By Saidu Kaye Sesay, London
The book "Women, Men and Country", an anthology of African poems, was first unveiled in London on 26 October 2013, by its author Khadi Mansaray. It complements the BOOKS NOT BABIES project, an offshoot of the Peagie Woobay Scholarship Fund (PWSF). Ms Mansaray doubles as a rookie publisher under the brand name Sondiata Global Media. The book is set for its Sierra Leone launch on December 20.
The book itself assembles different poets of both sexes, and of different nationalities, ranging from aspiring poets such as Abi Marie Samura of the UK (The Lion and The Flag of Sierra Leone), Marie Forna (Mena Hills) to career poets such as Festy Natty (The Apotthecary) and a literary critic Professor Eldred Dorosimi Jones whose contributions include "For Valerie" and "The Superior Race".
The tone for the book was set by Milton Margai's "A Seed Doesn't Bear Fruit Overnight". The message of the poem is vividly illustrated in the first two lines: “I want books/Not babies at this time". The protagonist made a determined appeal for her to be allowed to have a natural growth, cognisant of the expectations of society, for which (motherhood) she asks to be put on hold until she achieves her personal fulfilment:
'Give me books and send me to school
And I'll be the mother
You want me to be'
themes
There are plenty of rich themes throughout the poems. These range from rebellion, protests, love, protection, rape, greed, traditions, female genital mutilations, materialism, racism, solidarity and even terrorism.
The theme of terrorism is made fresh by the Kenyan poet, Linda Ochiel in the poem "In The Name of God" and reminds readers not only of the recent calamity that occurred in West Gate, Kenya, but she also cleverly makes prominence the cutting short of the life of a girl child:
'You did attend the cookery competition
At the Gate in the West , right?
So how did you end up in the mound of the lifeless?'
Topical subjects such as rape and FGM are accentuated by different poets. Claudia Anthony and Ade Daramy deal with the theme of female genital mutilation from different angles. While Claudia's title 'They Call it Culture' ridicules this cultural belief from the onset, it develops into serving an indictment with the lines:
"I wasn't told why I should've been there
When at tender nine a cut so severe
With blade and days profusely bled..."
What the poet thus achieves here is a case of child abuse and barbarity both said in one breath.
Ade on the other hand does not detail the practice in his poem 'Am I my Sister's Keeper?', but rather develops a male protagonist who searches for answers to a practice he grew up in with his sister, but yet knew little or nothing about. He hates himself for betraying his sister, as he watches at the threshold where men are forbidden to cross. As he watches his sister being led away, the guilt sets in:
'She smiled and waved, I couldn't help but ponder what I told her
How I would always be her protector
And I asked myself am I my sister's keeper?'
The poet ends by questioning whether such cultures should exist or be allowed to continue.
The theme of rape is captured by Roland Marke in his contributory poem 'Violence In Silence'. He shatters age boundaries at one sweep to emphasise how sick rapists can be. The poet may be referring to war-time rapists and victims, but the same holds true for rape, in whatever situation it may occur:
'They are little girls, teenagers, grown, ailing, old women:
they appear helpless, powerless, against their assailants
Yet, despite their status, they are seized, openly raped
again and gain...'
Battered though the victims are, the poet makes sure good prevails over evil by the sheer resilience of the victims:
"Ruthless men have assaulted our bodies, not our spirits,
we are fearless, vocal, stigmatised outcasts our society
detest us. Prayer for justice unveils violence in silence"
The theme of feminism are found in poems like 'Am I A Boy' and 'I Refuse' by Khadi Mansaray. The same resonance in 'My Pains, Our World' by Isata Mahoi and plenty in poems by Peagie Woobay including 'The Eyes of A Woman' and 'The Strength of A Woman'.
At the core of the project is the education of the girl child. Peagie Woobay sets herself a reminder by slotting in the poem 'Educating The Girl Child', though her poem starts with lines that are now clichés and at times used by politicians for political correctness
"You educate a Child
You educate a Nation"
Peagie's poetic skills achieve a momentum towards the end, which translates to a didactic message:
'Once with patience and love,
Capable of doing multitasks.
A woman she becomes,
And thus a powerful driver of progress'
imagery/symbolism
There is a wealth of imagery throughout the poem. One that however stands out is the imagery of an Apothecary in the poem 'The Apothecary' by Festy Natty. An apothecary is what is known as the modern pharmacist. Like its job of prescribing medication to cure one's health, Festy likens one's Focus to an apothecary. The poem begins thus:
'Temptation sports a transparent thong....' but suggests that one's lust can be tamed by 'focus' and 'discipline'.
Symbolism comes handy in the use of the word 'Gate' by two poets: Abdul Tejan-Cole in 'Others' and Linda Ochiel in her poem 'In The Name of God'. The use of this symbol by both poets juxtaposes each other. While Abdul's 'gate' symbolises success and implicitly life, Linda's 'gate' is a symbol of death - the West Gate in the Kenyan scenario.
Styles and techniques
All the authors explore different styles and techniques to achieve their goals, maybe because of a particular audience in mind or to hammer home their points. Claudia Anthony, Fatou Wurie, and Roland Marke for instance make good work of this aspect. Claudia gives the readers the slang name for a necktie in Krio 'tabacca leaf', Fatou's poem 'Bear With Me' uses plenty of Krio words, at times bordering on onomatopoeia such as 'Maaama yoo' for not only want of originality, but also for effect. Roland's 'Cup of Agbo' is another good example, with Agbo connoting a concoction of bitter herbs thus signifying oppression.
Khadi Mansaray on the other hand braves it with an attempt at writing Haikus. Though her Haikus lacks the complete features of a Japanese version, she however utilises her own version of Haikus to make contradictions on her topic - Sierra Leone.
Some of the poets try to stick with conventional rhythms, metres and rhymes, while others go for free verses. The free verses may pose some of the weaknesses of the book. in the words of Robert Frost, 'writing a free verse is like playing tennis without a net'. These weaknesses, though, should not make one sacrifice the objective of the author and publisher as well as the BOOKS NOT BABIES project, which is to encourage Sierra Leoneans at home and abroad to write and get published. What the amateurs lack by way of poetic strength is well compensated for by poetic heavyweights, not least Professor Eldred Dorosimi Jones.
Saidu Kaye Sesay is a London-based Sierra Leonean journalis, who became one of the country's youngest editors with the Liberty Voice newspaper in 1996. He was a founding member of the Guild of Editors, founding Editor of Christian Monitor newspaper and was Editor of The Pool Newspaper. At present he is correspondent for several media outlets, President of African Sports Monthly (Europe) and founding member, editor-in-chief and presenter at the Voices From the Diaspora Radio Project. He's a social critic and a motivational speaker.
(C) Politico 21/11/13
