Chinua Achebe: Collected Poems [Paperback]

Chinua Achebe (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 10, 2004

A collection of poetry spanning the full range of the African-born author's acclaimed career has been updated to include seven never-before-published works, as well as much of his early poetry that explores such themes as the African consciousness, the tragedy of Biafra, and the mysteries of human relationships.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

One of the world's most admired novelists, Achebe (Things Fall Apart; Anthills of the Savannah) has maintained a separate (and much less prolific) career as a poet: this slender volume shows American readers that work. Achebe was forced out of his native Nigeria in 1966, just before the grisly and devastating Biafran War of 1967–1970. Some of his most authoritative poems respond to those, and to later, public events. "A Mother in a Refugee Camp" shows its title character combing "the rust-colored hair left" on her son's "skull," "Like putting flowers on a tiny grave." Achebe's other poems include lyrics of hope and resolve, "tearful songs/ Of joy," and responses to ceremonial occasions: "Beware, Soul Brother" advises its listener to "protect this patrimony to which/ you must return when the song/ is finished." "Dereliction" (a good candidate for anthologies) denounces those who abandon local traditions. Some of his language is now dated, or sounds awkward, at least to American ears ("evil forests of Soviet technology"), but other, stronger work shows Achebe's narrative gifts, retelling New Testament stories ("Lazarus") or animating Nigerian legends and myths ("Lament of the Sacred Python"). These and scattered other poems are "Clear-signed with a clarity/ rarely encountered in dreams."
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From Booklist

The dean of the modern African novel in English (Things Fall Apart [1958] and several others), Achebe is also a powerful poet. In the introductory "parable" in this book, he suggests that, compared to his fiction, his poems have been nigh unpublishable. Yet their quality is high enough that they should never go out of print after this fine collected edition. There aren't many of them, and not many fill even three pages. But--contemplating, with remarkable restraint, the cultural effects of imperialism; reeling, seemingly forever, from the horrors of postcolonial wars; striving to understand the present and modernity by means of traditional wisdom, story, and ceremony--they trenchantly make their points about contemporary African life. They are often pungently humorous and ironic, as when telling the case of a modern-day Nigerian "Lazarus" or considering lovemaking "Vultures." Elsewhere they can be rueful as the blues about the human condition; see "Knowing Robs Us," in which, when it comes to joy, we humans don't measure up to mere birds. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Anchor (August 10, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400076587
• ISBN-13: 978-1400076581
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.3 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #798,909 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Met any great poets lately? Here's your chance..., July 12, 2005

By 

James K Bowers (MI, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chinua Achebe: Collected Poems (Paperback)

Within the bright yet unremarkable cover of this small book is the world as seen through the eyes of Mr. Chinua Achebe. The world witnessed by this talented Nigerian-born author and poet contains death, hope, strife, hunger, joy, love, wisdom, and wonder-and Achebe ushers his audience on an emotional journey through them all. As I read "Collected Poems", I became more interested in the poet himself and was driven to learn more about the man behind the words. What continues to impresses me the most about Achebe is the half-century span of his creative effort and quiet achievement in literature. As I thought more on this, I found that beside his sometimes brutally heart-wrenching imagery, what disturbs me about this man's literary work is that America is mostly unaware of its existence.

As undeniable proof that big things come in small packages, Achebe's mastery of the English vocabulary shines in this thin but powerful collection of poetry. He begins with a short preface then presents his poetry in five categorized chapters. At the back of the book are a few pages of notes, which I found to be a welcome and indispensable reference.

Steeped in the tragedies of a Biafra too soon forgotten, the chapter titled "Poems About War" is perhaps the most compelling. Achebe brings to light aspects of war sometimes overlooked. For example, in "A Mother In A Refugee Camp," a mother's love for her child converges with her hopeless acceptance of that child's imminent death from starvation. Passing on into the chapter of "Poems Not About War," the reader will discover such gems as "Public Execution In Pictures" and marvel at Achebe's ability to capture the emotion of such an event. The poem expresses gratitude that children who see of atrocities in newspaper photographs have not themselves witnessed them firsthand. At the same time, there is an unspoken regret that they may never fully understand injustice and or human suffering.

Much of this book has seen prior publication in 1973's "Christmas in Biafra and Other Poems". For those of us whose memory of the Biafran War has grown dim and for those unfortunate enough not to have read his earlier book, the reintroduction of Achebe's vision in "Collected Poems" is nothing short of a gift. So mired are we in our own day-to-day minutia that we rarely notice what has happened or what is happening elsewhere in human terms. Mr. Achebe has, with his elegant words in "Collected Poems", given both a reason and a means to see beyond our own doorstep.

5.0 out of 5 stars A powerful collection of poems from a great writer, March 17, 2007

By 

D. Festus Okoro - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Collected Poems (Paperback)

Chinua Achebe: Collected Poems is a book that celebrates the brilliance and virtuoso of a gifted writer. Achebe's language is elegant. His visionary committment is impressive. Much of the poems are reinforced by the poet's employment of images and elements from the African oral tradition. "A Wake for Okigbo" is superbly written. The poem is a tribute to Achebe's childhood friend and arguably Africa's greatest poet, Christopher Okigbo. Okigbo's death in the heat of the Nigerian civil war robbed the world of his full potential. This poem is fine tribute to him by a close friend and kinsman. Achebe's references to elements from Igbo
culture works wonders in this poem and gives readers something to cheer about the poet's unlimited gifts as a writer. Other poems that standout include "Christmas in Biafra" and "A Mother in a Refugee Camp." These poems are testimonies to major historical and cultural milestones and events that defined Achebe's generation and post independence Nigeria.
Overall, the collection is solid. Only a writer with Achebe's pedigree can handle the English language with such sophistication and class.