaps the reader will never notice the formal play, or will come to negative conclusions about the abandonment of the form (assuming, incorrectly, that there is only one “right” way to compose a formal poem) – but the payoff can be great.

I was originally one of those readers who missed the payoff when it came to "18 Miles to Yeero". I’m very glad, though, that I gave it a second chance. I still see imperfections in the poem, to be sure, but these are easily overshadowed by its rich language, form, and content. Poems like "18 Miles" humble me as an editor – there isn’t enough time on earth to carefully give multiple readings to every poem submitted to OGOV, but when I rediscover a poem like "18 Miles", I wish there was. I fear what I might have missed publishing over the years. But at the very least I can be happy that this poem made it out there.

I encourage our long-time readers to go back through our archives and find some poems that you may have overlooked, and encourage our new readers to discover those same poems for the first time.

* I owe a debt here to Zachariah Wells, whose anthology Jailbreaks: 99 Canadian Sonnets (Biblioasis, 2008) introduced me to both the poem itself and to the sonnet hidden away within its twenty lines.
---

Rob Taylor is a Co-Founder and Editor at OGOV. You can read more of his writing here.

Dambudzo - Jabulani Mzinyathi

2011-11-19T00:02:00.001Z

‘Troubling’ the racist Rhodesian system
That one man demonstration
Little David against Goliath
‘Trouble’ in faculty corridors
From the University of Rhodesia to Oxford
Pursuing prancing poetry and prose.

‘Troubling’ them at the Guardian fiction prize
‘Troubling’ those that could not cross
The racial divide in matters of the heart
‘Troubling’ the greedy and the corrupt
Seeing the revolution derailed
Were you trouble, Dambudzo?

With those allusions to Greek mythology
Still ‘troubling’ us in symposiums
The person that became the poetry
That immortality secured
Dambudzo you cannot be remembered
That is the beauty of your art.

Author Profile - Jabulani Mzinyathi

2011-11-19T00:01:00.001Z

Biography:

Jabulani Mzinyathi was born on 01.09.65 in Ascot high density suburb, Gwelo, Rhodesia (now Gweru, Zimbabwe), to working class parents. He is a qualified primary school teacher turned magistrate, and he holds a diploma in personnel management. In 1997 he was awarded a diploma for excellence by the panel of judges of the Scottish international open poetry contest. He has had several poems and short stories published by magazines in Zimbabwe and abroad. He also once wrote humour pieces for some newspapers in Zimbabwe, and was a columnist for Moto magazine, Gweru. He has served both as the vice-chairman of the Budding Writers Association of Zimbabwe, and as chairman of the Zimbabwe Poetry Society.

Jabulani blogs at: jabulanimzinyathi.blogspot.com.

Five Questions with Jabulani Mzinyathi:

1. You have written a series of poems dedicated to Dambudzo Marechera, of which this is but one example. What was it about Marechera that makes you so passionate about him?

to begin with marechera was or is my compatriot. that alone is great. secondly the man was a conundrum. he was a genius who was hardly understood. i still have not fully understood him. him? yes for he was a true artist. he lived his life to the fullest. he reached a very high level of self-actualisation. this is what i find fascinating. a child-like innocence permeated his work. when children are in the presence of adults mostly we fear being embarrased by their utterances. marechera had no sacred cows.

2. Do you think you've learned more from Marechera as a political/social actor, or as a poet (i.e. from his actions or his words)?

marechera lived the way he wrote and wrote the way he lived. he used words as bullets in his struggle. it is very difficult to say whether the actions or words influenced me. there is a close relationship between word and deed if one has the honesty of marechera. paulo freire calls it praxis: action - reflection - action. it is an endless cycle. it sounds confusing but then, as the bible says, "in the beginning was the word"!

3. Looking back to your first interview on OGOV, at that time you listed Marechera first among the poets who influenced your writer. Would you say this is still true?

marechera will forever influence me. he left an indelible mark in my life. i still treasure his works. each time i read his work i gain useful insights. a friend who wanted to sound erudite just lost my copy of House of Hunger. am not able to lay my hands on another copy. what a shame that his work is not readily available in his own country of birth.

4. Previously, you've written a tribute to Dennis Brutus that was published here at OGOV. Brutus, too, made your list of poets who have influenced your writing. Have you written tributes to other poets on that list? Is it a personal goal of yours to compose poems to all of those influential poets?

i have written poems celebrating the lives and works of mzwakhe mbuli, jack mapanje, chipasula, etc. i do not really plan these works. there is some level of spontaneity. i cannot say i have really set a goal to compose poems in tribute to great poets or influential ones. i just find myself doing what i have to do. the road is long!

5. Do you think younger Zimbabwean poets have an appreciation for those who came before them? If not, what can be done about that?

the system of education must change really. yes, young poets appreciate the works of marechera, zvobgo edison, chenjerai hove but a lot still needs to be done. the system of education must undergo a revolution. shakespeare should come later. local works must take precedence!

Contact Jabulani:

Email:jmzinyathi1(at)yahoo.co.uk
Website: http://jabulanimzinyathi.blogspot.com/

Forgotten Heroes - Martin Elorm Dogbo

2011-11-12T10:12:00.000Z

Sitting under the big baobab tree
On day three
A day forbidden for us to go to the sea
I remembered the time and works of a people whom past time
Then promised them a future
Of greatness.
I watched their works as time permitted me
And for those time did not permit me
I heard.

When I murmured their names in so much melancholy
The birds of the skies
The fishes of the waters
The creatures of the lands seemed to know them too.
The sang while I sang sadly
For the days gone by
They mourned as I mourned more
Of heroes forgotten so fast.

Author Profile - Martin Elorm Dogbo

2011-11-12T10:10:00.000Z

Biography:

Martin Elorm Dogbo Elorm is a journalist and features writer. He is currently working at Blue Skies Ghana Limited and is also with the National Media Commission (NMC) as a media researcher and monitoring officer. He loves learning more about different cultures and traditions of society.

Five Questions with Martin Elorm Dogbo:

1. From the poems of yours that we've profiled on this site, it seems that a major focus of your writing is on paying tribute to, and reviving, African tradition and legend. Would you say this is accurate, or simply a coincidence between a few poems? If it's accurate, why have you taken this on as one of your primary concerns?

Based on the few poems I have submitted, it is axiomatic for anyone to agree to this observation you have made. My style of poetry covers all issues of life and I try as much as I can to incorporate something African about most pieces I write: it could be about the tradition, culture, legends as well as myths of the African people. This is also true of my love poems. If Africans themselves do not pay tribute to, and revive their rich and beautiful traditions, who will? I would want to be forever remembered for this.

2. You've mentioned in the past that your work has caused you to live in many different regions of Ghana (four, at last count, I believe). How has this affected your image of the country? Your attitudes towards preserving Ghanaian culture?

The regions have shot to five, introducing the Volta Region. Although that is where my father comes from, it’s my first time going there after twenty-five years. Even though the norms, cultures and traditions of one society or ethnic group are not entirely different from others, I have observed there are some infinitesimal differences. My individual goal of preserving Ghanaian culture has not changed that much. Like any Ghanaian, I show hospitality to foreigners without any sense of xenophobia. I do not give preference to race, religion or nationality: I can only speak for myself. Like many well-cultured young people did some time ago, I offer my seat to the elderly and to pregnant women who were not fortunate to get a seat in the bus or train. I greet all neighbours and people I meet on the way, etc. These acts of virtue are dying out, but I believe their flames would revive with time when one person starts exhibiting them again. These are some of the things I do towards preserving Ghanaian culture.

3. Why did you choose to break the lines of this poem in the way you did? For me, it gives a loose, spare feeling to the poem. Was this your intent?

Loose? My intention was to make this poem simple and memorable. I chose every line for a purpose: each line is a continuation of a story that a previous line began. The story is narrated from two different angles in a pair of stanzas. In a bid to introduce some sort of “African-ness” to this poem, the first stanza was aimed at introducing the setting — a traditional Sabbath day chosen by the persona to contemplate. The next stanza was intended to express the persona’s feelings about the way people have ignored those who once made history. The persona laments the apathy in commemorating heroes dead or alive in our society.

4. It's been almost a year and a half since you were last profiled on OGOV. What has changed in your life in that time? In your writing?

Not much has changed. It’s just that my concentration was a bit shifted to writing news reports and articles. That’s my original profession.

5. Speaking of the long gap between poems, it was also almost two years between your first poems being submitted to OGOV and your second batch. Is this a sign of the rate of your creative output, or simply how often we see it? Do you write very few poems? If so, why do you think that is? If not, why are you hiding them away from our devoted readers?

When there is enough time, I write at least one poem a day. Everyone including family, friends and colleagues know that I devote more of my time to poetry than anything I do, though it does not even generate a stipend for me. One daily basis so far, each poem I write could be as short as a quatrain or as long as seventy lines. I, however, like to keep my poems short, simple and memorable, so the average number of lines I write is twenty. I hope with time our devoted readers will get pieces from me more regularly.

Contact Martin:

eldusty911(at)gmail.com

Mother of Equiano - L.S. Mensah

2011-10-29T21:35:00.002Z

I would howl, but my throat
Is a gravel bridge, worn
Weak, where the thunder
Broke its scapula.

Hear me, you gods of
Childbirth, before my cry,
Hard-edged as Gbawe stone, hurls
Itself over the edge of this dirge;

For the Atlantic complains: that
My grief graffities the seas
With acoustic smog, disturbs
The sleep of off-duty fishes.

So I hide my threnody
In the spear tips of grasses
And I settle for a sob.
Shame! Shame! On the Atlantic!

What day is today?
It is the day of childbirth.
But in the breast milk that sours,
I hear my children cry.

In the raw lick of harmattan fires,
Is their cry: “Mother, we're cold.”
Were I an alchemist, I would dig
Up their after-births,

I would breathe life into them,
I would water them with my tears,
I would keep vigil
Till they return.

No one knows the shape of grief
Until it acquires land in your throat,
Saying; “do what you will
Your forever begins today.”

And what day is today?
It is the day the snatch-and-carry
Carried off my children on the wings of salt.
Tell me saw-wing swallows,

Did they pass by?
Point out the ground they trod,
So I may collect and keep the dust
Till they return.

They must return; they only
Stepped out to play.
No one turns to ash.
I only went to farm that day.

Often the songs of saw-wing swallows
Populate my dreams; often in fragments --
They skim the surface of things --
They remind me of young

Water – brooks, streams,
Rivulets and such
Where once you played.
They remind me of you.

The saw-wing swallows lend
Me their voice-boxes, to call you
Out from across the Middle
Passage -- only the silence returns.

If you should return
And find me gone, know this:
I searched. I looked. Found not a fragment.
Of you.

Author Profile - L.S. Mensah

2011-10-29T21:34:00.001Z

Biography:

L. S. Mensah was born and raised in Accra, and lives in the UK.

Five Questions with L. S. Mensah:

1. Like last week's featured poem, this poem is based off a Nigerian book - in this case, Olaudah Equiano's slave narrative, The Interesting Narrative Of The Life Of Olaudah Equiano, Or Gustavus Vassa, the African. The main difference between this and Achebe's Things Fall Apart, of course, being that Equiano's book is autobiographical. Did the fact that the source material for this poem was “real” change how you approached its composition?

I didn't immediately see the Nigerian connection, but they really are cracking writers. The book's authenticity has been a point of contention since it was published in the late 18th century, and Equiano himself responded to critics in his own day. That era is of course long gone, and today the questions that remain are posed in the interest of scholarship. Paul Lovejoy, a historian of African slavery, has raised questions (in Autobiography & Memory: Gustavus Vassa, alias Olaudah Equiano, the African). He claims there are records which show Equiano was born in South Carolina instead of Essaka in Igboland; though Lovejoy himself concedes that most details are correct. On the other hand Catherine Acholonu, a Nigerian poet and critic, has undertaken some wonderful work in The Igbo Roots Of Olaudah Equiano. Equiano's Travels (as it is published by Heinemann African Writers Series), opens up the problems of how we should approach our past, and what happens when the boundaries between autobiography, historiography, travel writing and the larger work of memory itself collide. Even libraries are faced with the problem of its classification; my borough library places it on the autobiography shelf, while back home, I expect to find it on the literature shelf.

My approach was influenced by the fact that every captive, including Equiano and his sister, left family behind. The (real life) slave narratives that have come down to us are filled with people who search for their relatives, including children, and in cases where they are able to trace them, they make efforts to redeem them if they are relatively well off. However that aspect of the history is rarely discussed, and there are reasons why. In Ghana, you find that it is often a taboo to talk about the slave past. The truth is that in some areas, the chiefs and traditional authorities took active part in the trade, and would rather the subject not be opened up. Also, the descendants of those who were enslaved (at least in Ghana) do not necessarily want to dredge up their ancestors' past. Even today, it is spoken of only in hushed tones. When I was a child, a lady once asked for her marriage to be dissolved; the reason being that her husband's relatives had referred to her as the descendant of slaves; never mind how long slavery had been abolished. Her request was granted; but the curious thing was that it was to her husband’s family to which her ancestors had once been enslaved, and then absorbed after the abolition. They should have been the last to raise such an insult. We also know that some of the Diaspora Blacks who travel to Ghana do so not only to see the slave forts, but to trace their family’s original home.

2. Both this poem and last week's take the perspective of mothers who do not figure significantly into the original narratives as presented by Achebe and Equiano. Was your primary goal in writing these poems to give a voice to these women? If so, why did you find this to be important?

Thanks, you have a way of asking questions which forces one to either re-think, or to look again for new insight. Yes, by refracting the experience through their eyes, I give voice to the women, but now that you ask I believe it is also broadly about the children. Both the fictional Ikemefuna and the real life Equiano had relatively easier lives before they were taken away from their mothers. Okonkwo expected first his own son Nwoye and then Ikemefuna to work almost as hard as he did on his farm. Though Equiano paints a relatively romantic picture of his childhood with his parents, he was put to work (in the domestic slave trade) almost as soon as he was captured; as for example, working the bellows for a (gold)smith. Lovejoy, quoting Eltis and Engerman, says that between 1663 and 1867; a period of just over two centuries, about 421,530 children were enslaved.

Ama Ata Aidoo's Anowa, a play about the slave experience, picks up the issue of the unaccompanied slave child. The lead character has no children, yet is the only one who expresses any concern about the slave children in her own “big house”. Herself “a child of several incarnations,” Anowa strays from the path her Mother Badua had mapped out for her:

I want my child to be a woman
Marry a Man,
Tend a farm
And be happy to see her
Peppers and her onions grow.
A woman like her
Should bear children
Many children
So she can afford to have
One or two die.

As a child Anowa's own questions about the legacy of the slave trade was met with some reluctance by her grandmother:

Shut up child or your mouth would one day twist with questions
…
You frighten me, child,
You must be a witch, child,
…
No one talks of these things any more
All men and women try to forget
They have forgotten.

Whatever the grandmother's protestations, she answers Anowa's questions; something denied to the slave twins Panyin-na-Kakra, who fan Kofi Ako's empty chair. Kakra, when questioned by Anowa, cannot remember their mother, and has no recollection beyond the fact that they came from “the house in Tantri”. This leaves Anowa to wonder about the unknown mother:

“… who is she? Where is she sitting while they stand here fanning an empty chair? Let someone go and see how she suffered bearing them.”

What we have in each poem over these two weeks, (also in Anowa) is an inversion; i.e. for whatever reason, a parent either outlives or is separated from a child. The older generation in the (child’s) original community, is unable to pass on its mores – and so what starts out as a break down of the family eventually results in cultural suicide.

3. We've now seen two “mother” poems of yours over the last two weeks. Are these part of a wider series? If not, are you undertaking one in the future?

Yes, each is part of a wider series, i.e. while the Ikemefuna poem speaks for the colonial experience, the Equiano poem stands for the slave experience; the two overarching crises which sit firmly in the African past. But I believe my interests tend more towards the slave experience, since it was with that subject that I found my feet. If there's anything I'll call a long term project, it is the slavery poems (all others are later accretions), and I take it as a good sign that three have been published so far: “Equiano Meets Mama Lot” in the Sentinel Champions Series; “Equiano Visits Cape Coast Castle” appears in Whispers In The Whirlwind, published by Mensa Press and “The Grand Emporium” in look where you have gone to sit, by Woeli (and the Writers Project Of Ghana).

But I have had my turn. For now let's sprinkle star dust on others who have also taken on the subject of slavery. It was Ghanaian poet and critic Kwadwo Opoku-Agyemang, who in his ambition to fill what he calls a “gap in our history four hundred years long” has done the wonderful work of publishing a collection about the impact of slavery: Cape Coast Castle: A Collection Of Poems. He writes in “Equiano's Retort”:

…
They scattered the ash and the old people
They killed the young in their yolk
…

Everything is present in my memory
Even the far future, the buried fury

And in “Equiano: A Mother's Song”:

They snarled him like a beastly thing
Took him washed out in streams of fishy swarm
Scaled and sold him, my flute song
Where his mother can never reach him
My body is streaked with red clay
I will not be consoled.

You can see how my own Equiano poem picks off the crumbs after Opoku-Agyemang. Here on OGOV, Roland Bankole Marke’s “Africa's Shores” is also in that vein, slavery which demands that humans become chattel, is also a question of a breakdown in morality (you can read the comments to see why I took issue with the poem). Finally in your own [ed. note - this interview was conducted by Rob Taylor] “The Slave Castle at Elmina” published in your collection The Other Side Of Ourselves, you describe how as your tour group entered the Condemned Men’s Cell at Elmina, a woman “had felt something flying”:

…
and sure enough when we quieted down
we could hear its faint cries and sense
its frantic little bird heart rattling in its cage of bones.

You also draw a contrast between the treatment of

of rebellious slaves - how the soldiers
would put five or six of them in and not open
the door again until they were all dead

And the bird given its freedom by one of the tourists:

who waited motionlessly
until he could hear the bird well enough
to find it and cup it in his hands,
carry it out into the courtyard and send it
scrambling into the sky

After all these centuries, the incarceration spaces can still appear spooky. I have seen grown men cry coming out.

Thanks, Poets.

4. The punctuation in this poem is very important, especially in the last stanza. Did you play with the punctuation a great deal to come to this version, or was the punctuation, or was the punctuation more or less like this in the first draft?

Punctuation is often the last thing I take seriously, mainly because I’m quite horrific at it. I usually keep to the bare knuckle method of a comma, a comma, until I reach a full stop. With this poem, I started with what became the first and last stanzas (with a change of word here and there), though not necessarily in the positions they now occupy, and yeah, with what became the final stanza I had to turn from my normally long sentences and work in the short lines (the idea of fragmentation was in my head but I was probably unsuccessful with that).

5. What have you been reading of late? Do you have any book recommendations for our readers?

I'll say I'm mostly rereading, but I read James Gleick's The Information: A History, A Theory, A Flood which came out this year. It's a wonderful read, if anyone can get it; especially in light of the recent discussion over the role of the internet in writing.

I'm (a lapsed) Anglican so I've been reading the King James Bible all through this year. This year, 2011, is the 400th year of its publishing. I'm reading it side by side with Robert Alter's The Art Of Biblical Narrative, which treats the bible as literature. I've slowly come to see the Bible as one of the best books with which to learn to write. Before anyone taught writing, the biblical writers knew their pacing, their parallelisms, their allusions, etc. and could handle multiple narratives without losing the reader. Even if you’re not Christian, you might enjoy it, and it could help you get Whitman.

I've been going through C.C. Reindorf's A History Of the Gold Coast and Ashanti. Reindorf was a Ga (half Ga, half Dutch), who became a Presbyterian Pastor, and contributed to translating the Bible into Ga. He was Tacitus without the salacious gossip, and published his book a century after Equiano’s Travels. Read and compare Reindorf’s book with Equiano’s to see how the representation of history and narrative changed in just a century. There is a version of his book online, otherwise if you’re really interested, email me for a copy.

I also recommend Abdulrazak Gurnah's Paradise; shortlisted for both the Whitbread (now the Costa) and the Booker (now the Man Booker) Prizes in 1994. Gurnah is a Tanzanian (born in Zanzibar) of Arab heritage, and his novel is based on the Koran's version of the Joseph story. It is set in East Africa around the beginning of the last century. Yusuf, the main character is another young man without his mother, and just like the Koranic Joseph, impetuous and with too much luck for his own good. His parents were forced to sell him into slavery, and he was never to see them again. The book ends with Yusuf about to join the war effort for the First World War to fight on the side of the Germans. Again, read and compare Gurnah’s book with Things Fall Apart, and see how two novels, set in roughly the same historical time but in different parts of the continent, treat the coming of colonialism, amongst other things.

Also for anyone who wants to know about the slave past, William St Clair's The Grand Slave Emporium: Cape Coast Castle and the British Slave Trade is an excellent read. You don’t need to be an academic or a student to enjoy reading it. I borrowed his title for “The Grand Emporium”, and never gave him credit. Shame on me.

On a lighter note I'm also rereading the Harry Potter novels. The thought of Nearly Headless Nick, Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, the Gryffindor House Ghost, (played in the films by John Cleese) not allowed to join the headless hunt fills me with sadness.

Contact L. S.:

lsmensah(at)aol.co.uk

Mother of Ikemefuna - L.S. Mensah

2011-10-22T07:07:00.003Z

Some days all I startle are brush tailed
Porcupines, gathering twigs for leaf
Supper. They offer to de-quill my grief
But I decline, walk on, search on.

The forest brims with emptiness
Who knows what the dead must
Think of me, staining their eternity
With my tear-logged pain?

Eternity; that cold finality, thought
To stretch the length of the after-life,
To regurgitate the wounding tear,
To stare the stark horizon in the face,

Where a boy holds his head
In an alien wood, on an alien
Crossroad, his blood tock-ticking
To the old chronometer of revenge.

I have been scanning the Sphinx'
Face since; yet refuse to answer
Her perpendicular riddle, however
She phrases this logic of my existence.

I carry an ossuary inside of me,
When I move, it clatters
With my boy's ghost bones.
Once, I called it a womb.

He perished in the year of locusts,
Caught unawares in his place of rest.
Oh look for a headless ghost with a pot shard
Ikemefuna was my boy's name.

Author Profile - L.S. Mensah

2011-10-22T06:43:00.002Z

Biography:

L. S. Mensah was born and raised in Accra, and lives in the UK.

Five Questions with L. S. Mensah:

1. This poem taps into another piece of African literature as a source of inspiration (Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart). Here at OGOV we don't see many poems that take advantage of that rich resource for inspiration. Do you think it is important for African writers to explore and expand upon existing African literature?

I think we should, and like you said, it’s a rich and ready resource for us to mine, but I wouldn’t want to tell others which themes to explore. The moment we pick our pens or sit behind a keyboard, we engage with both the oral and the written work that first opened our eyes to our own literature. At the very least that body of work generates questions in us that we spend the rest of our lives pondering. By engaging with their work we are also able to ask ourselves a million what ifs, and hold ourselves up to the light, to see where the shadows fall.

The response does not need to be to a novel or a play; it could be to a situation or to a poem/set of poems about a particular situation, and our poets are already building what is shaping up to be an impressive body of work on the Keta problem. It started with Kwesi Brew's “The Sea Eats Our Lands” and Kofi Awoonor's “The Sea Eats The Land at Home” to which others on OGOV have responded: Edith Faalong’s “Without Roots”; Kwofie Mathew’s “Keta My Love”; Prince Mensah's “Keta Stories" and Andy Kwawukume’s “Keta”. Let's not forget your own “I Have Gone To Keta: Daytrip” - a response to Kobena Eyi Acquah's “I want to go to Keta”. Keta has become the motif of our national angst, and poets and writers will go on writing about it.

2. Did this poem come to you as a poem bound to Things Fall Apart from the beginning, or did the story of Ikemefuna become wound into the poem as it developed?

Not really, it started out as the best laid plans of a feminist that went awry. At first I thought I'd explore the relationship between Okonkwo and his wives. I ended up writing about Okonkwo himself ("Okonkwo's Beatitude"); then about his third wife ("Mrs Okonkwo the Youngest"), both of which appear in We Come From One Place published by Mensa Press. When I turned to Ikemefuna, I thought to explore him through his mother's eyes because he is the only one who even wonders about her. She is a character in the book, only because her son remembers, but even those memories are at risk, because he knows they become vaguer with time. I also thought I'd tie his fate to the locusts that appear in chapter seven of the book, since that foreshadows Ikemefuna's own end:

“The locusts settled in the bushes for the night and their wings became wet with dew. Then all Umuofia turned out in spite of the cold harmattan, and everyone filled his bags and pots with locusts. The next morning they were roasted in clay pots and then spread in the sun until they became dry and brittle. And for many days this rare food was eaten with solid palm-oil.”

Ikemefuna had lived with Okonkwo for about three years with nothing happening to him, so he thought he was safe, but he dies a day after the arrival of the locusts. Achebe himself tells us that despite his bravery, Okonkwo is a man afraid of being thought a coward, and that fear is what leads him to join the killing despite Ogbuefi Ezuedu’s advice. Should the community let the boy go and risk the wrath of the gods? From my reading of the book, Achebe also raises a point about the futility of the scapegoat. There is nothing to suggest whether Okonkwo’s community would have fared better or worse if they had let him go. Certainly in the real world, that would not have prevented the arrival of the Europeans in his village, and the subsequent trauma the community, and all Africa, was to suffer.

3. When did you first read Things Fall Apart? Has your perspective changed in the intervening years?

I must have first read it sometime in my first or second year of secondary school. I would say my perspective has deepened. The issues it raises are not as black and white as they first appeared to me back then. Things Fall Apart is the classic it is because it offers no easy answers, but we take what we want from it anyway. We tend to pick up the obvious, such as the treatment meted out to the Africans, and we are right to do so. However, Achebe also presents us with a society that regards knowledge and people's place in the world as fixed; one that discriminates against women, strangers and the disabled, and one that sees itself as more civilised than neighbouring communities. Tell me what has changed? And why do we still tell ourselves that we had a near-perfect society in the past? Okonkwo’s community also complained about the world going to the dogs, you know.

4. “Some days all I startle ...” is an excellent opening to a poem. When in the composition of the poem did this come to you?

Looking back, I believe that phrase started life in one of my Congo poems but it always impeded my efforts to do anything with it. It became the starting point for this poem, but even then I wouldn't say the outcome was guaranteed. Seamus Heaney makes a point about how the right opening line can lead one to generate a whole poem, but one does need some luck too. A lot of the time I feel like an Accra cobbler, making shoes out of those worn car tyres, hammering them into place with oversized Kantamanto nails!

5. How many drafts did this poem go through before it reached the version published here?

Over a dozen. Of my million hideous obsessions, the number of drafts of a single poem I go through is probably the worst.

Contact L. S.:

lsmensah(at)aol.co.uk

Ephemeral Lives - William Saint George

2011-10-15T01:50:00.000Z

The sun burns the last shreds of night
Still wrapped in the dewy cocoon's
Birth-sheets; fickle under burning light,
This quiet nativity is in the death of the moon:

The drying grass accompanies the drying
Of my wings. Long curled, they unfurl
Into a brilliant blossom,
Stoked by the fires of a short passion for life,
However fickle and sorry lived.

I poke my probing eyes into a world of wonder:
Colour beats colour in ever-contending

Extravagances just to please the pollen-bearer's
Sweet tongue:
A little gift for a great service,
(much like the penny for the cobbler's worth),
But even better, for the kindness of a cupful
Lasts some hours,
And these hours are keenly spent flirting with daisies,
Or rejecting the audacities of the pretentious rose.

A few hours stretch like a century before me;
The seconds of a drinkful of nectar
A year-long ecstasy.
Reeling pangs of delight stiffen wings,
And make crazed convulsions of unadulterated joy,
How sweet!

But then it's on, and off,
And I flirt with the fancy dressed field ladies,
Topped in hats and sweetly scented pansies,

But the climax of the day is passed
And the gathering orange-stained clouds
Loom over a short destiny:
Like a rope that expectantly ruptures
Under strain, yet still snaps with a shock
And a low mutter of condolence.

The sun which triumphed at the break of day
Is old and sickly as my tired wings
And crackling feet,
And the exhaustion from pleasing service
And unintended battles with vile humans.

Now the hours tick away the receding embers
Of hope that was kindled,
And the cool winds of resignation
Clip the wings and squash my fruitless rebellion:
Nature versus destiny and a tiny, stubborn will,
Sworn to glide the fields and dance the garden breezes.

All is now gone, and the ephemeral life I have lived
And loved fades into the obscurity of my race:
The flowers I fertilized will grow,
And my children shall taste their fruits.

That is the sacrifice.

Author Profile - William Saint George

2011-10-15T01:46:00.000Z

Biography:

William Saint George is the pen name of Jesse Jojo Johnson, a Computer Science undergraduate at KNUST and an active freelance photographer and blogger. He blogs at: http://williamsaintgeorge.blogspot.com/

Five Questions with William:

1. How long have you been writing poetry?

I wrote my first poem in JSS 1. The year must be 2002, but I've been writing prose for a very long time now, probably as far back as 1998.

2. Who are your favourite poets? Which poets have most informed and inspired your work?

That's an easy one! My first loves were Percy Shelley, John Keats and Lord Byron. I first fell in love with the English Romantics, and I generally adore their work. They still inspire most of my pieces. Besides them, I'll name Ezra Pound, Edgar Allen Poe and Sylvia Plath as my few American favourites.

3. What do you hope to accomplish with your poetry?

Poems touch and inspire us in ways prose cannot. I wish my poetry will touch and inspire the many minds that read them.

4. You run a blog, http://seriouspoetry.wordpress.com/, in which you write poetry criticism. This seems to be a rare habit among young writers. What drew you to establish that blog, and to write prose on the subject of poetry?

When I finally acknowledged that I was into poetry for good, I felt I will have a stronger impact in shaping Ghana's "poetic thought" by not only writing poetry, but by writing about poetry. I felt it was the next step in the long journey towards artistic expression.

5. Do you think that poetry can have a significant influence on the culture of Ghana? The political culture? If so, how?

With the work of many budding poets and "poet-ish" artists in Ghana, I think the future is bright. Yet somehow, I still feel that poetry will remain partly hidden in the shadows, and rightly so. Not many people (can) appreciate good poetry, and it should not be watered down by commercialization. It will have a significant influence on some small aspects of Ghanaian culture, but only so far.

Contact William:

williamsaintgeorge(at)gmail.com

Write To The World's MICROPOETRY Contest - Winning Poems

2011-10-08T08:17:00.001Z

Week One Winner - James Robert Myers

Untitled

As I give myself this
Constant reflection, I imagine,
My inner feelings broaden
Your beauty accentuates your trousers
Then I fall to grounds

Week Two Winner - Kwame Acquah Storbee

The Landmines

No doubts feuds abound,
In this love I found.
But lo, I am bound
Not placing her t’ ground,
A landmine it may sound.

Week Three Winner - Paul Forjoe Junior

In Five Lines I write, In Five Vowels I Might

Abuse accordingly, an act astronomical
Evolving egos, eclipses, even explicit
Inconclusive idioms intertwined in irony
Odd orgasms outstanding on offer
United unilaterally under unseen unison

Week Four Winner - Philip Boakye D. Oyinka

Untitled

You were taught to run
There’s fire on the mountain;
But stay where you are
The sea is my tenant,
Let fire call his boast.

Week Five Winner - Nana Kwesi E. Dadson

Love

Love runs our hearts through
To make the skies blue,
It is one but two;
Abstract but true
It’s us, me and you.

Week Six Winner - Sharon Tracy Phonos

Untitled

The trees are my home
And I wonder if
It is my soul’s song
To breathe sweet scented air
And never forget my roots.

Week Seven Winner - Edzordzi Agbozo

Husago

When our sunset draws near
Oh, let the old old
Backwards forward dance: Husago
Lead us to the other
Phase of life.

About the Contest - Write to the World's MICROPOETRY

2011-10-08T00:57:00.005Z

About the Contest:

MICROPOETRY was a poetry contest meant to make poets say more with less. The poems had to be no longer than five lines, with no more that five words per line. The poems could be on any theme, and had to be submitted via text. The contest lasted for seven weeks with a winner for each week, running throughout August and September 2011.

The MICROPOETRY contest was organized by Write To The World in conjunction with Radio Univers 105.7fm. Founded in 2007 by Kofi Gyamfi Anane-Kyeremeh and Maxwell Odoi-Yeboah, Write to the World is an organization that aims to help youth to identify, enhance
and utilize their writing talents.

Four Questions with Contest Organizer Kofi Gyamfi Anane-Kyeremeh:

1. How did the idea of this contest come to you? Who originally came up with the idea and how did they bring the other groups on board?

The idea of MICROPOETRY (on radio) came to me in the month of July after participating in "micropoetry" blogging on Twitter. There many writers wrote very short poems and gave it the "MICROPOETRY" hash tag. I thought the whole activity could be further expanded to radio and so I came up with the MICROPOETRY contest for radio. I then spoke with a few people who expressed interest and finally got Open Air Theatre on Radio Univers 105.7fm to host the show in partnership.

2. How important was it to you that the contest happen via text? Do you see texting as a long-term medium for poetry, or a short-term one that will fade with the development of new technologies?

The poems were not supposed to be more than twenty-five words and texting afforded that more easily (a text is 120-140 characters), and our belief was that this would help the entrants to follow the rules easily. Secondly, texting was faster and more versatile, such that poems could be submitted in real-time. Texting is dynamic and it gets developed as technology develops so I don't see poetry and texting being something short-term.

3. In some ways, new technologies which limit how much we can say (texting, Twitter, etc.) force us to be more poetic, in that they force us to think about how to use language efficiently. In other ways, of course, they allow us to be lazy with language, throwing out message after message without much concern for grammar, sentence structure, etc. Do you think texts, tweets and the like are having a good, bad, or indifferent influence on the development of language skills?

To me, there are two sides to every coin. Tweeting, texting, paging does compel people to be considerate of what to say and how to say it as in the case of this contest. It made the poets who usually write so much cut down on what they say. In the same way it makes some people very abusive of the English language. As such I think the issue of texting is double-edged.

4. What's next for Write to the World? How are you going to build off the momentum of the MICROPOETRY contest?

Write To The World has a global outlook, to get writers from all the world to share ideas and also provide the platform needed to help them improve and utilize their writing talent. We shall utilize all forms of communication/media to advance our core values and to meet our three simple aims: Identify, Enhance and Utilize.

Contact Write to the World:

wrightworld(at)gmail.com

Arthur Wharton, A Black Star Shines in Space - David Urion

2011-10-02T08:38:00.002Z

Arthur sailed to Britain from a land afar; Accra, Ghana.

Where Empire enclaves handed debuts to many captive slaves.

Lucky this cruel trade had ended before his swift-footed body descended.

His father was a Wesleyan, forgiver of sins wreaked by inhumane fellow men.

Arthur was ruled by varied task-masters, wouldn’t follow in footprints of Celtic ancestors.

---

Goalie for Sheffield, Stockport, Darlington… Rotherham, Stalybridge, Preston…

They shouted “Darkie!” because of his skin, judged only the surface, not what was within.

Hard-hearted bigots had blinkered eyes, as a true sprint champion won prize after prize.

His brave displays earned him plenty of plaudits, a majestic prince in this land of coal pits.

Victorian Britain, ruled by colonialist gentry; foolish manners, backs starch-stiff like sentries.

---

Had a `family affair´, was it for love or just the love of a dare?

Survived personal repression; endured hunger of The Great Depression.

Where once his reputation ensured a good gate, disowned, he was left to his fate.

Womanising Arthur with his still good-looking face, attracted problems and brought disgrace.

Proved time and again was of sterner stuff; packed his kit; withdrew his labour; usually left in a huff.

---

Why, oh why did this charitable bloke finish up unnoticed, broken, and broke?

Proud Arthur didn’t bow to pressured threats, yet stubbornness left insurmountable debts.

Flamboyant manner, stylish poise, clowning grace, Arthur effortlessly ran his rebellious race.

A radical working class hero of sporting renown was quickly forgotten, even in Rotherham Town.

Where once roared on to fame and glory, hauling coal trucks at Yorkshire Main Pit a sad end to his story.

---

In a pauper’s grave cold Arthur lay, nigh on 70 year almost to the day.

To add to this sad, sorry shame, his body was covered in soil bearing no name.

Coffin laid out in a steep-walled trench, another ex-miner tainted by poverty´s stench.

A black man with attitude many whites thought rude. Records erased for obstinate gratitude.

Until by chance his dusty mementos were found, and the search began for the now hallowed ground.

---

Mould breaker, Heart-taker, Convention-shaker, Record-maker.

Football Unites helped recover his past; no longer unknown, a hero at last.

Vociferous Arthur never toed the line. Wrong place. Wrong race. Wrong time.

New Edlington Cemetery; tranquil resting spot, a still shiny headstone sits on its well-kept plot

Where the Gold Coast Showman lies with his tomb engraved. Did he die a freeman, or an unshackled slave?

Author Profile - David Urion

2011-10-02T08:31:00.000Z

Biography:

David Leslie Urion was born on the North Wales border in 1959. He has a BA (Hons) degree in Youth and Community Education from the University of Wales in Wrexham and has held a whole host of varied and challenging jobs since leaving school, some more enjoyable and long-lasting than others, but all providing unique learning experiences: farm hand, engineering draughtsman, police officer, forklift truck driver, youth and community worker, garden designer, translator, book salesman, football coach, tour guide, foreign language teacher…

He has lived a nomadic life in the North Wales Borderlands and South Yorkshire and is now happily settled with his Spanish family, Maria and Eva, teaching English as a foreign language on the Spanish Mediterranean coast.

This lifestyle and the memories and emotions experienced are reflected in the range of his short stories, digital photography and poetry collections, featuring inspiration from the multitude of environmentally and ethnically different locations where he has lived or felt `at home´ throughout a happy, contented and interesting life. He has had poems published in Poetry Cornwall (who published a collection of haiku in 2009 entitled Reflections), Poetry Scotland, Platinum Pages, and also by a Spanish haiku group of poets called El Rincon del Haiku, for whom he also translated their 2011calendar of haiku into English. He enjoys taking part in poetry open-mic nights and had a collection of photos and haikus exhibited in San Javier museum in 2010 in a well received exhibition entitled Same Eyes Different Sight, about how a foreigner views Spain and its culture and traditions.

Five Questions with David:

1. How long have you been writing poetry?

I have been writing poetry for about 15 years now, but it´s only since moving to Spain that I have joined a small poetry group and really started to perfect what I want to write about and how to lay the words down.

2. Who are your favourite poets? Which poets have most informed and inspired your work?

My list of favourite poets is long and varied, usually they are rebellious types who arent´t afraid to cause comment; by living poets I love anything by Simon Armitage, Ian McMillan, Roger McGough and Kathleen Jamie, and of the deceased I especially take time to read again and again the works of Ted Hughes, Phillip Larkin, WH Auden and my favourite favourite George Mackay Brown. I think no-one has ever come close to mastering descriptive verse like Brown could. I have learned from all of them, and I can certainly see a massive improvement in the quality of my poetry since I began to build up a small library of poetry books at home.

3. What do you hope to accomplish with your poetry?

I write poems because I find it relaxing and stimulating at the same time, and to see some scribbles take on a life of their own and end up as a finished piece of work is great. I get a big kick when I finally put down my pen and see something on paper that´s as good as I can get it. We meet as a group for workshops once a fortnight, and since I embarked on a poetry writing course two years ago I have spent far more time than before writing in my spare time. I try and take along at least two new pieces of work for comments by the others and now notice that I have to do far less revising than previously, all thanks to the generous help and constructive criticism I have received from others with a poetic eye. It´s also very pleasing to see my poems regularly published in the UK, most often by the respected and well-read Poetry Cornwall pamphlet magazine, as I have built up a good rapport with the editor and both he and the magazine´s readership seem to like my style. I especially enjoy writing poems for children. I am a teacher in a Spanish school and use poetry in my classes as a means of introducing topics. I have found that lots of young people do write poems, but keep them to themselves and don´t show their talents off.

4. What drew you to take an interest in the life of Arthur Wharton?

I used to live in south Yorkshire and was fascinated when I read an article by a local newspaper that did an article about the discovery of Arthur Wharton´s medals under a relative´s bed, and the subsequent help by, amongst others, the writers Phil Vasilly and Irvine Welsh, Football Unites, Racism Divided and the Professional Football Association to bring his fabulous life story to the attention of the general public. From there I started to follow up research and put together my poem, even going to the cemetery near Doncaster and seeing his grave. I got in touch with Phil Vassily and showed him a copy of the poem, as he´d written a book called The First Black Footballer: An Abscence of Memory. He wrote back with some very positive, encouraging comments. Arthur´s life took on so much more significance once I took the time to look at what extraordinary achievements he accomplished in the sporting field, and the disastrous consequences that occured in his private life as a result of him being `larger than life´ and daring to speak out and stand up for himself in the last century. I tried to write a shape poem in the form of a tree of his life.

5. This poem has been associated with Football Unites, Racism Divides. Can you tell us a bit about that organization, and how the poem is connected to it?

Football Unites, Racism Divides is based in Sheffield, within spitting distance of Sheffield United´s stadium. They have been functioning as a voluntary organisation for around 20 years now, working in the city, nationally and internationally. They have football coaches, educators and youth workers that help vulnerable young people, mostly African immigrants, deal with issues in their everday lives by means of football-related projects. On their website their is a section specifically about Arthur Wharton which features a number of poems about him, including mine.

I used to work for a Football in the Community project at Wrexham FC and when I did my dissertation at the University of Wales and I was able to visit Sheffield United. They were great with me and introduced me to FURD, and I found the staff there to be very committed, enthusiastic and full of ideas to help bring about racial harmony and togetherness in an industrial city with a melting pot of different nationalities and cultures. They seem to be succeeding as their unique work is nationally recognised.

Contact David:

tybraf@hotmail.com

portrait of a lotto prophet as savior of the people - Prince Mensah

2011-09-24T08:20:00.001Z

Yesterday –

he gave the oldest woman
a necklace of jasper,
treated the old men
to bottles of whiskey -
every time you saw the man,
he held a newspaper -
the young women said
he was funny and frisky

he spoke about numbers
as keys to our success,
he sold us the idea of chance
as the answer to circumstance -
under the Odum he lectured us
in mysteries of randomness -
under the sky he made us see
how easy it was to become rich

Today –

the day is young as old roosters chase
plump hens in between hourly crows -
there is a line of women walking
to and from the well with pots of water,
whispering to themselves as they pass him,
turning to steal glances at him -
they say these words among themselves:

he is like a god with numbers
his mind is so good that chance is his mistress,
good fortune is his concubine -
there is nothing under the sun
that he can desire and not have

the men need a way out of the disgrace
of nothingness and it seems that man knows
his stuff as he faces the crowd, talking
about magic numbers and how better
he could make the lives of men who listened to him -
promising fortunes with his master plan -
they say these words among themselves:

he is like a god with numbers
his mind is so good that chance is his mistress,
good fortune is his concubine -
there is nothing under the sun
that he can desire and not have

fathers want their daughters to marry him
sons wish he was their father
wives wish he was their husband
villagers wish he was their chief
the chief is afraid he could
stake a claim to his throne

it seems number-shuffling can replace
hard work and offer comfort from blows
of an existence that keeps stalking
our peace of mind and makes us bitter -
we gather money and give it to him
as investment in his miracle-plan -
we say these words among ourselves:

he is like a god with numbers
his mind is so good that chance is his mistress,
good fortune is his concubine -
there is nothing under the sun
that he can desire and not have

fathers want their daughters to marry him
sons wish he was their father
wives wish he was their husband
villagers wish he was their chief
the chief is afraid he could
stake a claim to his throne

Tomorrow –

the day came when he was supposed
to return but he did not -
some say he might have been a god
sent to test our love of money,
others say something bad might have
happened to him on his way back,
the rest still look forward, each new day,
to his return with our fortunes –

Author Profile - Prince Mensah

2011-09-24T08:12:00.001Z

Biography:

Prince Kwasi Mensah is the Founder and Managing Editor of Mensa Press, a small book publishing company that focuses on African-centered and globally-enlightening literature. He is also a member of the Academy of American Poets and the Wineglass Court Poets of Columbia, MD. His poetry has been published in the UNESCO’s Other Voices Project, the Sun and Snow Anthology and the Little Patuxent Review. He has written sixty books of poetry.

Prince is an Associate Editor for One Ghana, One Voice.

Five questions with Prince Mensah:

1. This poem deals with scam artists and the people who fall for them. This kind of thing happens in small villages and towns around the world, and has also been happening on a global scale during the financial meltdown, in which some got very rich while the rest of us were left to pay the bill. Pulling the lens back even further, many would argue that such a scam has been perpetrated by the West on Africa for generations. Likewise, by the leaders of Africa to the people. All four of these levels could be seen as inspiration for your poem. Which, if any, originally drew you to write this poem? One? All four? None of the above?

"portrait of a lotto prophet as savior of the people" started as a poem that poked fun at certain people's confidence in lotto prophets (or speculators). The more I thought about it, the more I realized how it paralleled the four levels you mentioned. At that point, I chose to minimize the comic angle, in order to focus on the main message.

There is a strand of humanity out there that chooses to profit from people in the misfortune of ignorance. I am repulsed by their behavior. You were right to point out that there is a scam in most social relationships. People who should know (and do know) better bilk money and dignity from those who depend on them for guidance. The financial and political worlds are macrocosms of this human problem. It is usually the poor and simple who end up being victims of the 'lotto prophets' among us.

2. Have you ever been scammed, or witnessed friends or family being scammed? If so, what effect did this have on you, on your sense of community, and your ability to trust others?

I have been scammed before. It was by someone who came into my life as a friend. That was when I lived in Ghana. That person presented himself as someone with an answer to a certain pressing need in my life. In the end, he was not who he said he was. Although I was not scammed out of millions, it was an abuse of trust and time. It made me leery of everybody around me, especially those with similarities to that person.

The Akan have a proverb that goes, batakari hye bebrebe amma y'ahunu kramo papa, to wit, "too many counterfeits make it difficult to identify the real thing". The deficit of trust in our global village is a direct consequence of a culture of scamming, regardless of what form it took.

Another thing I realized among victims of a scam was the nature of their reactions. They responded with either superstition, supposition or sanguineness, an undercurrent of self-blame (in the victim) that continues long after the scammer is gone with the loot.

3. You use a refrain quite effectively in this poem. Is this something new for you? What drew you to this technique?

I have been experimenting with refrains as a device of emphasis. I am presently working on a spoken word project tentatively titled, My Turn To Speak. That process has taught me the importance of repeated words to the human ear and, by extension, the human mind. I have become more sensitive to that essence in my newer poems.

4. The title of this poem is interesting, as it begs the question "Who is painting this false "portrait""? The scam artist? The villagers? The poet? The reader? It adds a depth of meaning to the poem and leads me to thinking about how you come up with your titles. When in the creation process do you write the titles: before you start the poems, or after you are finished, or somewhere in the middle, or perhaps does it change from poem to poem? What are your main goals when choosing a title?

The picture is being painted by the scammer and the scammed as they co-exist with each other. It is also a perception formed by poet and reader, who have the 'outside, looking in' advantage, because they can smell the scam from the get-go. The intention is the interplay of reality versus fantasy. Who wins? Who loses?

My process of titling differs from poem to poem. In this particular case, I had the title before I wrote the poem. What inspired me to start working on this poem was the phenomenon of lotto prophets in Accra's busy streets. I don't know if they are still allowed to ply their trade any more in Accra but, back in the day, they were part of the palette of the urban experience. Those prophets had 'magic numbers and formulas' that they sold to gullible people who, maybe out of the desperation of poverty, chose to put their widows' mites in any venture with the promise of profit.

5. It's been over a year since we last featured a new poem of yours on the site. What have you been up to in that time? Any new writing?

There has been a flurry of adjustments; one of them was welcoming a beautiful daughter in April and facing the wonderful challenges of fatherhood. That being said, I am trying feverishly to get copies of the five Mensa Press anthologies to each contributor. I have learned a lot of valuable lessons from the entire process. I realize that time lines can be difficult to keep when budgets keep fluctuating. I want to use this medium to apologize to all contributors for the delay. You shall receive your three contributor copies per anthology, as promised, by the end of this year (or earlier)

Two books of my poetry were released this week: the first one is titled Twinglish: A Poetic Merger of Twi and English. It is experimental in the use of language, because I fused Twi words and phrases with English. The second book is One Hundred Miles of Nile which, coincidentally, features "portrait of a lotto prophet as savior of the people". I am looking for people to review both books.

I started my writing life as a short story writer and playwright. However, it has been awhile since I wrote prose and drama. I intend to start working on several short story/playwriting ideas. I am praying that a year by now I would have something different for the literary world.

Contact Prince:

Email: pryncemensah(at)yahoo.com
Website: http://www.freewebs.com/pryncemensah/

Thunder Africana - Dextro

2011-09-17T21:39:00.007Z

Kpra! Kpra!! Gboom!!!
Chichi! Chichi!! Gboom!!!
So piercing and intimidating
Enough to cause early abortion
Yet enough to instill the fear of God into flinstone hearts
It’s so fierce but comforting
It roars but purrs
The painful seed with milky harvest
That is Thunder Africana!
The ‘John the Baptist’
Who paves the way for the messiah
The praise-singer who introduces the celestial aquatic grains
The muscular voice that speaks
And the earth trembles.
Kpra! Kpra!! Gboom!!!
That’s your melodious ringtone
Intertwined with electrifying vibrations.
Boisterous and ponderous.
Carry on Thunder Africana!
Carry on!
Carry on and roll out your timorous dice
For without your gains
We’re without our rains.

Author Profile - Dextro

2011-09-17T21:34:00.004Z

Biography:

Born in the 'world bank' of second-hand spare car parts, Abossey-Okai in Accra, Dextro is a poet and novelist. He writes for Andee Comics Ltd. He is a graduate of University of Ghana, Legon. He is also a part-time farmer and is the farm operations officer with Santo Granja.

Five Questions with Dextro:

1. How long have you been writing poetry?

I have been writing poetry since 2001. That was when I entered into Senior Secondary School in Accra Academy. The very first poem I wrote was a comic poem entitled "Keysoap".

2. Who are your favourite poets? Which poets have most informed and inspired your work?

Kofi Anyidoho, Kofi Awoonor and Prof. Atukwei Okai have been my favourites. Prof. Atukwei Okai's mastery of the English language and his ability to employ the perfect literary devices for the right situation with ease has really inspired me. He is also very flexible with his choice of words depending on the genre of poem and the messages he wants to put across.

3. What do you hope to accomplish with your poetry?

I hope to tackle some of society's pressing and fundemental issues by bringing them to the fore. Secondly, I wish to provide refreshment to the minds and spirits of people especially during stressful times like these.

4. Were you interested in poetry when you were at Legon? If so, did you get up to any poetry-related activity on campus?

I didn't really give poetry much attention during my days in Legon. I was more into entertainment and sports during that times.

5. Tells us a bit about your work with Andee Comics. Do your poetry and comics overlap in your mind? Does one inspire or influence the other?

I was just writing bedtime stories for conversion into cartoons and 3Ds at Andee Comics.

Contact Dextro:

solsackey(at)yahoo.com

Victory of Sorrow - Courage Ahiati

2011-09-11T07:01:00.000Z

Lilies blow to the left
announcing to the world
of the coming rift
of the people destiny has called

we are warriors of this world
we carried the horns of glory
we drank from the cups of adversity
we paddled canoes across stormy seas without worry

let the world hear our chants
let the citizens come and meet us at the gates
we come home tonight with victory
with victory that has stolen our joy
victory that we cannot celebrate
welcome us, world, take off our load
and clean our tears
for we have come home

Author Profile - Courage Ahiati

2011-09-11T06:44:00.045Z

Biography:

Courage Ahiati currently lives in Kumasi, where he is doing his national service as the Content Manager of KNUST UITS. He is a political scientist and former student of Opoku Ware School and KNUST, and he blogs at http://courageahiati.wordpress.com/

Five Questions with Courage:

1. How long have you been writing poetry?

I have been writing poetry since my primary school days. I was more into romantic poems then.

2. Who are your favourite poets? Which poets have most informed and inspired your work?

My favourite poets are William Shakespeare, William Blake, John Donne, W.B. Yeats and Negritude poets like Leopold Senghor. Shakespeare's works inspire me a lot and I am fired up by the works of the Negritude poets.

3. What do you hope to accomplish with your poetry?

I hope to appeal to the emotions of readers and educate them on pertinent issues that have immense effects on our lives daily.

4. Do you think your degree in political science informs your writing? If so, how?

Yes, a lot. Political science has given me a wider spectrum of life and helps me come out with more informed works about society. Political science gives one a deeper understanding about society and how humans interact. It therefore equips me to come out with works that are relevant to our world today.

5. Do you think that poetry can have an influence on Ghanaian politics? On world politics? If so, how?

Yes, poetry is a strong tool that can be used to influence politics and the world as a whole. Over the years, the human race has found it difficult to relate peacefully due to certain differences. However, through literature and especially poetry, people are able to identify with each other. Poetry cuts across culture and race, and deals more with the human element and society itself. In this way it can be used effectively to sustain a stable political environment and also used to heal already wounded political atmospheres. It can go a long way to help maintain world peace.

Contact Courage:

courageislove(at)gmail.com

From the Archives: "Freedom Train" by Outspoken

2011-09-03T00:02:00.000Z

Still inside the station waiting on the freedom train
Its inspector came to check on our tickets if we had paid
Finally my people shall be home amongst their relatives and peers
They could hardly wait to see the city’s horizon slowly disappear into the distance
It was one train with many classes the luxurious was the first,
Then came the middle class citizens and then the economy- that is the worst
Not because of its occupants but mainly their conditions
Where they were packed like animals, sweating like the steam engines!
“All aboard!” that was freedoms last call
The destination was democracy, equality for all, but a few
The few being the masses in the last
That were disposable to benefit the upper class
“Tickets! Tickets please! Amai you did not pay!
Do you think you are going to get a free ride on the freedom train?”
He can clearly see she is sick and in need of urgent assistance
“Amai, I am not a doctor, all I want from you is your ticket!’
So another passenger dies for she could not afford
The medication for her ailments, so she succumbed to her sores
Across the masses gathered was a hovering of pain
Another one of us departed from the freedom train
Mountains rolled and valleys passed the few that had the view
Aboard this runaway train of passengers without a crew, but the inspector
They huddled praying justice would prevail
But lived within the laws of physics, so they were destined to derail
A pregnant mother squirmed as her water broke in panick
Hope was her unborn daughter but her birth was none but tragic
She only saw the light of day minutes before the crash
Sucked back into a darkness with radiance everlasting
Everyday the death toll rises from the freedom trains wreckage
That never saw democracy but destined us to heaven
Through a passage of pain and tribulation attached
That only seems to affect those of us stuck in economy class
If only the inspector started checking on the drivers
There wouldn’t be this ugly scene of checking on survivors
18 April 1980 was the day we left the station
Aboard the freedom train, but still haven’t reached our destination
… Freedom!

Old poems at OGOV don't die, but live on in our archives! Every once in a while we will dust one off for our newer readers to enjoy. "Freedom Train" was orginally published on OGOV on November 28th, 2009.

Author Profile - Outspoken

2011-09-03T00:01:00.000Z

Biography:

Outspoken is an underground emcee and spoken-word artist from Zimbabwe. He is one half of the hip-hop duo Dialectric Blue with rhyme partner Upmost a.k.a my bruthaz keepa. Known as Outspoken Alpha Intellect (pronounced Eye-ntellect) he is an activist in social movements advocating for the empowerment of the masses. He is also the front runner to the band Outspoken and the Essence.

He has shared stages with greats such as Pops Mohammed, Kwani Experiance, Likwid Flo, Tamika Harper (Georgia me), Imani Woomera, Comrade Fatso and Chabvondoka, Cajus, Bianca Williams, Kabomo, and Soul Dada, just to name a few! Outspoken has toured South Africa and the east coast of the United States. 2009 saw him and his band traveling to Swaziland to perform at The Bush Fire Festival and most recently to Durban as the closing act of the Poetry Africa festival finale.

Five Questions with Outspoken:

1. How long have you been writing poetry?

I can say that I started writing when I was still in junior school, but actually started performing poetry professionally in 2003/4.

2. Who are your favorite poets? Which poets have most informed and inspired your work?

To be honest with you, I started writing as a form of protesting the education system that force fed us information that we didn't want to know and even graded and segregated us through that system. My inspiration then spawned from the downtrodden and oppressed, it was and is influenced by the everyday struggle that we have to face, not by beautiful words or good English. If anything, it is a protest against "the norm" and the trendy. I chose not to read and retrace the footsteps of other poets and rather walk my own. If these paths meet, then I have reason to believe that the many different journeys were inspired to one destination. I do however spend time with great poets by the names of Chirikure Chirikure and Julius Chingono, and most of my friends are into creative writing!

3. What do you hope to accomplish with your poetry?

When I started writing I had no agenda, and to date hold no agenda except to ignite discussion or debate upon relevant issues, showing how another point of view exists! I seek for the future and the present to realise that life is not to be dictated by Hollywood blockbusters, magazine pictures and tel-lie-vision programming! If anything it should serve as brain-cleansing to our current state of brainwashing.

4. Do you see hope of the Freedom Train arriving at the station any time soon?

I don't know why we went on board the Freedom Train to begin with, given how it was known to operate in other countries! Looking at how it is running in South Africa at the moment, one sees the truth of the illusion which is their current state of democracy. The problem with train rides is that they are not to flexible when it comes to direction! Either you are coming or going, but you are stuck on the same tracks, forced to submit to the classes that you can afford, economy class being the most over populated and over burdened while also being the constant that keeps the train running since its always guaranteed to be packed. Another very sad reality is that the station hasn't even been built! Looking at our templates for democracy and freedom anywhere and everywhere on this earth. America to Zimbabwe, it is a situation of politicians taking the peoples power and profiteering from it. We are all gagged, it is only a scenario of who is more gagged than the other, our situation is better than most countries because our oppression is so apparent that you are aware of it. Those that live in the McDonald's illusion and coca-killer reality have a lot to learn about what oppression really is.

5. Do you think that poetry and spoken word can help speed the arrival of the Freedom Train? If so, how?

Yes, awareness. Once you are aware you are able to act, in fact you have the choice to act or not, given you situation. It is through your brain registering a sharp pain from your thigh that you can act on the ant that has taken your flesh as its breakfast. First there was the word, now it is on those that choose to act upon it to shape and reshape their existence, not to have a freedom that imposes or infringes upon another, but one that works in a beautiful symbiosis with all attached to it. We all want freedom, but at this point in life we also have to ask this very vital question. "what makes me deserve my freedom?". Let's look outside of the freedom train because lest we forget, it is just a mobile prison until you reach your destination... if you reach your destination.

Contact Outspoken:

alphaintellect(at)gmail.com

From the Archives: "The Path" by Juanita Tsikata

2011-08-27T00:24:00.001Z

As they search, my future runs.
What they want, I do not have
but things they need, our own blood.
Why, why, why?!
Never again shall I see the plain,
the wives, the kids, the birds you name.
The land is gone, our doom reforms.
Colour doesn't matter; their shameful blunder.
Our stories so long ago told
by the aging fathers of old.
The sound of the whip,
we never forgive.
We lived righteously in our created glory.
The sins of the whitewashed men
became our paths to nature's pen.
But of the scars we bare,
I gladly lay them down.
The house on water calls for the Ghanaian drum beat.
The Zulus retreat so the battle is lost,
yet there's light for the lost souls,
the ones who made us known,
our paths and the search for hope.

Old poems at OGOV don't die, but live on in our archives! Every once in a while we will dust one off for our newer readers to enjoy. "The Path" was orginally published on OGOV on October 24th, 2009.

Author Profile - Juanita Tsikata

2011-08-27T00:22:00.000Z

Biography:

Juanita Tsikata is a 16 year-old [ed. note - 18 now, as this bio is two years old] Ghanaian and an upcoming poet who prefers to write at night with a torch in hand. She attends St. Johns Catholic School, Year 12 and is pursuing three courses, Biology, History and English. At the moment, she's thinking of further studies in Creative Writing and writing for friends during their "I can't afford a gift" moments. She writes songs and stories as a hobby to pass time and to express herself. Currently she lives with her father in the UK.

Five Questions with Juanita:

1. How long have you been writing poetry?

I began writing about three years ago to convey my moods, opinions on life, and personal experiences.

2. Who are your favourite poets? Which poets have most informed and inspired your work?

I have no favourites but the majority of what I read is from Efua Sutherland, Kwesi Brew and Ama Ata Aidoo. I enjoy noting how the poets put their messages across in different voices and styles.

3. What do you hope to accomplish with your poetry?

I intend to entertain people with the poems as well as bring awareness to the fact that no matter your age or background whatever you put down can transform lives.

4. You are writing at such a young age. What produced in you this early interest in poetry?

My mother, all credit goes to her. Two lessons I've never forgotten from her are the inspiration to write selflessly and the ideology on how words influence people and places.

5. What does the average student in your school think of poetry, if they think of it at all?

Unfortunately, a greater number see poetry as a mess of pointless lines and have not a care in the world for it. There are a handful with the talent and passion, yet they're in hiding for fear of being branded "maximum brained students".

Contact Juanita:

j_tsikata(at)yahoo.com

From the Archives: "Lay Me Here" by Mutombo

2011-08-21T08:25:00.000Z

Coastal breezes fondle the individual
filaments of hair on my skin,
causing them to sway back and forth
and this feeling leaves me with a grin.

Sights of very old infants clasping
on day old branches just to harvest fruits
and sounds of the Atumpan echoes
rhythms that remind me of my roots.

These celibate eyes enjoy devouring the images
of beads cuffed around the waists of females,
and my discerning ears love to scoop
the intricate plots of Ananse tales.

So when I embrace my demise,
lay me here.

My soul will still love to sponsor
the parching breeze of the Harmattan,
whilst my dusty feet will unceasingly look forward
to play and run with children who are fast like Ramadan.

So this throat vies to be the channel
for water fetched from earthenware pots,
so do I want to synchronize the deafening clichés
hooted by hawkers so their petty items can be bought.

Oh! I don’t want to long
for my Daughters and Sons,
for without them, my death
will witness no yearly ritual dance.

So when the bucket arrives for me to kick,
lay me here.

Inter me in the earth
next to my ancestors,
so my putrefying flesh
sticks to their bones like a poster.

I want to be a shelter
to their bones
because the overwhelming strength
of the weather defeated their tombstones.

You should remember me
when you pass by each passing day,
for with your memory,
I know I will forever stay.

So when I expire,
please lay me here.

Old poems at OGOV don't die, but live on in our archives! Every once in a while we will dust one off for our newer readers to enjoy. "Lay Me Here" was orginally published on OGOV on May 2nd, 2009.

Author Profile - Mutombo

2011-08-21T08:23:00.000Z

Biography:

Mutombo is a multi-talented artist who specializes in spoken word poetry.

He has blessed several stages since he started his beautiful art form. The list of major shows he has performed includes Portrait of an Excellent Woman 2008, which took place at the National Theatre. He has also performed live twice on TV3 at the Mentor 3 reality show in June and August 2007. Apart from these, he was also a guest performer at the Face of Legon 2006, which was held at the Conference Centre in Accra. He is a resident poet at Bless da Mic which takes place every Thursdays at Baze Lounge, Osu.

Apart from these numerous shows, Mutombo has also written for several artists and has also performed at graduation ceremonies and the likes. The journey is not ending soon.

Five Questions with Mutombo:

1. How long have you been writing poetry?

I have been writing poetry for a couple of years now. At first, I had a whole book that I titled, "My Thoughts". It basically contained things that occurred to me daily. I would just pick up a pen, open "My Thoughts" and jot down things that come to me. I would write about my Mum's funeral, my friends and sometimes about what I think my soul looks like. Yes, I wrote about weird stuff and I don't want to talk about some of the eerie things I wrote about. I started writing poetry when I got to Secondary School. I did literature and also wrote some rap songs. This was in 1997. I tried rapping what I wrote but I sounded weak with the way I flowed my lines. This was when I fell in love with poetry. At first I was writing poems just for fun and just for my books. Somewhere in 2006, I started performing them. What I do is Spoken Word!! So from 2006 I started taking this art form seriously.

2.Who are your favorite poets? Which poets have most informed and inspired your work?

The first poet I ever listened to is Maya Angelou. At that time the internet wasn't so popular like it is now so we would dwell on books and other magazines for information. Luckily, Maya was the only poet I came across and I saw her on TV performing, too. She inspired me in a great way even though I describe her style as the 'classical' form of poetry. The internet came around and I discovered so many poets who have inspired me in so many ways. Some of my favourite poets now are Saul Williams, Black Ice, Taalam Acey, Gil Scott-Heron, J Ivy and Mahogany Browne. All of these spoken word artist have helped me in so many ways.

3.What do you hope to accomplish with your poetry?

I want to journey with this art form God has given me until my death. I want to change the minds of the people of this world through poetry.I am already performing at shows. My 'big' performance was the Miss Legon 2009 that took place at the National Theatre and people came to me after my performance just to encourage me with what I am doing because of the truth in my words. I try to right a wrong with every poem that I write and I know that gradually,I am changing the minds of people by letting them know how special it is to be an African, making them aware of the right social and moral behaviours, and other subjects. I am also preparing to release a poetry album this year.

4.Could you tell us a bit about your involvement with NT1 poetry?

I was involved in so many way with NT1 Poetry, a poetry show that was running on TV Africa some months back. It has been off the air for some time because we are re-structuring that whole show to be better and bigger. We are also planning on moving it to another station. I was one of the organizers and concept developers, and I also performed on the show. I was also in charge of auditioning some poets.

5. You sparked one of our Roundtable Discussion with a note about "bare" poems that "lack [the] qualities of what a poem is supposed to entail." This type of criticism is rare in Ghanaian poetry circles these days. What can we do to strengthen the voice of Ghanaian critics? Do critics need encouragement to find their voice, or do you think critics will naturally emerge as Ghanaian poetry grows in popularity?

Naturally,there is this notion that poetry is for the elites and is only written by the brainy so anytime we come across a poem, we automatically see it as a masterpiece because of our mindset about poetry. I think the first thing we have to do is to make poetry acceptable to all manner of people, then they can start criticizing. I can also say for a fact that people are beginning to accept poetry, that is based on my own research and as it expands and grows, people will start speaking.

Contact Mutombo:

dialoh(at)yahoo.com

From the Archives: "Crying Mama" by Julian Adomako-Gyimah

2011-08-06T08:20:00.001Z

Mama is crying
She has been crying for such a long time
She has suffered from weight loss
She won't tell me the reason for her tears

But the whole world knows why
The sky is bright and right
Yet mama has no light
There is much water coming down from the mountain

Yet mama's valley is still dry
Her problems have been artificially created
She isn't even rated in her world
Everybody goes hunting

And comes back home with a deer
The deer never stops running
On the day that mama goes hunting
She thus comes home with nothing

She is a bird
Which has been left without a song
She tries to sing on a good day
But nobody hears her

Crying mama
Who will save mama?
Who will listen to mama's plight?
Everybody can hear her cry

But they end up giving her aid
My mama intensifies her cry
She wants trade and not aid
Mama cannot stop crying

She is drowning in tears and debt
And her children keep dying
Who will be mama's saviour?
Who will liberate her?

Mama's cry must stop
She needs to see the light
When the sky is bright
Crying mama won't stop

Old poems at OGOV don't die, but live on in our archives! Every once in a while we will dust one off for our newer readers to enjoy. "Crying Mama" was orginally published on OGOV on February 28th, 2009.

Author Profile - Julian Adomako-Gyimah

2011-08-06T08:18:00.000Z

Biography:

Julian is an alum of Presby Boys Secondary School, Legon. He holds a B.A. in Business Studies at the Kensington College of Business, London, a Diploma in Journalism at the Writers Bureau College of Journalism, Manchester, UK, Executive Diplomas in Strategic Management and Management, a Diploma in Management Studies and an Executive MBA at the Huddersfield University, UK.

He has worked in several management positions in the UK and Africa and wants to see Africans do a lot more for themselves rather than relying on the IMF and other donor agencies by developing their human capital. He speaks three languages with a rudimentary knowledge of German and has traveled extensively around the globe spreading his poetry messages and helping out with business solutions.

Julian is also the proud author of two bestsellers, namely Smile Africa and Recall, which are both available on amazon.com, bn.com, borders.com, and in major retail outlets around the globe.

Julian is a co-founder of One Ghana, One Voice.

Three Questions with Julian Adomako-Gyimah:

1. "The deer never stops running" is such a striking line - it almost acts as a hinge on which the whole poem pivots. What brought this image to your mind during the writing process?

Africa is my mother and nurtured me right from the day I was born till today. It fed me, gave me water, saved me from the roaring lions in our midst, saved me from the wolves and evil politicians such as Botha the Mosquito and mavericks such as Iddi Amin. It has fought through thin and thick just to make lives of her kids better but to no avail. It has tried on several occasions to unite her people but anytime she tries to do that, the imperialists strike and cause wars, hunger and massive hatred and this is where the deer never stops running. Nkrumah would have loved to see a United Africa because United we stand and divided we fall. The western powers want to see Africa as it is and not as a United Front as it is easier from them to manipulate us in our current state. Europeans formed the EU and the US formed the USA. there is also the ASEAN but Africa has not been able to unite till date. This is where the deer never stops running comes to play... it means that we are just not helping ourselves and the figurative deer will not stop running to enable us get a catch until we redefine our identity. Who cares about Africa's plight? We need to solve our own problems as Africans because our destiny is in our hands.

Why did I choose the deer in particular? The deer as we all know is a very symbolic creature in Africa. In Ghana for example, the deer is of much significance to the Efutu's and they go hunting for the deer during their annual "akwambo" festival so I literally decided to use the deer in the context to show how Europeans, Americans, Asians, etc. have been able to turn their economies around thus coming home with a deer whilst we have been hunting for ages without success. On the very day we get close, such as the last AU summit, where I expected African Unity to be clinched, the deer instead kept running. The deer never stops running thus making it difficult for us to get to our destination. In simple words, I had the picture of the various factions in Winneba chasing the deer and not being able to make a catch in mind. Poetry in Motion!

2. How important is repetition in your poetry? What effects do you hope for it to produce in the reader?

Repetition is very important as it is usually a symbol of emphasis on a particular concern and this is something I use with the view that if the reader misses the point at the first reading, they can spot it again and reconnect. Poetry is a language that is best described by the Poet and that is why I believe there isn't one defined way of writing poetry. Did you not see how chauvinism is of great concern to me in the poem that featured repetitions and did it not tell you to see that quality as unacceptable and bad? That is the whole essence of repetitions in my poems.

3. You travel extensively for business both in Africa and in Europe. Has this altered in any way the themes you've chosen to write about? If so, how?

Certainly, and it is really helping my writing style to a great extent. I currently blend my English style with a self-designed African style to get a unique and rich blend of poetry that allows the reader to visualise what they read in their minds eye. In Europe, I address mostly injustices such as racism and unequal opportunities when it comes to recruitments. It is a different theme when I come to Africa where I mostly address issues such as female circumcision, political thefts, etc. This year, my experiences around the world is teaching me to speak for the voiceless so my poetry might take a different and a more radical turn. We as poets were born to liberate the masses who have no voice so I am responding to that call for this year.

Contact Julian:

jlnadom(at)gmail.com

From the Archives: "People" by Reggie Kyere

2011-07-23T22:07:00.000Z

You people
Am people
We all people.

You Fante
am Asante

You Kusasi
am Mamprusi

You Ewe
am Dagomba

You Akan
we people of this Oman

You singer
am poet

We could do a duet,
something like Samini
and Maya Angelou

We people
so maybe a "colabo"

You tower
am dwarf

You cool
and me too.

So don't you slam
the door on me

Or eject my things
through the window

Hold me in your eyes
with desire

And don't let hate
kill your libido

Press your body's
easy weight on me

So I can feel your breath
on my breast

Squeeze me tight, don't let
your honey-hands go to rest

Lest we be separated
by people, who ain't people
cause we people.

Old poems at OGOV don't die, but live on in our archives! Every once in a while we will dust one off for our newer readers to enjoy. "People" was orginally published on OGOV on January 31st, 2009.

Author Profile - Reggie Kyere

2011-07-23T22:03:00.003Z

Biography:

Kyere Ofori Reginald was born in 1987 in Kumasi, Ashanti Region. He has an elder sister and a younger brother, and recently completed Philips Secondary Commercial School in Kumasi. He lives at Abuakwa in Kumasi.

Five Questions with Reggie Kyere:

1. What inspired you to write this poem? Why did you choose the couplet form?

I wrote this poem for the December elections. Honestly, I didn't know what a couplet was until you asked. I can say the couplets just came out of me.

2. What was your reaction to the [2008 Presidential] election, its results and how the country responded to it?

I thought it went well. Both parties accepted the results so I believe it was fair and the country responded to the results as mature and democratic people. There were a few disturbances, though.

3. In our last, impromptu, roundtable discussion, you asked the question "What makes good poetry and who decides it?" Did the conversation yield any answers for you? What did you take away from it?

I'll say I got lots of education from the discussion and would love it if such discussions keep coming up this year. Mutombo said something about taking time to write your poems and it really got to me. I now spend much more time on a poem than I would have.

4. It's become tradition, so we must ask: have you had any success finding fellow poets in Kumasi?

No luck! I'm hoping to find one through this medium.

5. Are you working on any new projects? Do any particular poems you're writing have you excited?

Yes! I write new poems everyday. I'm currently writing a new poem and have two others waiting to be written. I'm taking time to write them. I don't want them to be "bare."

Contact Reggie:

reggiekyere(at)@yahoo.com

From the Archives: "Samuela's Fufu" by Laban Hill

2011-07-11T09:14:00.000Z

- For Rose Blankson-Austin

Maame Rose knows. She cuts
cassava in block chunks.
Splits plantains, opens
dark veins concealed
beneath pale, sweet meat.

Maame Rose does it this way, stokes a fire
with coal, tosses in skins.
They curl in on themselves like small hands
closing into fists. The iron pot sits there
like a hungry chief, swallowing

cassava and plantains into boil. Listen
to Maame Rose. She will not steer
you wrong. She says pound
that cooked fruit in a dahuoma mortar,
hard as your ancestor's teeth.

Yes, the pestle is heavy, she says. Take this Essan trunk,
thick as your arm, tall as your eyes.
Look at the way it mushrooms out
at its base, soft and pliant
like a good brush, like your tongue.

It must be that way, Maame Rose says, so it works
the fruit as you pound and pound.
You should smile because it is hard.
Everyone tires, she says, but it is the ones
who pound cassava and plantain

until their hearts ache, until they
have forgotten their children's names,
until their ghosts show them
how to hold the stick with two hands.
Do it this way, Maame Rose says,

and you see she is right and pound
that cassava, that plantain until the tough fiber
is broken down, until the whole village
has pushed you up that coconut tree
and you never meet your grandmother' s corpse.

Old poems at OGOV don't die, but live on in our archives! Every once in a while we will dust one off for our newer readers to enjoy. "Samuela's Fufu" was orginally published on OGOV on November 1st, 2008.

Author Profile - Laban Hill

2011-07-11T09:11:00.000Z

Biography:

Laban Carrick Hill is the author of more than 25 books of poetry, fiction and nonfiction. He was garnered more than 30 awards and honors for his writing. He is currently a visiting professor in the English department at Cape Coast University, where he will be working until December 7th, 2008.

Five Questions with Laban Hill:

1. How long have you been writing poetry?

I have been writing poetry since I was about 11 or 12, though I don’t think I really began to understand what I was doing until I was in my mid-twenties.

2. Who are your favorite poets? Which poets have most influenced and informed your work?

I would say off the top of my head that my favorite poets include Derek Walcott, Robert Hass, Cleopatra Mathis, Donald Hall, Galway Kinnell, Seamus Heaney, among others. The list is pretty broad because I find that there is a lot of wonderful poetry being written today.

3. How has living and teaching in Ghana over the last few months influenced the way you write? The way you think about writing?

I believe that my stay in Ghana has changed my writing immensely. Hearing the voices of a new culture collide with the voices in my own head has created a new kind of friction in my writing. The volume of Ghana is so much louder than the rural mountains where I live in the U.S. The figurative language here is extremely rich and interspersed with all kinds of aphorism and proverbs. I love the way people name their businesses. One of my favorite business names here in Cape Coast is the "Man! Know Thyself Pharmacy." I am also delighted by the "Not By Might Alone Construction." The sense of humor and play that exists in Ghana is absolutely marvelous and liberating.

4. You are about to undertake a major project to video record Ghanaian poets reading their work. Could you tell us more about this project and what inspired you to undertake it? [Ed. Note - this interview is from 2008. The project is over, and results from Laban's work in Ghana can be viewed here.]

When I was first invited to come to the University of Cape Coast, the lines from the Frank O’Hara poem “The Day Lady Died” immediately came to mind. In an ironic way, it’s sort of my jumping off point for coming here and exploring the creative life here. I love the lines:

I walk up the muggy street beginning to sun
and have a hamburger and a malted and buy
an ugly NEW WORLD WRITING to see what the poets
in Ghana are doing these days…

The lines just spur my imagination and make me wonder too. So I decided to make it my project to find out what the poets in Ghana are doing these days. It just made sense to follow up on O’Hara’s question.

5. Could you speak a bit about your opinion on the aural elements of poetry? What makes it important to hear a poem, instead of simply reading in on the page?

When I think of the aural elements of poetry, I think of the music. One of the great experiences about being here in Ghana has been studying Fanti. The music of Fanti in everyday speech is extraordinary. I love the way the vowels of the verb and the pronoun must match up as well as the tonal quality of the spoken word. The Fanti language has changed the way I think about the music of a poem, and I am the better for it.

In respect to the question of reading poetry out loud versus reading it on the page, I feel that listening to it being read is a key element of the experience. When I am writing a poem, I never know if it really works or not until I read it out loud before an audience. Often, I find myself revising the poem even if it has been published when I read it out loud.

Laban's Website:

www.labanhill.com

Contact Laban:

labanhill(at)yahoo.com

From the Archives: "Have Come Too Far" by Martin Elorm Dogbo

2011-07-02T16:31:00.003Z

I have come too far
To this land.

A land rich of corn
To eat
Rich of wine
To drink.

A land where
I will do the chores
I would not have done
In my native town.

I guess I am doing these things
Because I want to return
With more goodies.

I have come too far
To this land,
A land across the ocean
Where I am lost of culture.

Here,
no one cares for one another
Especially a Nubian as I am.

Here,
I am either scorned
Or made the laughing stock.

I would not have taken all these humiliations
At a place I call home.

Home, is where folks
Would be there for me
Defend and fight for me.

I guess I am enduring all these
Because I would not want to return
Empty handed.

I have come too far
To this land.

Would I not be able to catch
What I am pursuing here,
Over there?

I could not cling unto that belief
I have come too far
To this land,
Too far to return with nothing.

Old poems at OGOV don't die, but live on in our archives! Every once in a while we will dust one off for our newer readers to enjoy. "Have Come Too Far" was orginally published on OGOV on August 23rd, 2008.

Author Profile - Martin Elorm Dogbo

2011-07-02T16:20:00.000Z

Biography:

Martin Elorm Dogbo was born in Accra New Town, and has lived there most of his life.

He is a student of the Ghana Institute of Journalism, where he reads journalism and some English language as well as French. On campus he is one of the founding members of "Poetry Bar" — a poetry club on campus which meets twice a month to give room for aspiring poet to display their talents.

Five Questions with Martin Elorm Dogbo (circa 2008):

1. How long have you been writing poetry?

I have been writing poetry for 10 years.

2. Who are your favorite poets? Which poets have most inspired and informed your work?

My favorite poets are Kofi Anyidoho, Mariam Brew Daniels (both from the 1970s edition of Efua Sutherland's "Talents for Tomorrow'), Lade Wosornu, Kofi Awoonor, Wole Soyinka, Oswald Mtshali and others.

3. What do you hope to accomplish with your poetry?

Everything.

4. Have you traveled outside of Ghana and experienced the pressure not to "return with nothing" first hand?

No. I write from the experiences of returnees who are mostly relatives.

5. You use repetition very effectively in this poem. Is repetition a device you use often in your poetry? What effects do you hope to have on your readers when you employ it?

I use repetitions most of the time. I feel it makes it easier for readers to memorize my poems.

Contact Martin Elorm:

eldusty911(at)gmail.com

From the Archives: "Marketplace" by Emma Akuffo

2011-06-25T20:44:00.000Z

At dawn, the masses assemble,
their movements propelled by the rising sun
towards the dirt floor of roadside forges
where the earth has been ferociously shaken.

A kente of vernacular sounds weave men
drawn thoughtlessly from the tribal cauldron,
overlooking diversity, dissonance, and contradiction in culture.
Their flaws and strengths interact in a symbiotic ritual,
a division of labour to fertilise the medieval practice
Where the buying and selling of consumer goods is made easy.

The women cajole in high-pitched voices,
beckoning and haggling for buyers to sample their wares.
Others sit inquisitively like caged hens waiting to be sold.
Their children leap in the stalls as if they grew from them.

You would be surprised what a Ga woman can carry on her person,
adjusting to fit, inelegantly, the sleeping infant on her back
- her sixth; pushed upwards by a calloused left hand
whilst the right secures the excess baggage on her head.

And her life is like that, an incredible juggling act.
She makes a salad of it amidst broken dreams of her dirt floor days,
so she does not beg for bread or cloth to bury her dead.

Distinguished aromas ascend from the stalls -
some are like the colours, bold, delectable, beautiful.
Others are nondescript murkinesses of sweat, toil and tears,
turning the gears behind the scenery of forced encounters between strangers,
exchanging their life currency like a commodity
in return for a fulfilling lunch (breakfast and dinner),
for companionship, for whirlwind romances, for true warmth.

Trying hard not to be cedi foolish and pesewa wise
with borrowed seconds that merge into a goatskin parchment
record of brightnesses and darknesses
reflecting random customs, rituals and superstitions
that portray attitudes towards the world, God, and the cosmos.

Existence is wielded like a broadsword through thrilling and desolate moments,
stopping just before the shadows are cast by tree branches
causing the masses to retreat into the thin air from which they appeared,
their movements dissipated by the setting sun.

And life is like that.

Old poems at OGOV don't die, but live on in our archives! Every once in a while we will dust one off for our newer readers to enjoy. "Marketplace" was orginally published on OGOV on June 14th, 2008.

Author Profile - Emma Akuffo

2011-06-25T20:40:00.000Z

Biography:

The daughter of a Ghanaian diplomat, Emma Akuffo was born in Russia in 1965. Her childhood years were spent in a number of countries including India, Italy and Ghana, finally settling in Britain with her parents, two brothers and two sisters, at the ripe old age of 11.

Emma holds a PhD in biochemistry and works as a Research Scientist. She lives in England with her husband and two children. When she is not pushing back the frontiers of medical science or engaged in a mad rush after her children, she enjoys cycling into the sunset, swimming in moonlit waters and creative writing, particularly from an inspirational perspective.

A number of Emma’s poems have been included in anthologies from Dogma Publications and Forward Press. Her work is also featured at, amongst other places, brightlightmultimedia.com.

Emma’s poem ‘Love spoke’ was awarded a diploma in the UK section of the Scottish International Open Poetry Competition, 2004.

Emma is currently leading a project to anthologise poems previously published here on One Ghana, One Voice.

Three Questions with Emma Akuffo:

1. Was this description of market life in Ghana based on a particular market? A particular town/city?

"Marketplace" is not really based on a particular market, but experiences pooled from all sorts. I went to Tema market last year when I was in Ghana and drove past Accra market several times so I guess they are most vivid in my mind. Unfortunately I did not get the chance to visit the mother of all markets - Makola but I heard lots about it (good and bad)!

2. At what age(s) did you live in Ghana and experience market life? How do you think this influenced your impressions of the market?

From the age of about six, I remember market trips with my grandma in my hometown, Akropong in the eastern region where I spent most of my long vac (summer holidays). I remember the smells, the vibrant colours, the lively banter and how my grandma haggled the price of meat, plantains, yams and vegetables so we could enjoy the most delicious meals!

3. Descriptions of market life have been a common theme - perhaps the most common - of poems featured on One Ghana, One Voice. Why do you think this is? What hold does the marketplace scene have on the poet?

Perhaps the answer lies in the essence that I try to capture in my poem 'Marketplace.' Life itself is a marketplace where we all depend on each other to survive. We each make our respective entrances into this world and leave our mark genetically through our offspring, economically through our jobs or business affairs or culturally through effecting our communities, and then we vanish into seemingly nothingness and the marketplace goes on... Shakespeare coined the phrase 'all the world is a stage' and I say 'all the world's a marketplace'.

Contact Emma:

emmaakuffo(at)aol.com

Mad Poet - Kofi Gyamfi Anane-Kyeremeh

2011-06-18T00:02:00.000Z

He is just a scribbler,
Like a painter painting,
Like a potter with clay,
Messed up with the guts of a soldier.
He soaks reason like a sponge
And urinates it out, like a broken fountain.

He is just a scribbler,
A man with a heart of gold,
Like a goldsmith on an anvil
Striking hot gold with his desires
To make jewelry he will never wear,
Like a man upon the waters,
Scavenging for scales, fins and gills
Rocking gently upon the turbid liquid.

He is just a scribbler,
Like a professor of knowledge,
Knowing and not knowing what not to know.
Like hungry rebels wanting to clench power
Which they cannot manage if they get it.
Like the musician who with a broken guitar
Sings dolefully to himself.

He is just a scribbler,
Scribbling the dirty words of his mind,
Confused but alert and ready.
He tells no tale a-sweet or sour.
He is sober but to the breaking point.
Like a crashing airplane, a somersaulting car,
A tumbling barrel, a shattering frame,
Like the moment of truth.

He is just a scribbler,
Writing with his blood, diluted with tears and spit.
Bloodshot pupils, his myopia shielding his shame.
His fingers quake at each letter, each word.
Like a violent volcano,
A bubbling ditch of tar,
like salty sweat.

He is just a scribbler,
Wishing he had died at birth,
Wishing he had never seen this damsel in linen.
He bleeds shame and neglect.
He reeks of years of failure.
For his heart is still single, beating double
It kills him more than gives him life.
Alas! He is mad!

He is just a scribbler,
With no quill, no inkwell, no parchment,
Not even a shred of cloth to hold on to.
He feels mocked. He is mocked.
But he does not wail, no he does not.
Like dust in the eyes, like salt in a bad tooth
He looks to the day when he will leave the scene.

He is just a scribbler,
Forsaken, forbidden, forgotten
Like a bad war, or great natural disaster.
His words are suicidal—no—genocidal
Yet he is no man that can take another life,
Like prancing fetish priests, drunk on the liquor of
Spiritualism and herbs more bitter than bile.

He is just a scribbler.
He tells that same tale told not long ago,
By travelers, doctors, paupers, engineers.
He tells the same tale of life, shrouded and hidden.
His heaving chest would soon stop
And when it finally does,
He won't feel anything anymore
He will be dead;
Killed by love.

Author Profile - Kofi Gyamfi Anane-Kyeremeh

2011-06-18T00:01:00.001Z

Biography:

Kofi Gyamfi Anane-Kyeremeh (A.K.A. Kofi Baako Pe) is a talented young writer who just completed his studies at Takoradi Polytechnic. Born in Accra on May 12th, 1989 he started active writing at the age of 14, when he was in the Secondary School. He wrote his first book, Planet X at that time. He is currently the co-founder/head of Write To The World, and wishes to be an entrepreneur in the near future. He has written close to 600 poems, five books and many essays, and is bent on writing on anything that appeals to him.

Five Questions with Kofi Gyamfi Anane-Kyeremeh:

1. How long have you been writing poetry?
I have been writing poetry since 2005 when I was in Secondary School. I have a mighty lot of poems now.

2. Who are your favorite poets? Which poets have most informed and inspired your work?
For poets who have inspired my work I will say Shakespeare, basically due to his Sonnets.

3. What do you hope to accomplish with your poetry?
I want my poetry to entertain readers. A poem of mine always carries a lesson, a quote, a message, a proverb or advice, but its principal business is to entertain. If readers feel - for want of a better word - gratified, I am okay.

4. This poem demonstrates your love of similes. What is it about similes that draws you to them? Do you have a favourite simile, either in this poem or written by another author?
I sure do use similes but seldom, even in love poems. In this piece, I wanted to liken the "madness" of the poet in love to everyday happenings. I think similes help me to make good and easy comparison becuase sometimes readers don't get my metaphors quickly or fully. My favorite simile in this piece is "He soaks reason like a sponge/ And urinates it out, like a broken fountain."

5. Can you tell us a bit more about "Write to the World". What is it, and how can our readers contribute?
Write To The World (WTTW), is a writing organisation started in 2007 and co-founded by myself and my partner/associate Maxwell Odoi-Yeboah, after we completed secondary school. WTTW seeks to help young writers, regardless of location, nationality, etc., to enhance/polish their writing talent and help give them a platform on which to display that talent. We also seek to portray the importance of literature in our lives. Everything we offer is for free. Our sites are www.writeworld.co.nr and www.wttw-jwag.blogspot.com. All contact details are on the sites, plus we are on Facebook. We also partner with K-Hitz foundation in New Jersey, and Open Air Theatre on Radio Univers 105.7fm. We are here to help.

Contact Kofi:

Email: donscraper(at)hotmail.com
Blog: http://www.donscraper.blog.co.uk/

From the Archives: "Accra" by Prince Mensah

2011-06-11T04:40:00.010Z

My heavy baggage is carried
by a teen kayayo, [i]
aged by her adventures in big city,
severed from family,
lost in a vortex,
spurned by simple economics.
She carries my possession like a cross on her back,
smiling for finding funds to survive.

My contemplation is tainted by a worried
mother yelling for lost child,
pushing through crowd and din,
oblivious to complaints.

Pickpockets lookout for Johnny-Just-Comes,
naïve business folk from the hinterland.
The streets are mean with survival dressed
as con men and lotto prophets.

Frustrated market women rain
insults, vulgar and plenty,
as smells of fried fish and kenkey [ii]
soothe nostalgic nostrils.

My ears are jarred by honks of tro-tro vans, [iii]
impatient drivers in charge.
Their egotistical mates collecting
fares from exhausted passengers.
Man and vehicle combat for space
in this Tetris game.

The sun shines with intense fury
on sweaty brows and faded hope.
Beauty hides behind hard labor,
confidence is lost with missing teeth.
Dreams are what we really own -
we expect them to come true.

I pause to sip iced kenkey drink
with some bofrot. [iv]
Some kid watches me, wishing he was me.
His hungry eyes analyze the motions
of my happy mouth.
His predicament steals my appetite -
I share my lunch with him.

I walk the beach by Independence Square,
wondering about our dependence
on those from whom we gained freedom
during our struggles in the fifties.
I stand before Nkrumah's mausoleum,
venue of the old Polo grounds.
His old words are drowned in the new cries
of a deceived continent.

I walk this Accra breeze from grey sea
with waves of tears that fall
on the shores of our motherland
duped by the greed of her children.
We are rich by all standards, by nature,
wisdom, intelligence and people.

Flashy buildings house expatriate firms
which overlook native commerce
conducted by gutter and lungu-lungu, [v]
the halitosis of corruption.
But conditions do not coerce attitude.

Smiles are easy to form on weary faces -
Fama Nyame, Fama Nyame, Fama Nyame! [vi]
We shrug away our troubles and move on.

[i] A porter
[ii] Corn meal
[iii] Local transportation, normally dilapidated vans
[iv] Local version of an American doughnut
[v] Hausa word for alleys
[vi] "Give it to God, Give it to God, Give it to God!"

Old poems at OGOV don't die, but live on in our archives! Every once in a while we will dust one off for our newer readers to enjoy. "Accra" was orginally published on OGOV on May 17th, 2008.

Author Profile - Prince Mensah

2011-06-11T04:39:00.002Z

Biography:

Born in Ghana, Prince Mensah has twenty-five stage plays to his credit. Some of them have been acted at the Accra Arts Center and at several locations in Accra. His articles and stories have been published in the STEP magazine, P & P, Ghanadot.com and The Free Press. His poetry has been published in the Munyori Journal, UNESCO's Other Voices International Project, The Muse Literary Magazine and the Dublin Writer's Workshop.

Prince is head of North American promotions for One Ghana, One Voice.

Five questions with Prince Mensah:

1. Were the events described in "Accra" experienced in one day or visit, or were they a compilation of years of experiences?

“Accra” was written in bits and pieces, using various circumstances and time frames. I tried to play time-traveler in the poem, commuting back and forth through future, present and past. I deliberately chose not to rhyme because I sought to illustrate the level of catharsis I experience when writing about such issues. Everyone has a love affair with their country. Most experiences are bitter-sweet. I picked Accra, because as the capital city, it is the mosaic of experiences endured by every Ghanaian.

2. You often use words that non-Ghanaian readers might not understand. That being said, you often take great care to include translations of the key Akan, Ewe, and now Hausa, words that you use in your poems. In this sense, you seem to be balancing the needs and interests of both Ghanaian "insiders" and "outsiders" in your work. Do you have an intended reader in mind for your poems? If so, are you considerate of them while you are writing, or do such considerations come to you after the poem is complete?

According to a report on languages, an indigenous language dies every fortnight. Check the Scoop Magazine and National Geographic. I shudder at the fact that in a few years, the languages I spoke frequently would lose their means of expression, because no one knows how to write them, read them or publish them. I remember my school days in Ghana when English Language was the official language (still is) and the indigenous languages were labeled as ‘vernacular’. That allowed the smothering of any attempt to literalize native language into lingua franca, usable in international settings. I was not pleased with the marginalization of our native tongues. To me, that was a string of colonialism. But let’s not digress.

Like the way French, Greek, Spanish and Latin words have made their way into English, I intend to make several words in my native language familiar with my readers. I want my reader to read the word as it is spoken in its original setting. I am also writing to the Ghanaian, using local words they are all too familiar with. Apart from reading the poem, I want my reader to immerse him/herself in the culture I write about. People are eager to learn new things, new words and new realities. I have always believed there is a poetic essence of African life, left untapped by its literary children.

Writers like Achebe gave their readers an unadulterated taste of life as an African. I think we dilute our writing with too much pandering to what we think our reader wants. The truth is our readers want us to be original, to push them to new thoughts. I think African poets, ethnic poets for that matter, are being irresponsible with an overdependence on English. We must encourage the poets to write whole poems in their native languages, alongside English translations. Remember, there is a huge market on grants for literary translations. It does not hurt to be original.

3. The question "What would Nkrumah think of Ghana if he saw it now?" is an interesting one, one I'm sure many have asked themselves over the years. You teased at an answer in the poem - would you care to elaborate on your opinion here?

Kwame Nkrumah has always been presented as a radical. He had, as Martin Luther King said, ‘the fierce urgency of now’. He was misunderstood by his people and his frustrations drove him to undertake measures that aided his downfall. In hindsight, Nkrumah’s thesis was that we had to own what was ours, warts and all. I personally think the marriage of African independence with socialism was the biggest mistake of our founding fathers.

In his article in the East African Journal (July, 1965), "Problems facing our Socialism", Barack Obama’s father wrote that “the applicability of planning within the embryo of African Socialism, while essentially an economic matter, cannot be divorced from the politico-socio-cultural context in which we find ourselves and as such we should not ignore these factors.” African countries are set up differently from western countries. We already have a certain level of socialism in the communal nature of our societies. The viable solution is to introduce a certain strain of capitalism that works in concert with the existing social structure.

I think Nkrumah would not be pleased with the lethargy of our progress as a country. He would demand an overhaul of basic social infrastructures such as school systems, hospitals and businesses.

4. You seem to share the blame for Ghana's struggles amongst both the politicians and the people, especially on the "Fa ma Nyame syndrome" that cripples the country. In what ways can we break this negative cycle?

To be blunt, the Fa Ma Nyame syndrome is the reason why Ghana is not in a civil war. We have all the ingredients for chaos but the average Ghanaian prefers his/her peace of mind above everything else.

In this regard, the question is whether our politicians are taking us for granted or that we are all lost in a socio-economic wilderness. I am also to blame. Every Ghanaian is. Blame is an equal opportunity employer. Our politicians have not been truthful with the people, as it is everywhere. But in Africa, it reaches critical mass, when the army (a totally undesired alternative) interrupts national politics.

A new kind of politics has to be introduced where accountability and probity are independent institutions that audit officials. Most of our leaders were trained in great Western institutions but the failure to apply lessons learnt makes the people wonder. Education must be a priority. Employment must be another priority. Social justice must also be reinforced as a national concept. The endemic nonchalance has to be replaced by a spirited involvement in national politics.

5. You recently joined the OGOV team, and are helping to lead our promotions in the USA. A large portion of our readership is US based - what help could you use from interested American readers?

Please tell us what issues you need and want to hear about. I think this is not only a poetry site, but a place to start a lot of soul-searching. We can only start as poets, but knowledge must be spread through other means. I believe many of the poets featured on this site will be pleased to answer questions about culture and history. Push us on, readers. We want to do better. [Editor's note: This is an archived interview - Prince has been our associate editor and U.S. promoter for three years now. He could certainly still use your input, though!]

Contact Prince:

Email: pryncemensah(at)yahoo.com
Website: http://www.freewebs.com/pryncemensah/

It Is My Turn - Philip Addo

2011-06-04T05:45:00.001Z

It is my turn to say quiet
It is my turn talk
I can’t stand your talking anymore
For you speak in parables
But I will speak in plain language
It is my turn to cause a quake in your head

It is my turn
It is my turn to sing my own song
It is my turn to dance to it
When you sing I don’t understand
And your dance has no meaning
Come and let me show you how to sing
The beautiful songs of my land
The warrior’s chant
Which you can’t
The melodious voice
Which you don’t
Come and let me show you the dance of my land
The movement of the feet
Which you can’t
The speech of the hands
Which you don’t
The rhythm of nature
The tickling of the soul
The calling of the ancestors
The mingling with the spirits
The warrior’s dance
The fisherman’s dance
The farmer’s dance
The hunter’s dance
The dance of unity

It is my turn to stand tall
It is my turn to beat my chest like a man
And fly like the birds of the air
Far far above your reach
Listen!
Listen!!
The drum of FontonfroM has spoken
And the echo of AtumpaN has responded
It is my turn

Author Profile - Philip Addo

2011-06-04T05:42:00.000Z

Biography:

Philip Addo is the tenth among twelve children from his father and the fifth from his mother. He was born in Accra on 24th February, 1982. He had his basic education at the Gyemmah Preparatory School and Lartebiokorshie Presby Junior Secondary School, both in Accra. After, he furthered to Accra Academy for his senior secondary school education. He has a diploma in Airline Ticketing and Reservation from the International School of Aviation, Tema. Currently, he is pursuing a degree course in English Language education at the University of Education, Winneba.

Philip writes all kinds of literary works. He loves to preach peaceful co-existence and love for one another.

Five Questions with Philip Addo:

1. How long have you been writing poetry?

I started performing poetry in my primary school days, but I wrote my first poem, entitled "Self Sentenced", about eight years ago out of the pain of losing my younger brother. There were some dark years on my writing poems until I entered university in 2008. This is where I started active writing. It all started after I had been introduced to a course entitled: "Extensive Reading" by Mr. Abdulai Jakalia. He brought many writers such as Prof. Kwakuvi Azasu, Prof. Mawutor Avoke, Mr. Anthony K. Johnson and many more who encouraged us to start writing. I then started having a creative reaction to every book I read.

2. Who are your favorite poets? Which poets have most informed and inspired your work?

I admire many poets and their works, but Prof. Atukwei Okai has really informed and inspired my writings. I love the versatility of his works. Also, I draw a lot of inspiration from Prof. Agmor and all my lecturers at the the English Department of the University of Education, Winneba, who also happen to be writers.

3. What do you hope to accomplish with your poetry?

My dream as a poet is to bring peace in the heart of men. My dream is to link people more to their heart than to their mind. My dream is to use my poems to draw the masses to the shores of peace, love, and hope just like music and other forms of entertainment are doing.

Apart from these, I also hope to be mentioned as one of the prominent writers of the African soil in the few years to come. This I know I can and I will do through my works in poetry.

4. Who would you say is being addressed in "It is My Turn"?

"It is My Turn" is addressed to anyone who feels oppressed or captivated. The poem is meant to bring to the realization of the oppressed that he or she has what it takes to overcome the oppressor. The grenade for this is to act by showcasing what he or she has that the oppressor lacks.

5. What inspired you to want to teach English? How has your training been coming along?

In fact, teaching has never been my field of interest though my teachers had suggested it to me. All I wished for was to work in the aviation industry. Hustling and bustling for a job after my aviation school led me into the classroom where I developed a massive love for teaching the English language. From then, I started pursing courses in the subject and finally entered into the university. Hence, my inspiration has been the love for the teaching profession and the joy of interacting and sharing knowledge about language with the masses.

Contact Philip:

philadogh(at)yahoo.com

A Wrapping Ceremony - Daniel Karasik

2011-05-28T03:04:00.003Z

Barefoot on concrete we begin.
Bend forward. Take care to lean
far in. Grip the fabric in each
hand. The design, a sweeping
green and gold whorl that will stand
no reproduction. Your hands are moving.
Almost fully swathed. Do you know
how many seconds it takes for a baby
to hit the ground? It depends, of course,
on the height of the carrier and the eloquence
of her body, which has stood some reproduction
and has barely even started. Tie a bow.
Standing straight and swathed soundly we finish.
The call to prayer rises from the mosque,
wind that has seen the flaw in absolution.
Your son will not cry.
He will peer out from his sanctuary
on your back, he will laugh
if a goat passes, he will not see your frown
as you walk towards the market. To him
you are smiling always, upright and fragrant
with the effort of bearing him beautifully.

Author Profile - Daniel Karasik

2011-05-28T03:01:00.001Z

Biography:

Daniel Karasik is a Toronto-based playwright and poet. His latest play, The Innocents, a hit at the 2010 SummerWorks Festival in Toronto, will be presented by The Bridge Theatre Company in New York City this spring, and produced in German translation at the Staatstheater Mainz in Mainz, Germany in the fall. His play for children, The Remarkable Flight of Marnie McPhee, received its premiere production earlier this year with Carousel Players, touring schools in Southern Ontario from January to March 2011.

His poetry and fiction have appeared in major literary magazines across Canada and in the United States, including The Malahat Review, The New Quarterly, and Per Contra. He has been a first-place winner in the Toronto Star Poetry Contest, and is one of eleven poets featured in the new Cormorant Books anthology Undercurrents: New Voices in Canadian Poetry.

Daniel spent January - April 2006 in Ghana, primarily in Kwahu Tafo, Accra, and Kokrobite.

Five Questions with Daniel Karasik:

1. How long have you been writing poetry?
I've been writing poetry since high school, probably since I was 15 or 16. I was very prolific in my late teens, then stopped writing poetry altogether for a year or two, and have since been writing poems again in concentrated bursts of productivity.

2. Who are your favorite poets? Which poets have most informed and inspired your work?
Czeslaw Milosz, Rainer Maria Rilke, Robert Hass, Alden Nowlan, Jack Gilbert, Anne Carson, Pablo Neruda, A. F. Moritz, and James Tate have all meant a lot to me at different times. That list is inevitably incomplete. Poets who probe the basic human experiences of love and death, suffering and desire, and who do so in ways that engage the emotions as well as the intellect, have always spoken to me most powerfully. To me, poetic form is an instrument for getting at those experiences, not an end in itself.

3. What do you hope to accomplish with your poetry?
I hope to express myself and to bring pleasure or a heightened awareness of the world (or some part of it) to my reader. My aspirations as a poet aren't political; a poem is always liable to be interpreted politically, but I don't conceive of my poetry that way. I think good poetry shapes the rough matter of experience into something that we're able to process -- intellectually, emotionally, viscerally -- where otherwise the incomprehensible, formless mass of those experiences might just sweep over us, leaving us bewildered. (I'm still bewildered). Some of my more recent poetry, and I think some of my better poems among my older poetry, has been a kind of a searching, an unraveling in poetic terms of an existential or otherwise urgent problem. So I guess part of what I hope to accomplish is to share that search, crafted in such a way that it has resonance for others.

4. "A Wrapping Ceremony" was inspired by your stay in Kwahu Tafo. What brought you to that region of Ghana? Did you write the poem at the time, or in hindsight after leaving the country?
I was in Kwahu Tafo volunteering at a cultural centre there, a program coordinated by GIMAT Volunteer Network. I spent about a month helping out at the cultural centre and teaching English at one of the junior secondary schools. I didn't think I was very good at teaching, and had serious questions generally about whether I was doing any good there -- I was 19 and pretty ignorant; I owe many thanks to Eric and Christian in Kwahu Tafo for their wisdom, energy, and generosity, which helped me stay afloat -- so I kept myself busy and sane by writing in the evenings. "A Wrapping Ceremony" was one of the first poems I wrote in Africa.

5. A selection of your poetry was recently including in the anthology Undercurrents: New Voices in Canadian Poetry. What effect has being included in the anthology had on your understanding of yourself as a poet, and your aspirations going forward? More generally, what role do you think anthologies play in a country's literary culture?
I think any publication in a reputable place confers at least a little legitimacy on your work, which is nice. And Cormorant Books, which published the anthology, is a terrific small press. I've felt encouraged by editor Robyn Sarah's interest in my writing. I had no idea whether the poems now published in the anthology would ever be in print, and while there's still never any guarantee that something you write will be published, especially as a young or newer writer, the anthology's publication gives me hope that the work I'm writing now may eventually find an audience.

As for what role this particular anthology will play in the country's literary culture, I'm really not sure. I think it's full of rich, strong work. I'm thrilled to be included in it. Maybe this goes without saying, but probably the impact Undercurrents has will depend a lot on what kind of critical reception it receives. Anthologies of more established writers can be canon-making, and who's included vs. who's not can get very political, but an anthology of new writers seems less political to me, if only because none of the included writers are well-known enough to be readily identified with particular aesthetic or ideological positions. I think Undercurrents represents a chance for us, the newer writers included in it, to start building a readership without obliging would-be readers to buy our separately authored books. The upshot might be that more people end up reading our poems. And that's wonderful.

Contact Daniel:

daniel_karasik(at)hotmail.com

Time Up - Jabulani Mzinyathi

2011-05-21T04:39:00.006Z

What did I expect
They do this to each other
Am now balanced on bricks
Like a pensioner on three legs
The many journeys I undertook
Now I lie abandoned here
Like a pensioner waiting for a pittance
Now am a rodents' paradise
A prop for children’s plays
What did I expect
They feed each other on ingratitude
The long lonely hours in old people’s homes.

Author Profile - Jabulani Mzinyathi

2011-05-21T04:34:00.001Z

Biography:

Jabulani Mzinyathi was born on 01.09.65 in Ascot high density suburb, Gwelo, Rhodesia (now Gweru, Zimbabwe), to working class parents. He is a qualified primary school teacher turned magistrate, and he holds a diploma in personnel management. In 1997 he was awarded a diploma for excellence by the panel of judges of the Scottish international open poetry contest. He has had several poems and short stories published by magazines in Zimbabwe and abroad. He also once wrote humour pieces for some newspapers in Zimbabwe, and was a columnist for Moto magazine, Gweru. He has served both as the vice-chairman of the Budding Writers Association of Zimbabwe, and as chairman of the Zimbabwe Poetry Society.

Jabulani has a blog at: jabulanimzinyathi.blogspot.com. Some of his poems are featured in the upcoming Mensa Press anthology Whispers in the Whirlwind: A collection of Poems about Socio-Economic Challenges in Africa.

Five Questions with Jabulani Mzinyathi:

1. This is your second profiled poem to be connected with a picture you took. Is this a new trend in your writing practice? What motivated you to start pairing photos and poems?
poetry and photography for me go hand in glove. they are about images. poetry involves painting images with words. on the other hand photography is painting images with light. i have always loved combining the two. i have kept some of the works in drawers for there was little appreciation. a fellow poet mgcini nyoni has pioneered a project in zimbabwe on this combination. he has greatly inspired me. now the works are out. the confidence is growing.

2. In the case of this poem, which came first, the photo or the poem? Is the process for this poem representative of your general process (i.e. do you always start with the photos, or always start with the poems)?
i saw the station wagon and immediately decided to write a poem which kind of personifies it. so yes the photo triggered the thoughts that became the poem. usually the photo comes first then the words follow. at times the poem and photography happen simultaneously. at times the photo is taken then serious meditation takes place. rarely does the poem come first.

3. Do you expect the poems you write with accompanying photos to stand on its own without the photos, or should they always be displayed together?
when poetry meets photography, the two should be displayed together. viewers and readers will enjoy both and even come up with their own poems or stories based on the photos. there has to be that engagement. i will have accomplished my task if readers and viewers enjoy both the poetry and the photography.

4. What is the state of care for the elderly in Zimbabwe right now? What simple steps, if any, can be taken to improve the situation in the short term?
there is per my view very little being done to care for the elderly. those that have no children are put in old people's homes - these are not really homes, they are human dump sites. the elderly are tucked away and forgotten. this is an alien concept to most of us in africa. those with childrean are no better either. the children grapple with economic hardships and fail to fend for their aged parents. the family unit is severely battered. maybe the powers that be should have the elderly access water, electricity and other needs at reduced rates. that is why i have advocated for a senior citizens act. for want of space it is enough to state that the elderly should also get benefits from social welfare.

5. In your last interview, you talked about the important role of politics in African poetry. Do you consider "Time Up" to be a political poem? Why or why not?
given the above stance this poem is political. the policy makers must realise that the elderly who have been active economically all their lives deserve better than the paltry slave peanuts termed pensions. many pensioners now do not even bother to go to the banks to access the pittance, as the cost of travelling to the bank far outweighs the pittance. my people are educated enough to do a cost benefit analysis. are we not the country with the highest literacy levels on the continent?

Contact Jabulani:

Email:jmzinyathi1(at)yahoo.co.uk
Website: http://jabulanimzinyathi.blogspot.com/

I Have Gone to Keta: Daytrip - Rob Taylor

2011-05-14T08:55:00.000Z

"I want to go to Keta
before it’s washed away
before the palm trees wither
and drown outside the bay"

- “I want to go to Keta,” Kobena Eyi Acquah

They are walking on water in Keta Lagoon
as we pull into town then cross the peninsula
to face the Atlantic from atop the boulders
they stacked here to fix the shoreline in this place
where we stand and watch the ocean swell in, then away
revealing chunks of concrete, shattered fingers
of rebar – startling in their permanence –

then turn and wander past what remains
of the half-drowned castle and children splashing
fine sand before it, chasing
a ball of vulcanized white gold
with sparks in their eyes

then on through the town
pocked with puddles and troughs
of water that expand with every turn
until the buildings give way to lagoon,
sloshing among crumbling cement walls
and briny car parts and a man wading in water
up to his ankles who pulls small, netted fish
out of what was once his neighbour’s living room
and smiles mildly, then turns away –
in the distance more men dragging
nets home, water shimmering
under their feet (a trick of the eye,
a flash of the miraculous that surfaces
in the mind at times then disappears below)

then back to the center of town
where the power remains off and lunch
is warm beer and biscuits at the pub
where drunks slam sticky handfuls
of banku onto our table and a miserably
sober man apologises for all the drunks
and power outages and sloppy banku of Africa
then out again to the glare of the street,
towards the station, past the troop of glistening
boys back from the shore, shouting
and grinning, their ball skipping
ahead, a polished stone

and we are away, trotro engine thumping
and wheezing desperately as we plod
our course back to the mainland along
the edge of the now empty lagoon,
the fishermen home with their children
and wives, who, I imagine, are rinsing
dishes and humming the tunes
to childhood songs whose words
they can no longer recall, whose melodies
they thought they’d long ago forgotten.

Originally published in "The Other Side of Ourselves", Cormorant Books, 2011. Reprinted by permission of the author.

Author Profile - Rob Taylor

2011-05-14T08:51:00.002Z

Biography:

Rob Taylor lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He lived in Accra in 2006-07 with his wife, Marta. His first collection of poetry, The Other Side of Ourselves, was published in April 2011 from Cormorant Books. Rob will be launching his new book in Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto throughout May and early June. For specific dates and locations, please visit his website.

"I Have Gone to Keta: Daytrip" is dedicated to Kobena Eyi Acquah, and is reproduced from The Other Side of Ourselves by permission of the author.

Rob is a co-founder and editor of One Ghana, One Voice.

Five Questions with Rob Taylor (asked by Prince Mensah):

1. In "I Have Gone to Keta: Daytrip", you are a stranger travelling through town, taking snapshots of people and places in your head, trying to understand what it all means. Was it easy to connect to the people (and/or place) or did you get the sense of being foreign heightened in your experience?

The poems I wrote while living in Accra can generally be broken down into two halves, one for the first half of my time spent there, and one for the second half. The first half is mainly poems of alienation and confusion, as I settled into a country very different from my own (i.e. “lost” poems). The second half is more poems that exist both “inside” and “outside” the Ghanaian culture (i.e. “lost then found” poems).

"I Have Gone to Keta", however, messed that system up. Keta is like few places on earth, and upon visiting it I was suddenly disoriented again, and found myself back writing about alienation and confusion. But this time it was a little different, a little more informed (certainly reading poems on Keta by Kobena Eyi Acquah and Kofi Awoonor helped prepare me), so I like to think of this poem as a “lost then found then lost again” poem - as a result, themes of appearing and disappearing, remembering and forgetting, rising and sinking, run throughout the poem. I assume similar themes must run through the lives of the people of Keta, who are constantly gaining and losing and regaining their town in their struggle with the sea.

2. Knowing you as a Canadian son of Ghana, this poem comes as no surprise. What are the other emotions and images that did not make their way into the poem?

Hmmm... I tried to pack most things in there. I do think it’s hard to capture the amazement that I had at taking in the scene of a town being consumed by the sea. It’s a scene that, due to global warming, we’ll probably see play out more often in the future - sadly, I suspect that Keta will become less and less of an oddity over the coming years. But that means that Keta is ahead of its time, in a twisted way. It’s a town on the forefront of learning how to adapt to rising sea levels and coastal erosion. It’s an early warning.

3. One of the many vivid snapshots of Keta in "I Have Gone to Keta" is about
a man wading in water
up to his ankles who pulls small, netted fish
out of what was once his neighbour’s living room
In this picture, were you pointing to the social scenario wherein some individuals benefit, be it inadvertently or not, from other people's misfortunes?

I was mainly trying to capture the scene. There are so many odd and unexpected sights in Keta that in many ways this poem was simply my attempt to catalogue them. The story of Keta – a town that is being destroyed by the very natural forces it depends on for its survival – inevitably evokes a great number of political, social, and existential questions. My first goal, then, was to have readers see the scene, and then let those challenging or provocative images go to work in the minds of the readers in whatever ways they would.

4. There is another picture that contains a moment of clarity for me. It is
where drunks slam sticky handfuls
of banku onto our table and a miserably
sober man apologises for all the drunks
Do you think what a society does (whether good or bad) as a whole unit forces its citizens, who might or might not agree with those actions, to constantly clarify that society to strangers? In other words, is our misery as individuals caused by the recklessness of our societies?

No, I don’t think so, on either front. I do think it’s difficult to avoid both misery and the desire to clarify.

Often we can’t see the forest for the trees, but in my experience I find it’s just as easy to get lost in the forest and miss the beauty of the trees. For me, when the drunk bar patrons offered us banku, it was a simple act of generosity, but to the other man in the bar it was tied in to all these fraught, abstract ideas about “Africa”.

Depending on your perspective, the state of Keta can be seen as a sign of the peoples’ failure, or of their resilience – this largely depends on whether you focus on the collective or the individual, the forest or the trees. To cultivate a positive mindset you need both perspectives, and you need them to exist in balance with one another. When one dominates the other, misery and a constant desire to clarify can overtake you. But whether you fall out of balance is up to you to determine.

5. Where the words fade, the music remains. Just as the women of Keta hummed
the tunes
to childhood songs whose words
they can no longer recall, whose melodies
they thought they’d long ago forgotten
what are the lingering memories you still have about the Keta you visited in the poem?

At this point it’s hard for me to separate the poem from my memories, as the visit occured over four years ago. Certainly the image that sticks in my mind the clearest is of the fishermen – the lagoon was so shallow that they really did appear to be walking on water. I was very struck by it – as the son of a Christian minister there aren’t many things that you are taught are more miraculous than walking on water!

Keta is a special place. Despite their hardships, the people we met were warm and generous, and often joy-filled. I hope this poem can be seen as an appropriate tribute to them, and their miraculous town.

Contact Rob:

Email: roblucastaylor(at)gmail.com
Websites: RobLucasTaylor.com, spread it like a roll of nickels

OGOV Roundtable Discussion #6 - African Writing and The Internet (Part Two)

2011-05-07T02:03:00.108Z

Our sixth Roundtable Discussion is focused on African Writing and The Internet. This discussion was moderated by Prince Mensah, and features Michelle Labossiere Brandt, Martin Egblewogbe, Ivor Hartmann, Nii Ayikwei Parkes and Emmanuel Sigauke (participant bios here). It took place by email throughout January 2011.

The following is the part two (of two) of the discussion (you can read part one here). After you are done reading, please be sure to use the comment section to join the conversation yourself.

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Prince Mensah: There is broad consensus, from your responses, that the Internet (or technology, for that matter) cannot impact anybody unless it is utilized in conjunction with other forms of media. What are the available elements that can form efficient synergy with the Internet to provide the results we seek as writers? Nii has already mentioned radio, but I seek further opinion (and elaboration) from the other panelists.

Martin Egblewogbe: This is the crux of the matter. Technology will always be an aid, but its level of effectiveness will depend on many factors that may have nothing to do with the efficiency of the technology itself. The core of the matter for me is that we must ensure that writers are able to put out completed works, and have editorial input as well. Further, these should be available to critics. Our eyes should be on the long-term goal of ensuring the creation and preservation of works of art.

I believe that the way to do this is to create writing and reading groups, with the core being friends or neighbours. It should become part of our culture (the way storytelling was) for a group of people to meet and discuss a book that they have read, or that one of them has written. Once there are many such core groups, the next stage is to create connections between them. The final idea is to create a certain critical mass of people who are so keen on writing that they will hunt down a good writer, or good writing, wherever it may be found - and such a critical mass is a publisher's paradise. At the same time, the writer would have achieved the aim of critically assessed output.

Therefore, the Internet, radio, cell phones, etc. will work to bring people together for the purposes of literature appreciation.

Michelle Labossiere Brandt: Martin, I love your ideas!

I think there are many avenues that we can continue to explore and one of those is the increasing role of mixed media when it comes to poetry and writing. Poetry captures and broadens its audience base when it expands into video poetry. I love how that art form combines spoken word, music and film. The first video poem I did was not spoken but had the words written across the images with original music playing in the background, so in fact the audience was still reading! A few years ago I did a project with street youth for one of our annual poetry festivals, in which the kids made their own video poems. The kids loved it and it sparked a whole new interest in poetry with a bunch of youth who have grown up in a highly visual/techno era. It was a great merger of two art forms and one that I hope to see more of.

Nii Ayikwei Parkes: Personally, I have no problem with incomplete or flawed works; I think they create an opportunity to teach later writers about the pitfalls of rushing work AND they work well for examples to use in workshops on how to edit. My general approach is not to try to change things that require a high level of policing or interference to change - you can't stop people from wanting to get their work out early, and you could argue that no literary work is perfect anyway.

I find that one of the great things that technology will give us is an outlet for our own critical perspectives which will help moderate skewed Western perspectives. An example: recently the Guardian had someone do a blog piece on Ben Okri's The Famished Road and he said the book was a waste of space - within minutes respondents from across the globe were taking him to task, letting him know that he didn't understand the context or the subtext, and because of this he found he had to moderate his tone. Something as simple as that can change the way the world reads, and can expand the readership for writing from Africa. In the "print only" days, that Guardian piece would not have had those responses and would have become "law" in print, with everyone heralding it as authoritative; with the web, it became dialogue. I also remember one of my favourite reviews for my own novel came from South Africa because they understood, knew and could refer to a literary heritage that included Kojo Laing, whereas most of the European reviewers were making tenuous links with Alexander McCall Smith.

So it's about tying all the possible outlets together, but also joining in in the process of creating centres of critical authority, the business of myth-making that shapes readership in the world and also bestows esteem on our own creative output.

Ivor Hartmann: I think it is important to realise that although the Internet does have a relatively awesome range for a world audience, it does not replace everything that has come before it. Therefore what occurs online should be integrated with all other mediums possible (print, radio, TV, readings, book tours, shows, school outreach programs, etc.) for maximum potential effect.

When starting StoryTime, I went with an online mag because it was the easiest and cheapest way to start a lit mag and I had the skillset to do it alone with no cost but that of my time. But to be sure I would have rather gone with a print mag, if I could have at the time. There is still a prestige associated with print that has in many ways grown since the Internet explosion, mainly because when the kind of capital you need for print is on the line, the average final print product is inevitably of a higher quality than the average online product. So instead of seeing the Internet and its associated techs (ebooks, emags, etc.) as the one solution, we should be utilising all the other's in conjunction whenever possible.

I totally agree with Nii's point that the Internet has enabled a fluidity and readers'/writers' responses that was previously unavailable, which did see authors made or broken by set-in-stone print reviews. This has led to the waning of critics power, because online everyone is a critic, and their opinions are heard. So what tends to happen now is trial-by-online-mass-opinion, which is both a good and bad thing. Good in the sense that now everyone gets to have their say, but bad because this is not always a well informed opinion, and quite often a knee-jerk response with no in-depth forethought. So a dual edged sword, indeed, but one worth having.

Emmanuel Sigauke: The question is whether the Internet alone is an adequate tool for African writers. I say not yet, but it has added value in the many ways we have pointed out. I see the processes where works are born online and are groomed into print publication (as in the case of StoryTime) being one way of enhancing the synergy we are suggesting because along with such metamorphosis come other processes, such as promotion by word of mouth, through publicity departments, author readings and workshops. One of the results we seek as writers is money (we hope that eventually we get paid for some of our work), and the Internet, especially in the Web 2.0 phase, tends to promote ease of access and higher rates of free availability of our art; it seems then that works that offer financial rewards still lean heavily towards print, and sometimes radio and TV.

As we harness the power of the Internet, we also need to seek ways to develop our writing on the web and keep it there; in other words, we have to start taking advantage of online networks as profitable avenues. I now focus on financial rewards because that's one of the avenues that offers writers a certain degree of independence and optimism, and a stronger belief in the power of web technologies.

Prince: Martin, in your last response, you spoke of "critical mass" arising out of concerted efforts among writers and lovers of literature in Africa. This, you stated, could lead to a "publisher's paradise." Are we, as writers, really utilizing what modern technology has to offer or are we limited by the type of readership we have?

Martin: I believe that writers are benefiting tremendously from modern technology - from the huge amounts of information available online to cheap flights; modern word processors and portable printers; etc. Yes, yes. One hopes that the quality of creative output is the better for all this.

As for readership, a lot of the time writers try to create for a certain readership, which leads to self-censorship and sometimes contorted products; and sometimes, perhaps, to fabulous pieces. I don't know which works better and in what way it works better if it does: to write blind to a readership or to write in awareness of what your readers want to read. I would defer to the former, truth to self seems to lurk therein.

Prince: Ivor, as a publisher, what are your insights into how technology can be used more effectively by African writers? With the Internet giving equal opportunity access to both great and mediocre writers, what can be done to ensure excellence and to maintain a standard that can create "a publisher's paradise", as Martin puts it, in the African literary landscape?

Ivor: I'm reminded here of Sturgeon's Law/Revelation that he coined in 1958 in response to the continual attacks on the Science Fiction genre, which states,
"After twenty years of wearying defense of science fiction against attacks of people who used the worst examples of the field for ammunition, and whose conclusion was that ninety percent of SF is crud. Using the same standards that categorize 90% of science fiction as trash, crud, or crap, it can be argued that 90% of film, literature, consumer goods, etc. are crap. In other words, the claim (or fact) that 90% of science fiction is crap is ultimately uninformative, because science fiction conforms to the same trends of quality as all other art forms."
And this applies to African Literature as well (because it applies to everything). So if you keep this in mind and are able to admit that not everything in African Literature is pure literary gold, and it never can be, then you begin to see that there will always inevitably be mediocre writing published. But, just like back then, it isn't only that outstanding 10% which is read by the reading public. Therefore African writers have to realise that we can't all be in that 10% and that is OK, because there really is room enough for every type of African writer.

So that said, what all African literature publishers can do is provide a high standard of the basics. And by that I mean, consistently publishing rigorously edited and proofed works, at the very least, no matter what format (online/print) they are published in. As the StoryTime editor I am sent a fair amount of self-published or fledgling publishers books and e-books, for possible blurbs. Quite often while I see the glimmer of a great story in the book, it is drowned-out by the obvious absence of rigorous editing and proofing. This is where the writers are let down and while there are many reasons for it, none of them are excusable. Because while the book may not be in that 10%, sometimes they could have been if more time was taken to cover the publishing basics. Something I learnt early on in my writing career is that whilst writing may be solitary, publishing that writing is most definitely a team effort.

Prince: Michelle, as a person who has promoted African literature for fundraising purposes, what are the challenges on the ground when it comes to giving local readers access to books? Also, as a Canadian, what are some suggestions and/or solutions that the African literary world can learn from Canada's own experiences?

Michelle: It has been a wonderful experience to publish the Sun and Snow Anthology and to have African and Canadian poets come together in such a beautiful book, but of course as with everything there have been challenges - first among them, money. If we had money we would be distributing the books to schools both here and in Ghana, but because we are a new and small organization without access to grants we have been limited. Our first objective as an organization is to help provide clean and affordable drinking water to communities, and our second objective is to assist with the creation and or sustaining of story-telling clubs/associations for both the young and the old, in various schools and communities through out the global community and to encourage the connection of those clubs to one another. We felt that publishing the Sun and Snow Anthology would do both: by bringing global poets together we would be promoting both African and Canadian poets and at the same time we as global poets would raise money for the Dixcove Hospital Water and Revitalization Project. As I look back at this I can see that our efforts have paid off in terms of promoting African literature/poetry here in Edmonton. Our collaboration has helped to create an interest in African Poetry and this year there was an African Poetry Night featured at the Edmonton Poetry Festival. Have we managed to sell all our poetry books to help raise money for the Dixcove Hospital? Unfortunately not. As far as getting our book into the hands of African readers we have failed and perhaps that is because we hoped to achieve two objectives through publishing, when we should have only been focusing on one. We are currently rethinking our perspective on this.

As far as lessons from Canada go, Edmonton has an incredibly supportive creative community, that is thriving! Is that because we are from the richest province in Canada? That could very well be. But I think there is more to it then meets the eye. The visiting writers I've met in Edmonton are quick to remark how supportive rather then competitive our creative community is here, and from my own experience I can see this is true. We have numerous poetry clubs and organizations and I can honestly say every one of them promotes the new poet by making them feel welcome. I thank the founding Elders in our poetry community who set up our main organization called The Stroll of Poets. Over and above that almost every poet I know belongs to smaller poetry groups where they challenge each other to write, write, write... and then to read or perform their art in front of an audience. Poetry here in Edmonton is not just an art form limited to the university educated with an English Degree. Poetry is promoted as an art form available to anyone young or old with a passion for reading and writing, highlighting the idea that you don't need a degree or money to write poetry. As a result we have a community that is truly egalitarian as opposed to elitist. This translates into support and healthy competition where many new and young writers feel encouraged enough to live out their passion. Does the African literary world have anything to learn from this? I'm not sure and perhaps that is not for me to answer. All I know is that as members of the poetry community we all win when we support one another to grow and expand!

Prince: Nii, in your last response, you mentioned an example of how the Internet has made it possible for Africans to correct other people's distortions of their literature in real time. Has the Internet (and technology, to a larger extent) opened erstwhile closed doors for African writing or has it shut the door on our ability to make an impact on world literature the way Soyinka, Achebe and Brutus did? As an African in Britain, can you shed light on your own experiences with technology, in the pursuit of your literary goals?

Nii: I would say that on the whole it has opened doors. For example, very early in my writing days I got an e-mail from a student in Australia doing a project on my poetry; he had only ever seen my work online and that was enough for him to list me as one of his poetry heroes. Of course, there are downsides, but - as is usually the case - they are within the artist's control. People may put work out that does nothing for their reputation, but if they have a sensible head on their shoulders that shouldn't happen too often - on one level readers like seeing their heroes' flaws, it makes them feel connected. As for the kind of impact that Soyinka, Achebe and Brutus had, I think it will take a while for that to happen again, but it's not because of technology. We have to remember that they were, and were actively heralded as, the vanguard, so they had reputations that ran alongside their achievements because everything they did had a huge platform immediately after it was completed. We have many more people claiming out attention now; I think our generation may take a while to get that kind of recognition, but when it comes there will be a sizable body of work to explore. There's the political context as well - the Achebe generation were doing things that the propaganda machine had said "Africans" could not do, so every word they wrote took on a political significance that our generation cannot command as we rise in the wake of the path they cleared up the mountain.

Personally, I've used technology to interact across language divides e.g. my readings in Italy and Germany are often accompanied by translations projected on a screen behind/beside me. I've used technology to create podcasts to give audiences a feel for my rendition of my own work. Also, I often use video to communicate ideas and share insights. Lastly, of course, I have a website, Twitter account, Facebook page, Myspace page and all that goes with that - and I use digital recorders in interviews to prepare for my novels, etc. I don't have a bad thing to say about technology - it's always about how it's used.

OGOV Roundtable Discussion #6 - About the Participants

2011-05-07T02:02:00.002Z

Prince Mensah:

Born in Ghana, Prince Mensah has twenty-five stage plays to his credit. Some of them have been acted at the Accra Arts Center and at several locations in Accra. His articles and stories have been published in the STEP magazine, P & P, Ghanadot.com and The Free Press. His poetry has been published in the Munyori Journal, UNESCO's Other Voices International Project, The Muse Literary Magazine and the Dublin Writer's Workshop.

Prince is head of North American promotions for One Ghana, One Voice, and moderated this roundtable discussion

Michelle Labossiere Brandt:

Michelle is a mother, poet, and nurse and co-founder (president) of Rhythm International Foundation of Edmonton and Ghana. Her shared vision of humanity has helped create the mission and objectives of Rhythm International Foundation but she recognizes that this organization and it's projects have been given life because of the all the dedicated people who have given of their time, talent and abundance.

Martin Egblewogbe:

Martin Egblewogbe is the co-founder of the Writers Project of Ghana. He also edits the "Ghanaian Book Review" and has a keen interest in literature. He mainly writes short stories and poetry.

Martin is currently studying at Clemson University, South Carolina.

Ivor Hartmann:

Ivor W. Hartmann is a Zimbabwean writer, editor, publisher and visual artist, currently based in Johannesburg, South Africa. He is the author of Mr. Goop (Vivlia, 2010), and was nominated for the UMA Award (2009), and awarded The Golden Baobab Prize (2009).

He is the editor/publisher of StoryTime, co-editor/publisher of African Roar, consulting editor African Writing Magazine, and serves on the advisory board of Writers International Network Zimbabwe.

His writing has appeared in StoryTime, African Writing Magazine, Wordsetc, Munyori Literary Journal, Something Wicked, Paulo Coelho's Blog, Sentinel Literary Quartley, African Writer, Kubatana, and the anthology African Roar (StoryTime Publishing, 2010).

Nii Ayikwei Parkes:

Nii Ayikwei Parkes is a writer, editor, socio-cultural commentator and performance poet. A 2007 recipient of Ghana's national ACRAG award for poetry and literary advocacy, his début novel Tail of the Blue Bird has been translated into Dutch and German and was shortlisted for the 2010 Commonwealth Prize. Nii's latest books of poetry are the Michael Marks Award-shortlisted pamphlet, ballast: a remix (2009), described in the Guardian as, “An astonishing, powerful remix of history and language” and The Makings of You (Peepal Tree Press).

Emmanuel Sigauke:

Emmanuel Sigauke was born in Zimbabwe, where he started writing at the age of thirteen. After graduating from the University of Zimbabwe with a BA in English, he moved to California, where he completed graduate studies. He teaches English at Cosumnes River College in Sacramento, where he is an editor for the Cosumnes River Journal. He is the founder and editor of Munyori Poetry Journal.

OGOV Roundtable Discussion #6 - African Writing and The Internet (Part One)

2011-05-01T11:17:00.003Z

Our sixth Roundtable Discussion is focused on African Writing and The Internet. This discussion was moderated by Prince Mensah, and features Michelle Labossiere Brandt, Martin Egblewogbe, Ivor Hartmann, Nii Ayikwei Parkes and Emmanuel Sigauke (participant bios here). It took place by email throughout January 2011.

The following is the part one (of two) of the discussion. After you are done reading, please be sure to use the comment section to join the conversation yourself.

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Prince Mensah: Considering the present shape of African writing, what visible steps are being taken to use the Internet as a medium of communication? Are those steps enough? What impact does all this have on indigenous readers who might or might not have access to the Internet?

Michelle Labossiere Brandt: The Internet is turning out to be a fantastic gift to the African writer, and an immediate way to publicize one's creativity. It is the diving board, a place to launch and in doing so extends out to those readers who don't have access to the Internet!

Let me use my own community as an example. Our goal as an organization (RIFE & RIFG) was twofold: bring poets from Africa and Canada together to publish an anthology to raise money for a project in Ghana, and educate the average Edmontonian poet and reader as to the incredible pool of African writers/poets. We have achieved those goals and it all started through the long arm of the Internet, one of our main sources being OGOV. Since that time a number of local non-African poets have now become interested in African literature/poetry. Some of these local poets don't have access to the Internet but they are avid readers, and come out to poetry readings.

The long arm of the Internet is a bridge for global writers to share their talent and inspire one another and thereby perhaps impact the world at large in a positive and creative manner.

Emmanuel Sigauke: Most writers have websites, blogs, Twitter, and Facebook accounts, and they use these as tools to publicize their works, to create a platform. These are effective tools of communication, but as there is too much of a wide choice of information online, what’s needed is a more effective channeling of the information to make sure that it reaches as many people as possible. In other words, there should be networking, targeted linking of the media that the writers use.

While the Internet is helping develop the literature in urban African and in the Diaspora, there is still a wide gap in communication with the majority of African readers. Many people in African countries have no access to the Internet, so whatever programs are represented online should be replicated on the ground in different communities and especially at the grassroots level. Writers should also be involved in outreach programs that promote reading and writing in Africa.

Nii Ayikwei Parkes: The state of African writing is a big question. I'd say it's abuzz with possibilities and disjointed (which is not necessarily a bad thing), meaning that the next few years will tell us what is really happening.

Steps being taken - as Michelle has shown, and Emmanuel has touched on - are as diverse as the forms and stages of writing themselves. I was recently contacted by a Ghanaian poet who sent me links to tracks from a forthcoming CD online to listen to. That triggered two thoughts - one, we use technology very quickly and effectively (I live in the UK and wouldn't have thought of getting cross-continental feedback) and two, the Internet means that the distance between the practising writers and aspiring writers is very small - there is a lot of promise in that if we (the practising writers) stay accessible.

As for indigenous readers, this can only be better for them, because they barely had access to work when there was no Internet anyway so there is no way technology can impoverish them, it can only enrich their experience - even if it starts with something as simple as quotes in text messages.

Martin Egblewogbe: As a result of low Internet penetration in Africa, I strongly suspect that most users of literary websites dedicated to African writing tend to live in the diaspora, and may have a readership that is mainly non-African. In this regard, unless the target audience of a Ghanaian writer is global or non-African, there is a fundamental disconnect when the work is published online; this is the disconnect of speaking without the possibility of being heard. To most people on the continent, the publication simply doesn't exist. Therefore, the impact in terms of widespread acknowledgement is naturally constricted (to an extent, this is also quite true of many hard publications).

It is quite clear that our social reflex has not yet quite adjusted to the Internet, especially when it comes to publishing literary works: we can see potential, we know it can be used for something, but we are not very sure what, or how it will be achieved. We may yet be surprised.

At this present time, the use of the Internet as a medium for publication has both detrimental and positive effects, both on the writer and the art, the extent of which depends on the fronts listed earlier. I will probably expand on this as the discussion progresses.

Ivor Hartmann: From my own interaction as, and with other African writers, I'd say we're on the cusp of a never before seen explosion of African literature. This is not without its pitfalls: anyone can now self-publish, but this does not mean that what is self-published will be good. I say it often but it still holds true: writers have to have good editors. We still need gatekeepers, as not everyone who thinks they are a great writer (and we all think that of course), is necessarily so. But (and its a big "but"), there is plenty of room for mediocre writers too, and market forces.

In Africa (and Diaspora) we writers have the tendency to want to be the next Soyinka, Marechera, etc. In other words, to excel strictly in 'literary' writing. Who can blame us? They are Africa's literary heroes whom we of course aspire to. This however leaves a wide open gap in all the other genres that needs to be filled, and is currently filled with imported writing. It is this gap that I'd like to see filled locally.

There is a desperate need for more (affordable) print books on the ground in Africa. We writers may have heartily embraced the online world, but not so much our potential local readers for many reasons (89.1% of Africa does not have online access). There is an ever growing technological divide, and the vast majority of Africa will not have access to the digital literature age that is fast upon us. This means that while African writers do indeed now have access to far more international markets, the same can not be said for local markets where affordable print still rules.

Prince: Is the disconnect between the Internet-empowered African writer and the still dispossessed readership a consequence of socio-political neglect of basic literacy? Or is it the fault of African writers, that we do not put enough effort in reaching the 81.9% of the population (as Ivor aptly mentioned) with no access to the Internet? Has the Internet given a truly distinct voice to the African writer or has it become an echo chamber for post-colonial dreams and frustrations? Finally, regardless of how you answer the previous questions, what are your prescriptions for this malady?

Michelle: When I was in Ghana two years ago I watched as my fiancé’s brother informally ran a library out of the family compound. He is university educated and had access to books that others wanted to read, so there was always someone waiting to borrow from him. The problem was he also had limited access to books. Literacy is a skill that demands practice so even when people learn to read if they don’t have access to that which will expand this skill, literacy decreases. I am of the belief that as we experience abundance it is important to give back to the community so that others might also experience that abundance, and as writers that means focusing not just on getting our literature out there, it means helping to create communities where literature is available. I watch as so many of my Canadian/African friends work at two or three jobs to help support loved ones back home and I am in awe of not only their stamina but of their love of family and community. As writers I think the focus has to be on giving back to Africa via increasing publishing houses and providing good literature for low cost, so that people can purchase or borrow through community libraries.

I cannot help but be concerned that the Internet and technology in general, with all its access to Westernized stories based purely on consumerism, will influence Africa in a way that is destructive. Those values must be counter-balanced with the brilliance of African traditions or people will move forward in a manner that is destructive to community. We have certainly seen that in Canada and the United States - the erosion of community values and a huge increase in narcissistic values. I am grateful for discussions like these which enlighten and may influence our fellow writers to give back in their area of speciality.

Ivor: Using the Internet simply comes down to access: either you can afford (and access) a home PC, smart phone, Internet cafe, etc. or not, and for the vast African majority at present, it is not. This means that the focus for Africa has to be on print books and incentives put forward by governments and NGO's that will get affordable books into the hands of the mass market. A good example is in South Africa where late last year it was proposed to scrap VAT on local books, an admirable move that is still going through parliament. At present most new print books are too costly, and so most local and international publishers have priced themselves out of the mass market, which means any mass literacy drive is doomed from the start. There are however exceptions: in Zimbabwe there is still a very strong reading culture (despite the current situation), which is supported by second- (third-, fourth-) hand books for sale on the streets at affordable prices. This means that there is a ready mass market in Zimbabwe if publishers could take advantage of it.

Nii: I'm sure we're all aware of the fact that the Internet does not exist in isolation, but I wanted to bring that back to the fore so that we don't lose the appreciation of the Internet as simply an 'additional' means of dissemination of creative work. It expands the range of what is available and how it is passed on, but it doesn't mean that what comes before disappears. Beyond that, the Internet is anchored in the real world, such that even if a village doesn't have Internet access and one of the village's migrants happens to visit and orally share a story that they came across on the Internet, then that story or its ideas have broken the boundaries of web into the imagination of some listener. The fact that things can be downloaded on memory sticks, laptops, viewed on 3G phones means that the lines of access/lack of access are not clearly defined - unless we are talking about constant access. In this example, the mention of the oral is significant because audio transcends literacy. The web carries creative output in a way that provides greater access in some cases than a book in a bookshelf right beside the target audience because of the 'socio-political neglect of basic literacy' that Prince mentioned.

I think Ivor's first response covers the issue of the voice (I don't believe there is a distinct voice as the very issue we are talking about, the varying levels of access, posits that we will have varied perspectives) - and I do believe that the Internet helps us protect our voices e.g. the work of the Ghanaian poets I put online has allowed me to explain to several Western editors how my literary heritage differs from theirs and why I can't just conform my approach to writing to their tastes; it is so much easier to source books that our crippled library systems have lost all copies of (e.g. I have acquired some out-of-print anthologies, books and magazines featuring some of the early post-Independence writers and out of those publications I have gained context in understanding the development of my work).

As solutions go, I think I showed my hand early with the reference to audio - I think that radio, which we have a strong culture of in the entire Africa, should be linked more intimately to the output that comes via the Internet, with the stations acting as satellites to push literary content that comes by Internet to the ears that will bend to the fingers of that creative sound.

Michelle: Nii and Ivor, I just wanted to say both of your comments were extremely insightful and enlightening.

Nii: Thanks, Michelle.

Ivor: Thanks, Michelle. Nii, you made good point about utilising radio more.

Michelle: You're welcome both of you. I agree, Ivor, with your comment to Nii. I like the idea of using radio more... it also is in keeping with oral tradition. Good stuff!

Martin: Even among the functionally literate, the appreciation of literature is not widespread. The question of reading, and writing, is ancient, and fundamental. In reality, it is the question of art: how is art created, and appreciated?

It is not a problem if a work of art is not recognised by contemporaries, or indeed, even published. We find that this is the nature of art through the ages. It actually is due to human nature and social dynamics more than anything else: may we note the books that were ignored at the time of writing, print editions torched, and their writers persecuted, etc. The appearance of the Internet is unlikely to change this.

We may want to take a look at the traditional model of making literary works available to the population. The publisher may have no interests apart from the commercial: the end result is that the literary work enjoys distribution among the target demographic. The distribution of a work is usually more than the occasional writer can manage, and is unlikely to meet with much success either. The writer therefore cannot be blamed for anything, except perhaps putting out mediocre work.

What has the Internet done for the 'voice of the African writer'? The writer remains as he has always been: trying to put out a story; perhaps for love of words, the lure of financial gain, the force of the muse, or to make a philosophical statement. In the end, I believe that the availability of a channel of publication should be of more interest to the publisher than to the writer.

Do we assume that enabling Internet connectivity and ensuring literacy across the continent will lead to the people becoming avid readers? I doubt that this will happen. Even if we had 100% Internet coverage, I would be hard pressed to believe that more than 5% will be interested in following literature online. Yet even 5% is a large number. The question is, are there other ways of reaching that 5%?

As far as the Internet is concerned, I do not see a malady. We have a new tool that we do not know how to use. Time tells us what to do.

Emmanuel: We need to continue cultivating a strong readership, of both print and Internet-based writings. As an Internet-empowered African writer (and often I question the truth in a phrase like this), I also always strive to remain a strong reader, and my reading is driven by a quest for reading that grew up years ago in an African village. It seems that although I read works online, I continue to read (prefer even) print copies of books. Am I alone in feeling this way? Absolutely not; I continue to hear stories of people seen reading books on buses and trains in Zimbabwe, just as many do on buses and trains in London, New York, etc.

The issue then becomes, and remains, that of access, but I doubt that access alone, if the spirit is not there, is enough. One argument I have begun to make, as a Zimbabwean writer, is the frustration I have with fellow Zimbabweans in the diaspora, most of whom I suspect do not invest much time in reading African works. So, before we blame a "socio-political neglect", let's be courageous enough, even as writers, to blame the reader for not doing what it takes to make sure they read. And by reader we also mean "the Internet-empowered" African writers, most of whom don't read other Internet-empowered, or even dispossessed writers. It therefore takes both reader and writer to utilize the media methods (both old and new) that we have to promote readership.

As for the distinctiveness of the voice given to the African writer, I doubt that it would be unique from any other voice given to other kinds of writers in the world, but I am aware that the Internet has given wider exposure to more African writers. I can't tell yet if this has benefited the literature a great deal; in fact, I fear that instances of irresponsible Internet publishing or promotion may have tainted the literature a bit: frustrated people publishing their stories on blogs without the patience to learn the craft of the trade.

My prescription is to urge both readers and writers to value reading, to choose to read not only prescribed texts for school or work, but to read for pleasure - to get in the habit of always reading, always buying, or acquiring reading material.

Check back for Part Two of the roundtable, posted next week!

OGOV Roundtable Discussion #6 - About the Participants

2011-05-01T10:06:00.001Z

Prince Mensah:

Born in Ghana, Prince Mensah has twenty-five stage plays to his credit. Some of them have been acted at the Accra Arts Center and at several locations in Accra. His articles and stories have been published in the STEP magazine, P & P, Ghanadot.com and The Free Press. His poetry has been published in the Munyori Journal, UNESCO's Other Voices International Project, The Muse Literary Magazine and the Dublin Writer's Workshop.

Prince is head of North American promotions for One Ghana, One Voice, and moderated this roundtable discussion

Michelle Labossiere Brandt:

Michelle is a mother, poet, and nurse and co-founder (president) of Rhythm International Foundation of Edmonton and Ghana. Her shared vision of humanity has helped create the mission and objectives of Rhythm International Foundation but she recognizes that this organization and it's projects have been given life because of the all the dedicated people who have given of their time, talent and abundance.

Martin Egblewogbe:

Martin Egblewogbe is the co-founder of the Writers Project of Ghana. He also edits the "Ghanaian Book Review" and has a keen interest in literature. He mainly writes short stories and poetry.

Martin is currently studying at Clemson University, South Carolina.

Ivor Hartmann:

Ivor W. Hartmann is a Zimbabwean writer, editor, publisher and visual artist, currently based in Johannesburg, South Africa. He is the author of Mr. Goop (Vivlia, 2010), and was nominated for the UMA Award (2009), and awarded The Golden Baobab Prize (2009).

He is the editor/publisher of StoryTime, co-editor/publisher of African Roar, consulting editor African Writing Magazine, and serves on the advisory board of Writers International Network Zimbabwe.

His writing has appeared in StoryTime, African Writing Magazine, Wordsetc, Munyori Literary Journal, Something Wicked, Paulo Coelho's Blog, Sentinel Literary Quartley, African Writer, Kubatana, and the anthology African Roar (StoryTime Publishing, 2010).

Nii Ayikwei Parkes:

Nii Ayikwei Parkes is a writer, editor, socio-cultural commentator and performance poet. A 2007 recipient of Ghana's national ACRAG award for poetry and literary advocacy, his début novel Tail of the Blue Bird has been translated into Dutch and German and was shortlisted for the 2010 Commonwealth Prize. Nii's latest books of poetry are the Michael Marks Award-shortlisted pamphlet, ballast: a remix (2009), described in the Guardian as, “An astonishing, powerful remix of history and language” and The Makings of You (Peepal Tree Press).

Emmanuel Sigauke:

Emmanuel Sigauke was born in Zimbabwe, where he started writing at the age of thirteen. After graduating from the University of Zimbabwe with a BA in English, he moved to California, where he completed graduate studies. He teaches English at Cosumnes River College in Sacramento, where he is an editor for the Cosumnes River Journal. He is the founder and editor of Munyori Poetry Journal.

To The Congo (A Spell Against Forgetfulness) - L.S. Mensah

2011-04-16T00:03:00.005Z

I know nothing of what the storm tells
of the history of the congo
does it begin when it thunders
or does it finish when geography
and geo-history
mingle or join themselves

- “The Hearse”, Tchicaya U Tam'si

The river that forgets its river-ness,
Abandons its engagement with the sea,
It forgets the shrieks of yellow
Beaked gulls, bent on
Raising raucous hell, over

The availability of nesting
Seaweed. It thinks no more
Of wader birds on tide-fled
Estuaries, probing the mud’s
Scalp, for invertebrates

The memory-harassed river,
Dis-remembers the speckled kingfisher,
That scans the water’s torso in High
Definition, to dive bomb for blue
Crabs. It blanks out the eternal cursive

Of the waves, lace-cuffed, playing
Adzenuloo, Adzenubaa*
With the harried shingle,
In its forever dance
Of etch-and-erase
But the sound of water in its many incarnations:
    Trickles – gushes – splurges 
                Whooshes – slurps – mizzles
                               Drizzles – splashes – gurgles
Forever haunts the river that forgets its river-ness.

*Riddling game in Accra

Author Profile - L. S. Mensah

2011-04-16T00:02:00.023Z

Biography:

L. S. Mensah was born and raised in Accra, and lives in the UK.

Five Questions with L. S. Mensah:

1. The proposed “Grand Inga Dam” hydro-electric project on the Congo River, which would be the largest hydro-electric in the world, looms large over my reading of this poem. Did you mean for this poem to speak to that project? If not, what were the main concerns you were writing towards?
My writing of this poem, in the first instance had nothing to do with the Grand Inga, since I had no idea about the project. On one level, it starts and ends as a spell poem, with the power of the words unleashed by the incantation. It is in line with some of the poems I've been writing, which explore different speech genres: riddles, oaths, invocations, libations, even curses, but in this case a spell (at least what I choose to call a spell).

In this poem, I use the river Congo as an allegorical canvas on which I attempt to hang a range of ideas about the on going disruptions (to put it mildly) in that part of Africa. In the African imaginary, the Congo region locates best of all, both in time and space, when and where someone turned our Rubik’s Cube, leaving us to rotate it to its original solid blocks of colour. Often when invoked as a comment on the modern African condition, it can elicit strong responses from African writers and intellectuals, including Chinua Achebe’s response to Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness". Perhaps the poetry equivalent to "Heart of Darkness" is Vachel Lindsay's "The Congo (A Study of the Negro Race)", which in its time also attracted its share of the racist blame. Go here for a discussion on that poem. The gaze, looking in has never been easy for us, whether it's the deracinated V. S. Naipaul 's well known views or Tim Butcher's "Blood River".

There is a point to be made that the relative peace which enabled West African poets to return to the past, and allowed them to explore indigenous poetic forms like the Ewe dirge, Ijala chant, the panegyric, the poetry of abuse, etc. was denied to the Congolese people. Right from 1960, their independence year, there was a civil war, not to mention the assassination of Patrice Lumumba in 1961. If I'm correct, the present conflict has been raging since August 1998.

It would be worth one’s while to look at what the poets of the Congo region have had to say about their particular situation. When, as far back as 1958, Tchicaya U Tam'si (Congo Brazzaville) in 'Fragile' writes “endlessly I decalcify my joy” he makes you think sharply about the context from which this kind of verse emerges, for in this single line he sets up ideas about impurities, imperfections, depositions and hard water; all this about an emotion supposedly linked to happiness. The adverb of time, ‘endlessly’ placed right at the beginning of the line indicates that this cleansing process will go on forever. In a conflict or war situation, all the narratives of one-ness people have woven around themselves begin to fall apart, and the longer it goes on, the more they come to the realisation that they have always been strangers to each other.

Your reading of "To The Congo" as a comment on the Grand Inga however, puts a different but interesting slant on it, because it takes it from the political to the ecological, and therefore to concerns about harnessing natural resources for our use, and the price we, as well as the natural environment, pay for it.

2. Regardless of the intentions of this particular poem, do you feel, as a Ghanaian whose land (and greatest river) was so transformed by the damming of the Volta, that you have a particular perspective to provide the Congolese people? Do you feel Ghanaians have a particular responsibility to weigh in on the project?
The Congo has the unique distinction of being the only river in Africa, if not the world, which crosses the equator twice. This means there is water in its channels all year round. The primary aim of the Grand Inga therefore, is not for water supply. It is about meeting the energy needs of the Central & Southern African sub-regions. To achieve this, they would have to move or re-locate huge numbers of people.

In the case of the Akosombo Dam, the numbers for the Volta Lake vary but this article suggests 70,000, and also lists some problems faced by other dams across Africa. Many of these, including the Inga 1 and Inga 2, have not faired well managing problems foreseen and unforeseen, from decreased water levels in these reservoirs to invasive aquatic plant and animal species.

As with the situation in Ghana, the realities and intricacies of international financing require the energy needs of the various interest groups to be tiered, so that industry always gets a far higher percentage of the power than private homes. You see this clearly in times of power shortage. Homes and small business are always the first to have their power rationed.

That said, we should not be in the business of depriving others of their needs. It is the price of progress.

3. What role can poetry play in raising the environmental consciousness of Africa?
Heh! I found this most difficult to think around, and my answer may still be unsatisfactory, but I’ll give it a try.

African poetry can link us with those aspects of our philosophical traditions that require the individual to be responsible to his environment. In our small communities, where we all speak the same languages and worship the same deities, our farmers and fishermen set aside specific days when they do not farm or fish. These same communities sometimes structure their annual agricultural festivals around the idea of closing off particular ecological zones or areas, such as forests or water bodies for a period of time. The Bakatue Festival, celebrated by the people of Elmina/Edina comes to mind here. However, in the process of modernisation and urbanisation, when we move into ever larger conurbations, we forget or abandon these principles and expect someone else to mind our environment for us. Poets of the drier regions of the Savannah and the Sahel, where droughts are more frequent, are most likely to explore such issues. Tijan Sallah (The Gambia) says in 'Sahelian Earth', rather bluntly:
Very little water has fallen
On palmfronds to support
The throat of crows…

Rains have signed a contract of neglect
With our landscape…

Our inheritance has suddenly turned into
The restless despair of the camel's fate.

Chenjerai Hove (Zimbabwe) in 'Lost Bird' reminds us of the problems birds face in the urbanised, industrial environment:
Some say he fell in the chimney
of a nearby factory
others say he choked
And fell in the sewerage works
So he died, passed away without a tear.

Again and again, these poets remind us that when we let go of the natural environment by whatever means, we lose ourselves. Kofi Awoonor does this best in "The Sea Eats The Land At Home" when he personalises the impact of the destructive power of the sea:
Adena has lost the trinkets which
Were her dowry and her joy,
In the sea that eats the land at home,
Eats the whole land at home.

This powerful force of nature has taken away the symbols of her status in her community. It is a serious erasure of Adena’s identity. Of course it can be fixed by replacing the items of her dowry, but they say there’s nothing like the original.

4. Birds, especially African birds, clearly play an important role in the world of your poems. What is it about birds that drives you to return to them? Do they represent something consistent throughout all your poems, or does the meaning of the presence of birds change from poem to poem?
As a matter of fact there are two things I write consistently about; water in its many incarnations (sea, rivers, dew, rain, etc) and birds. In this poem the two meet. Invoking “the animal as an allegorical emblem” as Auden puts it in “The Dyer’s Hand”, allows one to adopt a Brechtian distance, all the while being aware that the poem deals with some aspect(s) of the human condition.

I’m not sure though, that I employ avian imagery in a naturalist’s kind of way. But poets are not always the best assessors of their own work. Often, in answering questions like these, the poet’s own self-delusions and subjectivities come into play. When we have laid bare our proclivities and psycho-pathologies, we become like Kweku Ananse, who in his attempt to hide the pot of wisdom, ends up losing everything when the pot breaks. It is impossible to gather these back into one's bosom.

Birds remind me of home, of those early evenings when the starlings perform their roosting dance, and the harsh cries of vultures in tall palm trees, especially when it rains. Birds also bring up questions of the exilic condition, free will and determinism, but these are outside the scope of this poem’s concerns. As for the birds I use, they change from poem to poem, depending of course, on the subject matter, though I have a few favourites I return to again and again.

5. Continuing with the last question, it seems at times that you are almost cataloguing the birds of Africa. Would you agree with this statement?
Yes I do have a habit of cataloguing everything around me, including birds, and I hope I live long enough to catalogue as many as I can, that is, before some of them become extinct. Since I got myself a copy of David Alderton’s The New Encyclopedia of British, European and African Birds, I have come to regard myself as a tinpot expert on birds, and it’s been wonderful!

Contact L. S.:

lsmensah(at)aol.co.uk

From the Archives: "For Alms Sake" by Edith Faalong

2011-04-09T00:02:00.002Z

We went to beg for alms,
so they called a roundtable of vultures
and passed round a basket.
Each dropped in it a metalic coin with glee.

I peeped in the basket:
It was the same old basket
lined with the grey of age,
the straw at its sides ripping slowly apart.

When it got to the end of the table,
it was barely full.
So they called their butler.

He stood before us all and,
pouring pressure and complexities,
he filled the basket.

We wanted to leave then.
But the sound of metal life against itself
in the basket weighed down our pants.
And so with our heads bowed,
we reached deep in our pockets, pulled
out our few gold coins,
wrapped them delicately
in white handkerchiefs
and handed them over.

Then the tallest among us cheered.
We all prostrated and gave our thanks.

The most leprotic of them lifted his glass
and everyone accepted his toast.
The deed had been done,
the deal closed.
Sitting back up and looking from face to face,
I saw men become swine.

From the centre of the table,
there was a loud noise then
I saw spider webs push out,
rush in all directions,
and bind each beggar
'til we were forced to drop the basket.

But we could not have our Gold
nor our white handkerchiefs back.

So in the end, in the end,
we went home with only
what the butler brought
clinging to us.

Old poems at OGOV don't die, but live on in our archives! Every once in a while we will dust one off for our newer readers to enjoy. "For Alms Sake" was orginally published on OGOV on April 5th, 2008.

Author Profile - Edith Faalong

2011-04-09T00:01:00.006Z

Biography:

Edith N. Faalong was born on January 12th, 1986 to Mr. Joseph Y Faalong and Madame Hellen Tanye in the Upper West Region of Ghana. She currently lives in Accra.

Five Questions with Edith Faalong:

1. Is it important for you to focus your writing on African themes, or are these just themes that are easily and/or naturally available to you?

I do not deliberately focus on African themes. But I have come to realize that in my heart burns a strong torch for Africa.

2. Your poems featured on OGOV are always politically charged. Is all your writing political, in a sense, or are our readers only seeing one side of your writing?

I am a writer and so I write on diverse issues. So far however, only my poetry on political themes have been featured. I am positive that readers will see and hear more of me on other issues.

3. You always manage to integrate political themes into your writing in subtle ways, avoiding becoming too polemical and bashing your readers over the head with your beliefs. Do you do this intentionally?

Being polemical is something I seriously avoid. I believe everybody knows the strong and wrong issues of our world today. But we all have different stands for various reasons. So I try to pull my reader first into the poem before I do the integration process. Then I leave it hanging for him/her to conclude (in as logical a way as possible). In this manner, I ensure that I do not impose my ideas, nor am I the source of your conception or misconception.

4. The line "the sound of metal life against itself" is a wonderful one. Could you discuss it more?

When I talk of "metal life against itself", I mean that money, although vain, has been made to take up so strong a quality that it has become the ultimate - it has become "life".

And so people/Africa, even in the face of loosing dignity, pride, resources...will endure in the name of aid, money. So although Africa foresees clearly the repercussions of accepting these alms we go to beg for, we are willing to take the "pressure and complexities" for that aid.

5. Is there a way to shake what the butler left clinging to the beggars? How can this be done for Africa?

There is no sure recipe to shake off what the butler brings in. No one can do it for Africa. We have to do it on our own. In many ways we all need to work towards it. It's time every man, irrespective of skin colour and tone, developed a conscience towards his fellow man. It's time we changed "Zero Tolerance for Corruption" to "No Corruption!". Maybe then the African pie would be able to go round every home so we would not have to assume beggarly positions to balance our budgets.

African leaders should learn to continue ideologies even if they belonged to their enemies - our leaders must adopt an "Africa First" attitude before self interest.

But in the light of all this, let us keep our development plans within the walls of achievement and avoid over-ambition. It is a long process, but as the bird patiently builds its nest, so will Africa grow from strength to might.

Contact Edith:

edithfaalong(at)hotmail.com

The Seashore - Mariska Taylor-Darko

2011-04-02T00:01:00.003Z

Sitting by the seashore when dusk was setting in
And the tide ebbing out
Was a peaceful moment for me.
The sand was damp between my toes.

I could still feel the warmth occasionally
When the wind stilled and all I could hear was
The water gently slapping the rocks besides me.

The sky was red, orange, blue and gray,
A combination that was wonderful to see.
The gulls flew low on their way home
And the boats had their sails down, gently sailing
In no particular hurry to get back, or so it seemed.

The thoughts I had then were peaceful ones.
I sat and absorbed the beauty around me.

The crabs and seaweed seemed intertwined and moved in unison,
One going sideways of its own free will
The other, having no will of its own,
Was rolled about with the rolling sea.

Every grain of sand told a story of one's life

The ups and downs,
The joy and sadness,
But it was the feel of the sand between my toes

That I would have loved to have as the feel
Of life in my hands,
Smooth,
Flowing gently with no obstacles
And just the breeze to slightly change
Its direction before landing and joining
The sand beneath my feet.

Author Profile - Mariska Taylor-Darko

2011-04-02T00:00:00.004Z

Biography:

Born in Manchester, England in 1956, Mariska attended Holy Child Secondary School in Cape Coast and St. Mary's Secondary School, Mamprobi, Accra. She then returned to the UK and attended Beresford College of English and Commerce, Margate, Kent and later Harrow College of Further Education, Harrow, Middlesex. She has a PhD in Life.

She has two sons, Niinoi and Kwame. She is a motivational speaker, poet, writer, beautician, fire walker and lover of jazz, blues, reggae and old time highlife.

Five Questions with Mariska Taylor-Darko:

1. This poem ends with the beautiful image of the speaker pouring sand on their feet. Did you write this poem while on the beach, or soon after, or did you draw it up from memory?

I wrote this from memory not long after being at the beach.

2. In what locations do you find poems most often "come to you"? Here I don't mean the writing/editing process, but the burst of inspiration, the new idea...

No particular location. It's more likely to be from events I've attended or taken part in.

3. Your last poem on our site, "The Deer Hunt", was the subject of an essay by Dela Bobobee as part of our "How Poems Work" series. How did this make you feel? Did you see the poem in new or different ways afterward?

I must admit that I was proud of myself. I never thought a poem that I wrote straight from the heart could give so much information (to the point that it could be used as an educational piece), and that someone with Dela Bobobee's experience would find so much to write about the poem. I respect the poem more now and visualize it being used to help others understand poetry.

4. Hard to believe, but it's been almost four years since your first poem, "Sway", appeared on OGOV. How do you think your writing has changed in the four years you've been contributing to OGOV?

I find I am more critical of myself and at the same time more confident that others would enjoy what I write. I am proud to belong to such a talented group because I know I can only get better.

5. In the same sense as the last question, how do you think the poetry community in Ghana has changed in the last four years?

The poetry community has grown wings... So many reading and performing groups springing up, more youth interested in poetry, more willing to accept criticism and more women coming out to give performances. Even corporate bodies are sponsoring events that have poets on the programmes. It can only get better.

Contact Mariska:

Email: mariska.taylor(at)gmail.com
Alternate Email: arabataylord(at)yahoo.co.uk
Websites: African Woman's Poetry, Mariska's MySpace Page

The Princess and The Pea - Nii Ayikwei Parkes

2011-03-26T00:01:00.003Z

The clouds outside are heavy and shaped
like humps; inside there are two –
a man and a woman – caught in a moment
of arched backs. There is sorrow and the sound

of tears. She, with the wet cheeks, is the one
who is joyful, while he who wipes them is sad,
for he has forgotten how to cry when happy.
Maybe he never learned. This is the story

of the princess and the pea, except
there is no pile of mattresses to lie on.
He has planted a pea inside his beloved
and wonders if she’ll ever know a tranquil

night again; but it took many days for a smile
to reach her and sleep is the last thing on her mind.
Is this not how families are built – on smiles
and the undulating sound of tears?

Originally published in "The Makings of You", Peepal Tree Press, 2010. Reprinted by permission of the author.

Author Profile - Nii Ayikwei Parkes

2011-03-26T00:00:00.007Z

Biography:

Nii Ayikwei Parkes is a writer, editor, socio-cultural commentator and performance poet. A 2007 recipient of Ghana's national ACRAG award for poetry and literary advocacy, he has held visiting positions at the University of Southampton and California State University and is the author of four poetry chapbooks including eyes of a boy, lips of a man and the Michael Marks Award-shortlisted, ballast: a remix (2009), described in the Guardian as, “An astonishing, powerful remix of history and language”. Nii's event-specific commissions include a reading for the London Mayor’s vigil on July 14, 2005 (in response to the London bombings). He also writes for children under the pseudonym K.P. Kojo.

As an advocate for African writing, Nii runs the African Writers’ Evening series, at the Royal Festival Hall and contributes journalism on the subject. He was a 2005 associate Writer-In-Residence on BBC Radio 3 and the featured face for poetry in the 2004 Time Out London Guide. Nii’s début novel Tail of the Blue Bird has been translated into Dutch and German and was shortlisted for the 2010 Commonwealth Prize. His latest book is The Makings of You, a book of poems published by Peepal Tree Press.

Throughout March 2011 OGOV will be featuring poems from "The Makings of You". After the month is over all of the published poems and interviews will be archived here.

Five (More) Questions with Nii:

1. In your essay "What We Run On When We Run About Poeting", you say that emotional feeling lies at the centre of what makes you passionate about poetry, and go on to speak to how interactive, inclusive learning can help new readers of poetry connect to this emotional core. While we can't run a poetry workshop here in the Q+A, I was wondering if you could suggest a few poems that you like to use in workshops, or just distribute to friends, that are "core poems" for yourself, emotionally speaking? Why do these particular poems connect with you in the way they do?

This is a question that really could get me doing an all day response, but I will assume a link to the essay and shorten my response. In formal poetry of the Western tradition, one of my favourites is W.B. Yeats' "He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven" - perfectly structured, yet it has emotion at its core, its imagery reaches out: "the heavens' embroidered cloths" and then distills back to the individual in the closing line "you tread on my dreams".

Atukwei Okai's "Fugue for Fireflies" uses rhythm, syncopation, humour, the Ghanaian conventions of Abe shi daa (Between you and me, there can be no / Ritual of / Thanks,) and local imagery (Your hair is black like the ruins left in / The wake of a harmattan bushfire.) to create a song of hope, love and lust.

Li Young Lee's "The Cleaving" is a long free verse poem that is a perfect example of how the chaotic illogic of emotion can flutter around the world while hanging on to a pole of logic, and I connect to it because I love the visceral language, the place of food in its narrative, and the fact that I am a believer in the interconnectedness of all things.

I could go on through Kwesi Brew, Pablo Neruda, Ainsley Burrows, Rilke and Michael Ondaatje, but it would take forever. These are all people that should be read - seek them in the kingdom of the internet and if you love them, buy their books. I buy loads of second-hand books to keep my book-buying costs down.

2. For years you ran The Writers' Fund of Ghana. For readers who aren't familiar with this project, can you explain your goals for that project? What were your greatest successes? Your biggest hurdles?

Although The Writers Fund is on a small hiatus while I build a bespoke website for it, my passion for it remains the same. My goals for the project relate to the huge gap in the production of writing from Ghana since the 60s and 70s and my belief that that dearth relates to the lack of resources to support writing and reading.

Our goals are: To serve and encourage excellence in creative writing in all the languages used in Ghana; To raise public awareness of the pivotal role of literature in shaping, preserving and developing a society’s identity and cultural life; To lobby educational institutions at home and abroad to secure residencies, scholarships and research opportunities for Ghanaian writers; To work to ensure that Ghanaian writing is well represented in the curriculum in schools and universities both at home and abroad; Support the initiatives of the Ghana Association of Writers.

I think most of the work we managed to do was in support of the Ghana Association of Writers (e.g. we supplied a computer for their administrative staff last year and we have had a few books sent to the GAW library via a simple Amazon.com wishlist). I personally delivered a few literary magazines and we have subscribed to African Writing magazine on behalf of the GAW. The challenges are mainly bureaucratic and the tendency that people in Ghana sometimes have to believe that young people can't possibly do anything of magnitude on their own. I am relaunching soon primarily because I have a higher profile now and I know certain key people better; I'm confident that the second life of The Writers' Fund will be ribboned in much more glory.

3. It's great to hear that the Writers' Fund will be back. Are there ways our readers can help you in your efforts, both leading up to and after the relaunch?

Anyone who has ideas is very welcome to contact me and initiate the exploration of those ideas. One of the things that drives me is the notion that our literary reading - both academic and personal - is in general so many years behind that we haven't tuned in to what we can do with language, how (learning from the Latin American writers, for example) we can bring our unique approach to how the English language is used, etc.

As a result, I am really keen to set up libraries all over the place and anyone who knows how we can get our hands on free shipping containers to use as the framework for building these libraries would be a very welcome contact at the moment. I have had some preliminary discussions with architects about how to customise containers using locally sourced material to create library spaces that are fascinating and conducive to reading/learning.

4. You mentioned earlier that you haven't gotten many responses from Ghanaians to The Makings of You. Hopefully you will get a few through this month-long sneak preview. Do you have any plans to travel to Ghana in the near future? Or to ensure that The Makings of You is available at libraries and schools? It would be wonderful to see the book read widely in Ghana.

I was planning to go to Ghana later this year, but because of some family happenings I've had to reconsider it. I'm not ruling it out completely, but it's unlikely this year. As with all my books, I will make sure that a few get leaked into the system, so we'll see.

5. What are you working on these days? Poetry? Fiction? What should we expect next from you?

I'm working on a book of short stories called "The City Will Love You" for Random House that I intend to finish in the next month or so, and I hope to finish a second novel and another collection of poems soon after that. Of course, soon in writer's language could mean 2013!

Contact Nii:

Email: nii.parkes(at)gmail.com
Website: http://www.niiparkes.com/

À La Carte - Nii Ayikwei Parkes

2011-03-19T00:01:00.003Z

Absorbed in the transparent music
of clinking glasses, I am slashed
back to the mundane by a waiter

handing me a menu ex cathedra
then slinking away as silently
as an espadrille-shoed ghost

Around me my seven companions
delve feverishly into the textual
mysteries of the folded card, fondling

its ridged paper expectantly
as they debate: chicken, fish or lamb?
I bear a crippled smile as I open

my pleated gift knowing I will be stumped
as I always am by the ambiguity
of culinary lingo; does seared tuna

mean cooked on high heat for three
or five minutes, on one or both sides?
This is why I rarely go to restaurants.

For the same reason I censor the news:
what makes an Iraqi victim unfortunate
and an American one tragic? What makes

Somoza an OK guy, and Castro a vile man?
Is it the same ghost that decides that
Che was a guerrilla, and the lobster is done?

Originally published in "The Makings of You", Peepal Tree Press, 2010. Reprinted by permission of the author.