31 Friday May 2013
Posted in Challenges, Haiku, Poetry
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Today’s prompt on Haiku Heights is Stone
Stone
Proud, I flaunt my gems
In the velvety darkness
Sexy shiny orbs
Copyright © Celestine Nudanu 31/05/13I appreciate your patience with me as I catch up on your blogs. Thanks a million! Shalom
30 Thursday May 2013
Posted in African Women Writers, Fiction, TBR List
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Title: The Bride Price
Author: Buchi Emecheta
Binding: Paperback
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: African Writers Series (Heinemann)
Pages: 177
Publication Date: First published by Allison and Busby in 1976. This edition published in 1995
Reason for reading: For my African reads and also on my TBR
Blurb
‘Always remember that you are mine’, says Aku-nna’s father before he dies. But as Aku-nna approaches womanhood her ambitious uncle makes plans to marry her off for a high bride price. Caught in a web of tradition, lust and greed, Aku-nna falls for the one young man she is forbidden to love.
As with the Joys of Motherhood, Buchi Emecheta is concerned with the effect of the second World War on families of post-colonial Nigeria, particularly the Igbo people. Fighting in a war that has nothing to do with his country, Aku-nna’s father dies of a leg injury he sustains while in combat. The family suffers when their only source of income is no more and they have to re-locate to the village of Ibuza. Here, Aku-nna, her mother Ma Blackie and younger brother Nna-ando all come under the heavy-handed and often sly protection of her uncle Okonkwo who nurses the ambition of marrying Aku-nna off for a handsome bride-price.
Buchi Emecheta’s The Bride Price covers many themes from bride price to tradition and the caste system in Nigeria. Aku-nna’s lover and later husband Chike, is a slave born to slave parents and therefore she is forbidden to marry him. But Chike wins her with his kindness, deep love and concern for her well-being. For a teenage girl who is fatherless and whose guardian is only interested in marrying her off to the highest bidder, whose mother is now married to her brother-in-law and therefore has minimal interest in her daughter, Chike’s attentions are more than welcome. Perhaps, being an outcast, he finds much in common with the lonely and impressionable teen.
The Financial Times dubs the The Bride Price a classic love story and I couldn’t agree more. But beyond the love story, lies the compelling story of young, intelligent, passionate, courageous and determined girl, bent on defying the traditions of her people, which sought to keep her chained to a mediocre present, and a future of nothingness. Aku-nna’ rises above her situation and becomes a teacher. She marries her lover, Chike. But is she able to live happily ever after?
Again, Emecheta’s novel seem to illustrates how cultural norms imprison women, in particular for we have cultural beliefs triumphing in the end. Are these in themselves bad, for people are identified and defined by their very traditions and belief systems. However (and the onus is on however), traditions that are detrimental to the well-being of women, that places barriers to the development of women ought to be done away with.
The author does offer some hope though that, someday, these barriers will be broken. Me thinks these barriers have taken too long in breaking.
The Bride Price is powerfully and poignantly written, compelling and passionate. I must say that I did not like how the story ended, though I empathized so much with Aku-nna and her lover and wanted them to soar above all their predicaments. But I guess scientific reasons could convincingly explain Aku-nna’s unfortunate demise and make nonsense of the superstition surrounding her death.
I recommend The Bride Price to all lovers of African literature and all those who love to read romance, particularly in an African setting.
28 Tuesday May 2013
Posted in Challenges, Haiku, Poetry
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Today’s prompt on Haiku Heights is Change
Change
Silently, she coils
Seamlessly into herself
Stagnant and serene
Copyright © Celestine Nudanu 28/05/13I appreciate your patience with me as I catch up on your blogs. Thanks a million! Shalom
25 Saturday May 2013
Posted in Challenges, Haiku, Poetry
Today’s prompt on Haiku Heights is Health
Health
Stiff and aching joints
With no remedy in sight
Exercise is key
Copyright © Celestine Nudanu 25/05/13I appreciate your patience with me as I catch up on your blogs. Thanks a million! Shalom
24 Friday May 2013
Posted in African Women Writers, Poetry
Chinua Achebe, the author of the world acclaimed Classic, Things Fall Apart and the icon of African Literature, who died a few months ago was buried in his hometown Agidi, in Nigeria yesterday 23rd May 2013. This is my humble poem in his honour.
Phoenix
After the noise has died down What is left Is a silence so deafening The trees whisper the message Just so their voices could be heard Above the din. It rises from deep within the forest Lilting high Blending with the sweet cacophonous wonder Of the song of the birds. Above the din, it echoes Its message loud and clear To all who have ears, listen: From the ashes of the pyre shall rise the The Storyteller To tell the story of the new creativity In words so electric, a mix so eclectic A reflection of the beauty of the mind of the New Generation Even as Achebe’s legacy lives on. Already I see her words kiss paper Glittering hard Hailstones, pelting the earth in fury Butter soft Pillows waiting to welcome home my lover A Variety of wonderment. The African story-teller has arrived In all her splendid creativity Born, of the ashes of Achebe Copyright © Celestine Nudanu 24/05/13I appreciate your patience with me as I catch up on your blogs. Thanks a million! Shalom
22 Wednesday May 2013
Title: The Kaya Girl
Author: Mamle Wolo
Binding: Paperback
Genre: Young-Adult Fiction
Publisher: Techmate Publishers Ltd, Ghana
Pages: 182
Publication Date: 2012
Reason for reading: Bought it at the recently held Yari Yari Conference on Women Writers of African descent I attended. The author is also known to me.
What would a privileged girl from a rich and educated family have in common with a poor girl from the Northern part of Ghana who has the ignoble job of carrying loads and luggage of customers for a living? Two young girls, aged fourteen from differing cultures, aspirations and outlooks meet and instantly a bond so profound, deep and beautiful is created between them that spans the test of time and their loyalty to each other.
Faiza, the indomitable heroine, proves that the Kayayoo or Kaya-girl can have a future, in this case, as a medical doctor. Her strong and fearless spirit, bright outlook to life, humour and maturity that belies her years are great assets that the author explores to the full in bringing out this significant fact. That it is not where you are born or the circumstances of your background, but what you make of yourself and the opportunities presented that matter.
Faiza’s foil, Abena, from the privileged home, loves Faiza for her courage, freedom and for just being different from her. Their relationship is based on mutual respect, and much curiosity about each other’s background. Perhaps, the most significant aspect of this beautiful relationship is Faiza’s first lesson from Abena, on the revolution of the earth, an inspiration that serves as a catalyst for the transformation of her life.
Mamle Wolo’s The Kaya Girl does not champion the cause of the downtrodden in the Ghanaian society. What the author does with her story is to highlight the beauty, potential and humanness of the Kayayoo (load carrier or porter) who come down south to the metropolitan cities of Accra and Kumasi to seek greener pastures. The only profession available to them is to be porters, carting loads of the everyday Ghanaian who goes shopping in the cities. These girls have no relatives and nowhere to sleep. They survive by their instincts and sheer determination and will power. Some migrate to escape forced marriages and some come down to make money to buy much-needed items to set them up in future marriages. Yet some make money to help their poor relatives up north.
The author uses the story within the story approach to draw attention to the issue of forced marriages in the country. This she does so well, through Faiza as she narrates the story of her cousin, Asana, weaving and telling it in a vivacious manner as only a teen-girl can, and yet with so much candor and feeling.
The Kaya-Girl is a wonderful story, simple and told with much warmth, and humour. The characters are well-rounded, authentic, full of life and gaiety. I could identity with the two girls alternatively as I read and that is a good thing. Even the older ones Like Auntie Lydia, Abena’s rich Makola trader aunt comes across as stern but fun with a soft heart.
Celebrating The Kaya Girl will be to celebrate the new, young and emerging Ghanaian writers who are revolutionizing the creative writing process in diverse genres, young adult fiction among them. Some time back, I was lamenting the fact that YA books were just not available in Ghana. I eat my words. The Kaya Girl and other YA books like The Mystery of the Haunted House and The Twelfth Heart to name but a few are fine testaments to this.
The Kaya Girl comes highly recommended to all who love YA fiction and adults wanting to know about Ghana.
About the Author
Mamle Wolo, a writer of Ghanaian and German parentage, was born and raised in Ghana until the age of 14 when she moved to the United Kingdom. She completed her secondary schooling there, after which she studied at the University of Cambridge, where she obtained her BA and MA in Modern Languages and her MPhil in Latin-American Studies. She returned to Ghana in 1992 where she has since been resident and works as a freelance consultant in development issues. She took up fiction writing in the late 1990s and has since written numerous short stories under the name Mamle Kabu, all of which have been published in various anthologies and journals in Africa, the UK and the US. One of these is “The End of Skill”, which was nominated for the Caine Prize for African Writing in 2009.
Mamle also won the first prize in the 2011 Burt Award for African Literature, with her story ‘The Kaya Girl’.
She is a co-director of the Writers’ Project of Ghana and combines her work and writing with the raising of her two lovely children.
Posted by readinpleasure | Filed under African Women Writers, Ghana Association of Writers, Young Adult Fiction
21 Tuesday May 2013
Posted in Challenges, Haiku, Poetry
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The prompt from Haiku Heights today is Betrayal, rather a deep one. I have three offerings. Hope your find them interesting.
(1) Betrayal
Furious winds sweep through(2) Betrayal
His dagger-like words Pierce through my weak arteries And oh! How I bleed(3) Betrayal
Your love betrays me To gladly die by your hands In Caesar-like style Copyright © Celestine Nudanu 21/05/13I appreciate your patience with me as I catch up on your blogs. Thanks a million! Shalom
20 Monday May 2013
Posted in Challenges, Haiku, Poetry
The prompt this Friday on Haiku Heights is Egg. In my country, when one gives birth we sometimes use euphemism to break the news. ‘The bottle/gourd is broken’, ‘the egg has cracked’ are some of the euphemisms used. My offering today is based on ‘the egg has cracked’. Please enjoy.
Egg
Gentle crack eases
Glorious bundles to being
The beauty of birth
Copyright © Celestine Nudanu 20/05/13I appreciate your patience with me as I catch up on your blogs. Thanks a million! Shalom
15 Wednesday May 2013
Posted in Challenges, The Classics Club
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It’s time for another Classics Spin by The Classics Club for any who are interested. What is the spin?
It’s easy. Clubbers are to list on their blogs by next Monday, May 20, the choice of any twenty books left to read from the Classics Club list – in a separate post. This is the Spin List. Clubbers are to challenge themselves by reading one of these twenty books in May & June. The list should be in the following order:
By next Monday, May 20, a post will go up from number 1 through 20. The challenge is to read whatever book falls under that number on the Spin List, by July 1. There will be a check in post for July, to see who made it the whole way and finished the spin book.
I’ve carried over the book corresponding to number 14 in the last Spin, (Oliver Twist) from April to May which I hope to finish reading soon. I must say that these days, my reading has become so so slow. There are days when I don’t open any book at all. But then I’m game for this Spin #2 so here is my list: a repeat of the first spin actually with a substitute for number 14.
5 Classics Club books you are dreading/hesitant to read
5 Classics Club books you can’t WAIT to read
6. Austen, Jane – Pride and Prejudice5 Classics Club books you are neutral about
11. Twain, Mark – The Adventures of Tom Sawyer 12. Eliot George – Silas Marner 13. Wright, Richard – Black Boy 14. Hardy Thomas – The Mayor of Casterbridge 15. Virginia Woolf – Mrs. Dalloway5 Free choice (favorite author, rereads, ancients — whatever you choose.) And those I have chosen below are my favourites/re-reads
16. Ama Ata Aidoo – Dilemma of a Ghost 17. Hope, Anthony – Prisoner of Zenda 18. Ayi Kwei Armah – Beautiful Ones Are Not Yet Born 19. Haggard, Rider – King Solomon’s Mines 20. Stevenson, Robert Louise – Treasure IslandI do hope my lucky number comes up this time. Wish me luck 🙂
14 Tuesday May 2013
Posted in Poetry
This is an earlier poem written over a year ago. Going through my archives I found it, read it and liked it so much. Then, I did not have a wide reading audience, now I do and I thought you would all love reading it, after a few modifications. 🙂 It is about my profound encounter with God. 🙂
His Presence
A heart out of the darkness Reached out to touch mine Filled with bitterness My anguish real as I pine Hoping not to be found On life’s bleak mound A kind whisper Out of the shadows Home, I call it gallows Brushed against my brow Wrinkled, with shame as I bow At how low I had fallen Once, full of Me! The softest of words Spoken out of the gloom Reached to my core Beckoning me to rise and soar Above the grime, and bloom For, love has touched me Love has touched my essence And I will no more bleed I am now in His Presence Copyright © Celestine Nudanu 14/5/13
Reading Pleasure 