Kimekwu Communications Concept

Can They Detain The Poem? is the third in a trilogy of poetry collections – When An Eagle Turns To Vulture, The Feast Of Virginity and Can They Detain The Poem? – in which the poet addresses the issue of individualism and loss of communal values in African. While the first two collections of the trilogy centers on the loss of Africa’s socio-cultural identity to the West, Can They Detain The Poem? is a wake-up call for Africans to rise up and take their destiny in their own hands.

In this collection, I have decided to take up the task of the town crier, take up the metal gong and beat not just into the conscience of all those killing our environments but also into the ears of everyone who cherishes the regeneration of humanity and desires a secure and safe natural habitat for their posterity. If The Sky Weeps is the first in a trilogy of collections of poetry which I am using to address these issues. The others are There’s No More Sky To Eat and Dance Of The Forest.

Fascinating stories told in poetry. The settings are in Africa but the themes are executed in such as way that they command a global audience. The characters linger on in your mind long after you have stopped reading.

It is true that many are dying from the HIV/AIDS, especially in Africa where ignorance and poor access to health facility is high; but it is equally true that many HIV positive patients are living their live to full glory in spite of the disease. This collection is thus about hope in the midst of despair, faith in the midst of challenging social environments and the victory of life over the treat of death.

While some of the poems deal with the loss of traditional African socio-cultural values to the colonial era, many of them also highlight the fact that in many ways, Africa’s problem are so unique that they can be effectively solved only by Africans themselves. There is also the issue of hypocrisy in the global community when it comes to tackling the problems of Africa - most times, these helps come with conditions that end up impoverishing Africa the more. The collection also makes a statement on how the world would be a better place if Blacks and Whites can understand each other better and come under one umbrella of love and mutual respect.

There is an adage in Africa that goes thus “Man Gods Man”, which implies that, since God cannot come down physically on earth to help a person, He uses another person to do the job. That adage was a positive impact in the society because its tenet is that of ensuring a society where people treat one another with love and respect. But that’s no longer the case. The adage “Man Gods Man” has now taken a very negative dimension in which people now lord it over others because of social inequality and difference in income brackets. Man now gods man to the detriment of man in such a way that man’s inhumanity to his fellow man has continued to erode away the core values of humanity – Love, Empathy, Compassion, Respect, Care etc. The God Of Vanity is a poetic attempt to address some of these issues. 

There’s No More Sky To Eat is thus built on vengeance, the vengeance of a frustrated and provoked Mother Earth who has been so hurt and pushed to the wall that she now has no choice but to retaliate. This retaliation comes in the form of acid rain, fatal floods, over-charged sunrays, heat waves, desertification etc. And it is upon these climatic crises that the collection draws the bulk of its materials.

"Dumbiri Frank Eboh’s Victims: A Collection of Poems on HIV/AIDS is the first collection by an individual in Nigeria that is totally dedicated to the disease that has become the worst terror of contemporary social life - HIV/AIDS". Eboh draws attention to the disease so that individuals and the entire society can discuss it, learn to prevent it, and cope with it.  Tanure OjaideProfessor, Africana StudiesThe University of North Carolina at Charlotte,USA.

When An Eagle Turns To Vulture is a sad testimony of the African society. For whenever and wherever what should be a source of strength, greatness and pride turns out to be that of self destruction, failure and shame, the eagle always turns to vulture. Whenever and wherever the weak must die because the strong must eat and over eat, the eagle always turns to vulture. Whenever and wherever a dream get so prolonged that it gradually turns into a nightmare, the eagle always turns to vulture…

Dance Of The Forest is the third in a trilogy of poetry collections – If The Sky Weeps, There’s No More Sky To Eat and Dance Of The Forest – in which the poet addresses issues concerning the environment. While the first two collections deal with how man has been provoking the earth and her environment and how the earth has been reacting to this provocation, this third collection is built on hope – the hope of a future regenerated earth that can be actualized only when man retraces his steps from the onslaught against Nature.