ktravula – a travelogue!

POEM REVIEW: Musings of Something Colourfully Sweet

musingsby Joyce Odukoya (@joyceodukoya)

Title: Musings of a Tangled Tongue

Author: Yemi Adesanya (@toyosilagos)

Version: Kindle & Paperback (POD)

I haven’t read a book of poems since I left secondary school, years ago. So, when the author of Musings of a Tangled Tongue, Yemi Adesanya, told me she had written a book of poems, I looked forward to it because I had read her poems on twitter and thought they were really creative and well written. I wasn’t disappointed when I finally got around to reading it.

The poems reflect the author’s delightful and interesting personality as captured in my interactions with her on twitter. If I was to compliment the collection of poems in one word, I would say that it is “fresh” (check urban dictionary or think of will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas using the word in approval for The Voice contestants!)

The author’s use of a rich metaphor to convey her messages in the poems is evident from the first poem, Here Lies Lust. It creates a vivid imagery in the mind of the reader and reveals greater truths about the subject matter of the poems.

The poems cover various subjects including; love (Love in Designer Threads, I Want to Love You, Love in Vine and Wine) unrequited love (Cold Steel: “Get a life babe,” he whispered, “I have no time for love”)  lust (Here Lies Lust, Jack and Jill and Dear Fred), secrets (Zara’s Secrets) growing old (Old Number) and staying young (Forever Living: Who wants to live forever and a day, Nature would groan if all avoided this fate) and everyday issues like Sleepless Nights, Snoring is the Devil’s Chorus and Monday Madness.

Random musings about Loafday, which the author hopes will one day be a word in the dictionary (On Saturdays, I laze away…) and about (Mc) Hunger (And bulging bloodshot eyes match my bank balance).

In Was Born in Sin, the author explores the Christian faith and reveals an inquisitive mind not afraid to question the status quo. I loved reading every last line of the stanzas which was written in Nigerian Pidgin.

Mind Mirage is about inane lines. My verdict…absolutely bonkers!

Special Characters which is about grammatical punctuations reveals the author’s vivid imagination and creativity.

No Kidding reads like the lyrics of a rap song. It’s one of my favourite poems. Holla!

The poems are full of unforgettable lines such as “Like death of a wanted infant before its Christening” in Crackles of Soulful Melody and “Dance this day like the groom is not a dick” in Bless This Day, a poem about the days of the week.

Nothing is off limits with the author, in Gray Valentine Shades which is a sad poem about relationships, there is a stanza about sadomasochism (hello, Fifty Shades of Grey). The sadness of Gray Valentine Shades is balanced by the joy in Bright Valentine Shades a few poems later.

My favourite poem is Halleluyah, which the author states could be sung to the tune of “Halleluyah” by Leonard Cohen. Its stanzas cover relationships, the state of Nigeria’s economy and its last elections and even zebra crossings. I sung the poem, of course.

I would recommend the book Musings of a Tangled Tongue. It is a wonderful collection of poems which includes traditional poems as well as a contemporary take on poetry. For lovers of poetry, it is a treat and for those who don’t ordinarily read books of poems, it is a gentle introduction into reading poems once again.

_________________

Joyce Odukoya can be found on twitter at @JoyceOdukoya

POEM REVIEW: Musings of Something Colourfully Sweet was published on April 1st, 2016, with the tags , , , under the Literature, Review category. There are currently no comments on this article so far.

On The Game of Giants

Red_Front-161x300There are many ways to teach history, but the best and most effective way has nothing to do with the classroom. In any case, a couple of months ago, it was announced that (Nigerian) History would be dropped from the Nigerian secondary school syllabus for reason of inadequate enrollment. Many of us protested online and offline, and that was the end of it. We have come to reconcile ourselves as a nation that no longer cares enough to celebrate, document, and teach its past in order to prepare citizens for the future.

I came across this game a couple of months ago, during its invention, while working on The Giants of History book by Lateef Ibirogba. It was invented by Yemi Adesanya to teach history in a fun and interactive way. Called The Game of Giants, young citizens from the age of 6 to any age can challenge each other with knowledge of famous (and obscure) giants of history. On one side of each card in the pack is a picture of a famous person in history (living or dead), while on the other is a short blurb of his/her achievement. The rules of the game says that each player scores points by correctly guessing, without having looked at the back, what the famous person is known for.

Fullscreen capture 6242014 103239 AMAs a way to generate interest in the past and to introduce young people to a past generation, the game succeeds where textbooks might not. Being a game, it requires a time of leisure when the brain is most at east without any pressures of curriculum, and with maximum dopamin secretion. I have played it, many times with students (and won, if I might add), and what I’ve noticed is that the aim of the game’s invention is easily realized: students strive to remember the faces as well as what the person profiled is famous for. Over time, and over many losses and trials, they begin to remember. Those interested in learning more about the characters will – at other leisure times – go ahead and read some more. It is a good thing.

The best part of it, for me, is that the range of the characters in the game is wide and deep, from Aristotle to Soyinka, from Babatunde Jose to Marie Curie, and from Anthony Enahoro to Gregor Mendel. Gradually, young ones are introduced to history in a fun and non-threatening manner. (More about it here). According to the inventor, the aim is to make the game a household item not just for kids and youths, but for adults as well as a way to learn about the past while also having clean fun. This makes sense to me.

On The Game of Giants was published on June 24th, 2014, with the tags , , , , under the Academic, Fun, History, Observations category. There are currently no comments on this article so far.

Her First Story

A guest-post by Jolaade Adesanya

as narrated by Yemi Adesanya

She was extremely excited at the first mention of the request from uncle Kola, to write something for his blog. Then the big question came when it was time to settle down to it “why does he want me to write, mummy?”. “I think he wants to know what you think about different things.” “OK!”. She then began to tell me the different things she’d like him to know about – she loves babies (a neighbor has just delivered a baby girl, she is now a regular visitor to their home), she doesn’t like the school bus (mum/dad should take her to school instead), she doesn’t like yellow buses (they are always driving roughly), she loves her daddy and mummy!, and yes she loves herself, because she loves babies!

What goes on in a 4 yr old girl’s mind is beyond me, mine is always asking difficult questions, questions that leave you wondering if she is not some old woman re-incarnate. The latest question that got me wondering; “if someone is getting married, will they have the wedding in the girls mummy’s church?”.

Her story is as follows:

My name is Jojo, my uncle calls me that.

I love myself, I love my mummy, I love my daddy

I don’t like people driving rough

I like eating fried egg and yam

Mrs Oladimeji is always dozing in the class.

STOP

It was impossible convincing her to write her name, instead of Joojoo, she definitely wants uncle Kola to know the pet name given her by uncle Kunle!

She promised to continue writing this story, but for now, a road marker STOP marks the end.

_______________________

Jolaade Adesanya is my lovely four and a half year-old niece, and she writes from Lagos, Nigeria. The first mention of her on this blog was way back in August when I first went to Six Flags. You can read the entry here.

Yemi Adesanya is my accountant sister who works in Lagos and who has been a very  lovely, very dependable, and equally a very delightfully mischievous sibling. If you want to find her, head over here. Of course you may have to buy shoes or bags in the process. She sells them in her spare time instead of writing which, as you can see, could as well have been her vocation as well.

Jolaade’s picture courtesy of Chris Ogunlowo.

Let no one ask me why she chose to paint her face when the photo was about to be taken, or whether it is standard procedure for children of this age to paint their faces like that. You will have to figure it out for yourself 😀

Have a nice weekend.

Her First Story was published on March 5th, 2010, with the tags , , , , under the Fun, Opinion category. There are currently 6 comments on this article so far.