Hi Dawda,

One of the literary outlets I have always enjoyed and
still do with an insatiable flare, is Poetry. I could
remember quite well, sometimes with nostalgia, that
when I was in the Sixth Form some couple of years ago,
I took a junk of my time reading through and
committing to memory, the inspiring and brainstorming
poems of John Keats (arguably the most talented poet
ever) and John Pepper Clark, the Nigerian academic. In
those days, it was mainly fun to me and a sign of
"intellectual growth".

However, quite recently, I have sought refuge in
poetry when ever in distress, and consequently used it
as a proper vehicle for conveniently expressing my
love for, or hatred of anything personal or otherwise.
Interestingly, I have loads of collections that I have
compiled over the years and positively thinking of
getting them published. It is one wish I want
actualised but for the ever dictating limitation of
resources. And this has partly been responsible for
the poor slide down of poetry not only in Gambia but
Africa as a whole. More often than not, people see
this lovely literay wing as a non-lucrative one
sighting the "poverty" that is inherent in poets as a
non-inviting factor. True that many poets died poor
and almost unrecognised; others languised in absolute
despondency bereft of any socially measurable
achievement, it is not however proper to reduce poetry
to gross insignificance. Indeed, potery has
contributed galore to the upliftment of knowledge,
advancement of political consciousness and the
subsequent promotion of freedom. In former apartheid
South Africa, poetry was mainly used as a vehicle for
the transmission of the feelings and ideas of people.
This was so effective especially when no open and
unhindered platform was readily available for the
agitation of political freedom. Poets like Mazizi
Kunene, Oswald M T Shali, Thabo Mapalela and a host of
others, pioneered this course. Today, they have been
rightly added to the list of freedom fighters who
helped transform South from a barbaric and brutal
socitey replete with calous and racist political
batons to a more free and democratic society. In
Mozambique and Angola, the likes of Piere Palo, Peter
Ngozolo, Partobo Farera readily come to mind. While
the others were highly political, Partobo Farera in
particular, was, like William Wordsowrth, a "nature
poet" who used the beatiful landscape and the
mysterious sea as weapons to preach the gospel truth
of peace and stability. It is widely belive that Dr
King got some inpirations from this talented but often
forgotten poet. Today, Farera is ageing like crazy and
slowly dying in a dusty and remote village in Uganda
after having been expelled from his own country some
20 years ago. The sad thing is, he is poor and dying
but nobody, even today's poets seem to be interested
in him - a classical example of the plight of
Victorian era Chatterton.

It is my wish therefore that poetry form a balance
percentage of contributions to Gambia-L. I have often
told my friends that if I have a good collection of
poetry to read, I can bravely forgo my "Chura gerrteh"
for atleast a day.

Thanks.

Abou Jeng
University of Wales.
United Kingdom.


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