₦airaland Forum

@first poster: You write good, but your "poem" was more like a song - an RnB song in fact. Have you tried song-writing?

I think the reason the section isn't exactly thriving is that almost all posts here are love poems. We need to do some more work, create better poems. Not that love poems are bad, but I'm sure you'd all agreed that that horse has almost been whipped to death.

@Sisikill n SeanT21: Thanks! I mean, I thought the poem was good, but i never reckoned anyone comparing it to something by Soyinka.

I only recently had some of my poems published in an anthology, but the organizer/publisher hasn't even bothered to send me a copy. In fact, he actually asked me (and the other contributors) to BUY the book. I guess that's what literature in Nigeria has come to.

Its a poem actually, but rules say I can't post it here. Here's the link though: https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-153284.0.html Tell me what you think.

FUNNY PAIN

He came from the west
Blue-eyed and bright-eyed
Like the others before him
Grown-up, yet so young.
He was by our indifference mystified
And our levity stumped;
We only amen-ed his libations
- What could it hurt?

Confounded at last
And befuddled, he asks
"Why do ye suffer so, and still
"Smile so?"
But our grins stretch wider
Belying our bleeding souls
For having aged in our cribs,
Young we are,yet oh so old

"Look-ee here, friend" we say
"Look, behold the slums and cities;
"This here land you see
"Is the land of Funny Pain.
"Our first-borns eat their shares
"And ours, too, then talk glib
"Refined tongue-in-cheek
"While we, the children of lesser gods
"Swallow bitter spittle
"And guffaw in misery."

Good 'un.

Good-o.

RedHotChic:
"And we are making attempts at making sure that Prof Chinua Achebe would be in Anambra on the day of the presentation. In fact, Prof Earnest Emenyeonu, has taken some copies to present to him and we are just praying that he comes. From information at our disposal, Achebe is sick and even if he doesn't come he can send his daughter.

@poster: An Igbo translation of the novel is all well and good, considering that it has long been in other languages. But from your post, it seems Achebe is not aware that his work was translated - or is he? Your post isn't clear on that; in fact, it sounds like his presence (or his daughter's, as you say) at the presentation will signify his consent to the work.

And you didn't mention the date and venue - or is it by special invitation?

@Orinkila: You know, the first thing I did soon as I saw this post was check the date of the last post - SMC's already wiped Seun's walls twice with my face for necroposting - and it was just two days ago! I'm not doing cartwheels yet, but gee, I AM stunned! Orinkila, where've you been? Well, its good to know you're alive and kicking (I gotta admit some really ugly reasons for you absence have occured to me). Oh, and by the way, I'm a guy - "bloke" sounds rather naughty 

@SMC: You are funny, friend; you so sure about me, you are even predicting my behaviour. Hmm.