Heralding a new voice into the literary world is indeed a cause for unbounded joy, given the fact that there are complaints out there regarding the sorry state of ‘reading culture’ and the paucity of books published in Nigeria. An emerging new cadre of exciting creative writers may, however be getting people to read again and, without a doubt, women are carving out a major niche in the resurgence.
Abike ‘Muyiwa is one of such women. She is a welcome fresh voice to complement important female creative writers like Chimamanda Adichie, Sade Adeniran, Seffi Atta and Jumoke Verissimo. UNCUT is her debut volume of poetry that thematically span a wide spectrum of thoughts and experiences.
For starts, UNCUT is a tactile and visual pleasure. Nice to the touch, the book is a handy A5 size, and the papers used for the cover and the inner pages are of high quality. Aesthetically, the book’s appealing black jacket has a picture of a hand holding what appear like a rough diamond, with the title ‘UNCUT’ rendered in a stone-like font on the front, while the back has blurbs about the book and about the author with an attractive, smiling Ms. Muyiwa adorning the left edge. The inside of the book is just as appealing as the cover – the layout design of the text in bold, playful and well-spaced font bordered with floral cartouches attracts in its simplicity.
As earlier mentioned, the range of thoughts and experiences explored in the 100 poems presented in UNCUT, are quite extensive. Pieces like Okada deal with everyday hustle and bustle; Location reminds us that a dollar bill is a dollar bill, whether you find it in church or in a bar; Husband throws up wishes against realities. As for advice, Abike dishes out a bunch of them, including Al’apa ma sise which admonishes the lazy to go to work, and Gbeborun which casts a disapproving glance at gossip-peddling.
You too may have on occasion, wondered about the humongous heaps of food people load on their plates and guzzle in those serve-yourself shindigs. Well, in the piece titled Buffet, the poet wittily tells where the food ends up and the soul searching that goes with it. While in Solution she reminds us that if we spare the rod we’ll spoil the child. Abike also goes on to give her unique definition of Leadership, Mr. Right and Fashion, which she sketches with a playful take on words.
Without a doubt, there are certain pieces that don’t quite succeed - there are a few glitches. For instance, the play on words which works so well on Fashion does not do as well on Fallen Angel; the last line in the beautiful Ololufe is a typo that should read “closer in spirit than in life”; the last three lines in Outpouring gets one wondering who the “they” in the preceding six lines are; and, Illusion is a tad confusing. The glitches cited notwithstanding, UNCUT makes an entertaining read.
Most of the poems in the collection are quite short as epitomised by Envy which is a succinct poem that gets to the point in just seven, two-word lines. The longest of the poems include the religious-themed Trust God and the paean to fatherhood titled Dear Daddy. Afro-centric pieces that are imbued with cultural consciousness include the insightful Aids and Author Unknown. Even the nebulosity of the term ‘Race’ is explored.
Meanwhile, go get a copy of UNCUT and see what a beautiful collection of poetry it is. Indeed, the absolutely brilliant gems in the collection including Right There, Oyingbo, and the delightfully suspenseful I did it will be worth every cost and effort you put into getting a copy. This beautiful debut is a pointer to grander works ahead. Ms. Abike Muyiwa is poised on her way to becoming a great poet to be reckoned with.
Bravo Abike!!!!
Note:
The review above of Omolola Famuyiwa's UNCUT, written under the pen name Abike 'Muyiwa, was presented by Mrs. Taiwo Ajai-Lycett, OON at the Book Launch on the 11th of March 2012 in Lagos, Nigeria. To order copies, visit www.dckiss.blogspot.com and www.ou-journal.blogspot.com to use Pay Pal. Thanks for reading and posting comments.
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