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at times hard to get through, but powerful
This collection demonstrates why Abani is a such a masterful poet. He language is fluid and lyrical, and is littered with imagery that is effective whilst using economical language. An example - "flat rooftops spread out like conference tables" - in the poem "Hanging in Egypt with Breyten Breytenbach. Abani effortlessly covers migration, displacement, history, race, as well as the horrors of war in this collection. Yet my favourite poem in this book is the series of Epistles in the middle sectio...
Some stunning poems, like "The New Religion" which changed my life, some not so great, generally a lovely offering by a fascinating poet.
Although I found the third part of this book the most beautiful, it was the second part that haunted my dreams and inspired me to write.
Beautiful images.
i am loving this book. got a chance to meet the author. wonder full spirit.
Fiery and evocative, this collection of poetry by Abani is a deep expression of humanity. Themes of war, post-colonial violence, and absence proliferate the text, as well as longer contemplations on the role of the soldier/warrior. Not the most lyrical poetry, but very emotive and engaging in a way that forces you to honestly consider the repercussion of violence on a global level...
"I cannot crawl into the tombs and cannot explain why. How do you say in my country they buried me alive for six months?...Rabab tells me: We know how to build graves here. I nod. I know. It is the same all over Africa."~From "Hanging in Egypt with Breyten Breytenbach"In this collection, Abani notes his travels, poetic observations in towns as different as Harare, Zimbabwe to Walcott, Massachusetts, US. Part II of the book, "Buffalo Women", is a fictional account of two lovers' and their letter
Chris Abani did his reading today and it was a-mazingly powerful. Chris' poems are hard to read, difficult to think about, but necessarily wonderful too.
These poems blew me away. I've long been a fan of Chris Abani, but this collection was full of heart-squeezing surprises and acerbic beauty.
The fault is probably my skull, but this collection of poetry didn't make much of a mark on my brain. It's well worth reading for this one poem, though:THE NEW RELIGIONThe body is a nation I have not known.The pure joy of air: the moment between leapingfrom a cliff into the wall of blue below. Like that.Or to feel the rub of tired lungs against skin-covered bone, like a hand against the rough of bark.Like that. "The body is a savage," I said.For years I said that: the body is a savage.As if this...
Amazing poems - I had to put the book down for a day after I read Buffalo Women
Chris Abani is a masterful writer. I can open to any page and find something inspiring, moving, and beautiful.
This book was hit or miss for me. Some poems fell kind of flat for me while others were simply beautiful. Worth it!
”We are lucky to live now, I mean, look how far we’ve come.”—from “Foucault’s Funk”Chris Abani, when when asked by Walter Mosley in 2010, said he was a novelist first because he thought in stories. He works on poetry and novels concurrently, using one to break the logjams of the other. He works constantly.The poems in this connection are food, a kind of fruit we have never tasted before, good in our mouth but unfamiliar on our tongue. We try something new in every poem, moving from Paris to the
2016 ends on a good note, the poetry of Chris Abani has been a wonderful discovery!!
