POETRY COMMANDO

Over the years I have had the honour and pleasure to write assorted Introductions, Forewords, or Prefaces to a number of books. I cannot pretend to remember all such books now, though I realise many of them are referred to, or available on Google Books. That’s modern technology for you!

Hence I was delighted to write a short preface to female writer, Charmaine Kolwane’s latest book, titled Poetry Commando (2013)

Excerpts from what I wrote:

“The author of this work (Charmaine Kolwane) suggested that I write an “Editor’s Note” for this book. Alas, it is a moniker I feel very uncomfortable with. I prefer to refer to myself as someone “who ironed out some of the creases in a work”, as it were.

I have always believed that authentic Africans’ do approach mainstream literature in a certain way with their own idiosyncrasies. A writer as illustrious as Nadine Gordimer (a Nobel Laureate) has said as much over the decades by referring to the “quaintness” of African writing; and partially explaining the same as “African writers are always translating (from their mother tongues)”

Perhaps. What is clear is that Africans, black Africans have contributed prodigiously to world literature. Names like Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe, Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Es’kia Mphahlele, Zakes Mda, Ayi Kwei Armah etc have gone down in history as respected world writers, rather than “African ones”. Yet we cannot take their “African-ness” away from them.

Literary history has recorded that the early works of Chinua Achebe and Gabriel Okara (to mention only but two African writers) took the world by storm mainly because of the special African ambience that pervaded the works; tincturing the grammar, syntax, structure, logic etc of the works. The best critics are broad-minded and discern merit in virtually all published works. But this is not a weepy apologia as it were!

When I first met Charmaine years ago, she was just in her early 20’s. I could hardly believe her passion for books and the world of letters whilst most ladies of her age were obsessed with material things including fine smartphones, cars, clothes, and the like. At the time, she was already churning out passionate poetry and essays – I smile wryly now as I recollect some of her letters which I published in newspapers and magazines at the time. I also had the pleasure of publishing some of her poignant poetry then.

I was rather taken aback years ago when Charmaine told me she was writing a book about me. Although I did not say it at the time, my first feeling was that she was too “immature” to undertake such a task. I was however pleasantly surprised to see how brilliant the book she produced was. It can now be revealed that the book was written in record time too! Her analytical and critical nous (ability) is displayed in the work titled “Omoseye Bolaji: Channeling one’s thoughts onto paper”. The book was not only a great success locally and nationally, but is stocked in some of the best Universities in the world now.

I was delighted when she got a job as a librarian because I knew it was a literal case of a duck taking to water with elan! Regularly, one is regaled with stories from the public at large who narrate how when they went to the library Charmaine went out of her way to get pertinent books for them, or even advised them on particular books to read. Indeed Charmaine basks luxuriantly at literary occasions; and contributes magnificently at such times.

Her first book was published in 2005, and now we are lucky that her second offering will provide rich literary pickings for us! …”

- Omoseye Bolaji