A review by risky_oak
The Penguin Book of Modern African Poetry: Fourth Edition by

Κριτική και στα Ελληνικά στις βιβλιοαλχημείες


In summer 2016 I ordered nine books, all from the continent of Africa, apart from one ([b:The Oxford Book of Caribbean Verse|6660323|The Oxford Book of Caribbean Verse|Mark McWatt|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347583591l/6660323._SY75_.jpg|1241847]) a region of the Americas closely related with Africa.

Part of this book-haul was the book I'll talk today.
I started parallel reading it between 05/08/16 and 05/09/16 along with the 7 African novels I bought:

1] [b:Under the Frangipani|86727|Under the Frangipani|Mia Couto|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1171080107l/86727._SY75_.jpg|698673] Country: Mozambique, Language: Portuguese

2] [b:Disgrace|6695251|Disgrace|J.M. Coetzee|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1330831360l/6695251._SY75_.jpg|1882981], Country: South Africa, Language: English

3] [b:In the Country of Men|595326|In the Country of Men|Hisham Matar|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348624404l/595326._SY75_.jpg|2425175] Country: Libya, Language: English

4] [b:A Grain of Wheat|229507|A Grain of Wheat|Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348617176l/229507._SY75_.jpg|822355] Country: Kenya, Language: English

5] [b:Lyrics Alley|13502593|Lyrics Alley|Leila Aboulela|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1330367406l/13502593._SY75_.jpg|13842954] Country: Sudan, Language: English

6] [b:My Father's Wives|3852016|My Father's Wives |José Eduardo Agualusa|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348744053l/3852016._SY75_.jpg|2809243] Country: Angola, Language: Portuguese

7] [b:Half of a Yellow Sun|18806880|Half of a Yellow Sun|Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1384518112l/18806880._SY75_.jpg|1651408] Country: Nigeria, Language: English

So at the beginning of September when I finished the seventh and last book, and since I was beginning an entirely different book from an entirely different continent and era ([b:Leave It to Psmith|1983939|Leave It to Psmith (Psmith, #4 ; Blandings Castle, #2)|P.G. Wodehouse|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328000084l/1983939._SY75_.jpg|1233006]) I felt that it was time to leave the African Poetry aside and read it with my next African novel so to the shelf it went.

I returned five more times to this book before finishing it:
(24/09/17… 16/04/18… 31/07/19… 11/08/19… 14-15/08/19)

Africa is a continent usually neglected when it comes to literature. Especially if the country is a non-English-speaking one, then there are two barriers, one of them the translation into English.
A lot of the African books I have in my wish-list are out of print but whenever they arrive in my hands I'm joyful.

But August 2016 was the month where I brought African literature from the margin to the foreground.
It was the year when I decided it was time to make my reading much more diverse. Much more colourful, and therefore much more interesting.

So as I said I was parallel reading this poetry anthology in August 16, along with seven African novels. So last August I said to myself.
-You've just finished with Shakespeare's mammoth volume of poetry. Why not finish the African Poetry one, after four years?

And that's what I did.
And I felt a relief and a joy.

Of course I can't write a typical review for a book that contains poetry from 27 different countries, 99 different poets, 315 different poems, and from at least four different countries.

A mosaic of cultures, voices, myths, traditions, songs.
A tapestry of History, pain, exile, love, conflict, civilisation.

This book is like a portal to Africa. You learn about the country through the poem, and you want to learn even more, so you start looking for more books from this country, and you end up expanding your horizons every year.