Description
This powerful collection of poems details the harrowing experiences endured by Abani and other political prisoners at the hands of Nigeria's military regime in the late 1980s. Abani vividly describes the characters that peopled this dark world, from prison inmates such as John James, tortured to death at the age of fourteen, to the general overseers. First published after his release from jail in 1991, Kalakuta Republic remains a paean to those who suffered and to the indomitable human spirit.
About the Author
Chris Abani is a Nigerian poet and novelist. Publications include The Virgin of Flames (Penguin, 2007), Song For Night (Telegram, 2008) and Graceland (FSG/Picador 2005). He is a professor at the University of California and the recipient of many prizes, including the PEN USA Freedom-to-Write Award, the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award, a Lannan Literary Fellowship and the PEN Hemingway Prize.
Reviews
'A beautiful work of art . . . elevates art and humanity above meanness and inhumanity.' World Literature Today; 'An unheralded chunk of authentic literature . . . Abani has lived to tell his tale, the least we can do, is listen to it.' New Statesman; 'A brave and challenging book . . . I was moved as much by what the poems have achieved as by what they have rescued from that nightmare world. Reading, I found myself in tears.' Sunday Tribune; 'Abani's poems are the most naked, harrowing expression of prison life and political torture imaginable. Reading them is like being singed by a red hot iron.' Harold Pinter;'Abani's survival instinct and his poems contain moments of grace, humanity and humor.' Susannah Tarbush, Diwaniya; 'Abani's poetry resonates with a devastating beauty which cuts through to the heart of human strength, survival and tyranny.' Pride;'Chris has emerged with poems that are graceful pieces of art, almost ready to be hung in a gallery for others to come and enter them and rest in them and weep in them and admire them.' Kwame Dawes, professor of English literature, University of Columbia, South Carolina, USA
Book Information
ISBN 9780863563225
Author Christopher Abani
Format Paperback
Page Count 150
Imprint Saqi Books
Publisher Saqi Books
Weight(grams) 175g
About the Author
Chris Abani is a Nigerian poet and novelist. Publications include The Virgin of Flames (Penguin, 2007), Song For Night (Telegram, 2008) and Graceland (FSG/Picador 2005). He is a professor at the University of California and the recipient of many prizes, including the PEN USA Freedom-to-Write Award, the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award, a Lannan Literary Fellowship and the PEN Hemingway Prize.
Reviews
'A beautiful work of art . . . elevates art and humanity above meanness and inhumanity.' World Literature Today; 'An unheralded chunk of authentic literature . . . Abani has lived to tell his tale, the least we can do, is listen to it.' New Statesman; 'A brave and challenging book . . . I was moved as much by what the poems have achieved as by what they have rescued from that nightmare world. Reading, I found myself in tears.' Sunday Tribune; 'Abani's poems are the most naked, harrowing expression of prison life and political torture imaginable. Reading them is like being singed by a red hot iron.' Harold Pinter;'Abani's survival instinct and his poems contain moments of grace, humanity and humor.' Susannah Tarbush, Diwaniya; 'Abani's poetry resonates with a devastating beauty which cuts through to the heart of human strength, survival and tyranny.' Pride;'Chris has emerged with poems that are graceful pieces of art, almost ready to be hung in a gallery for others to come and enter them and rest in them and weep in them and admire them.' Kwame Dawes, professor of English literature, University of Columbia, South Carolina, USA
Book Information
ISBN 9780863563225
Author Christopher Abani
Format Paperback
Page Count 150
Imprint Saqi Books
Publisher Saqi Books
Weight(grams) 175g
