As a child, Nick Mahoka fled Idi Amin's Uganda, and the poems in this collection relate to the horrors of the civil war that ousted the brutal tyranny of Amin. In political terms the poems chart the impact of imperialism and neo-colonialism that lay behind those traumas in the life of the nation. In personal terms, the poems are framed between the contrary pulls of attachment and flight, exile and longing. At their heart is an unwavering curiosity about how people behave in extreme situations, and what this reveals about our common human capacities to indulge grandiose visions, betray them, dissemble, seek revenge and kill. There is no presumption of innocence. There may be flight, but there is no standing aside. The narrator can dream (but is it a dream?) of a "dead man/who has been stung by the invisible bee of my bullet".

There is much darkness of reference in the collection, but also a hopeful search for truthfulness and trust as the only things that matter. The poems - as poems of grace, control and beauty of image - demonstrate the power of the best poetry to speak of difficult things in a way that enlightens, not merely horrifies. The care in the making and shaping of the poems bears witness to the evident fact that for Nick Makoha poetry became "This rock [...] a sanctuary from which I can repair the ruins".

About the Author
Poet Nick Makoha was shortlisted for the 2017 Felix Dennis Prize for Best First Collection. His poems appear in anthologies such as Being Human, Seven New Generation African Poets, Ten: New poets from Spread the Word, and numerous magazines including The Poetry Review, Rialto, and the Boston Review. He lives in London.

Awards
Short-listed for Felix Dennis Prize for Best First Collection 2017 (UK).



Book Information
ISBN 9781845233334
Author Nick Makoha
Format Paperback
Page Count 72
Imprint Peepal Tree Press Ltd
Publisher Peepal Tree Press Ltd
Weight(grams) 110g