New Year’s greetings with a plum branch in hand the sky draws near such a bright sunrise New Year’s Day New Year’s Day has come — quiet streets The year begins on New Year’s day our life is Now the stars vanished and then — five-colored New Year’s mist
Leopold Sedar Senghor is a poet, philosopher and scholar. He is one of the eldest and most prominent living persons associated with African poetry and culture. Born in 1906, Senghor was educated in Dakar, Senegal and Paris, France where he made history as first West African to graduate from the Sorbornne and teach in French…
BACKGROUND OF THE POET Jean – Joseph Rabearivelo was born in 1901 in Antananarivo, Madagascar. He was the only child of his mother. He was educated at Catholic mission school, and his desire to study more earned him an improvement in French language. After graduating from college, he worked as a proof – reader for…
Have you ever wanted to dive into African poetry but didn’t know where to begin? Well, look no further! This guide is here to introduce you to the best African poets for beginners. For the past 10 years, I’ve been reading and exploring Africa’s rich and diverse poetic landscape, and I want to share my favorite…
Who sat and watched my infant head When sleeping on my cradle bed, And tears of sweet affection shed? My Mother. When pain and sickness made me cry, Who gazed upon my heavy eye, And wept for fear that I should die? My Mother. Who taught my infant lips to pray And love God’s holy…
Come away, my love, from streetsWhere mankind eyes divide,And show windows reflect our difference.In the shelter of my faithful room rest. There, safe from opinions, being behindMyself, I can see only youAnd in my dark eyes your greyWill dissolve The candlelight throwsTwo dark shadows on the wallWhich merge into one as I close beside you….
A ballad is a form of narrative poetry that has its roots in the oral tradition. It typically tells a story in a simple and direct manner, often focused on themes of love, tragedy, adventure, or folk legends. Ballads are usually written in a song-like structure and were originally intended to be sung or recited…
Poetry has the uncanny capacity to arouse emotions, spark the imagination, and elicit in-depth thought. It is a timeless and appealing form of creative expression. Poets have created poems throughout history that captivate readers and cut across nations and languages. What distinguishing qualities give poetry its unique appeal over time? In this essay, we dig…
The Sun Rising by John Donne Busy old fool, unruly Sun, Why dost thou thus,Through windows, and through curtains, call on us?Must to thy motions lovers’ seasons run? Saucy pedantic wretch, go chide Late school-boys and sour prentices, Go tell court-huntsmen that the king will ride, Call country ants to harvest offices;Love, all alike, no…
‘The Cathedral by Kofi Awoonor‘, a powerful proclamation of cultural identity and a critique on the incursion of foreign religion, is a poem that throws open the dialogue of deep-rooted African traditions clashing with Western religious influences. Residing in Africa and breathing its rich literature for over a decade, I have been privy to the…