Haruna et al, Glad you like the few words put together like my jovial cousin (Kanibaa) normally says about his poems at the Bantaba and I thank you for your rejoinders always. I had teachers who were great fans of the late Acebe. Africa lost a great writer. The late Acebe combined truth, humor and activism in one. Nigeria's culture is really rich. They've managed to now use the movie industry to revive and preserve some of their cultures. Since most of Africa's culture survived through story-telling, in our case the traditional griots and grandma's 'talin-talin', most of the rich stuff has been lost on its way to succeeding generations. One advantage that any writer will have is understanding his constituent, that is his people and culture. I think Acebe is one guy that understood his culture and people, together with the power of being able to express himself. If you hear the pen is mightier than the barrel of the guns, you pin the likes of Achebe for demonstrating such a beautiful trait in their contributions. Anyway, I am celebrating spring.....snow is melting, and I hope you are. On a humorous note, you know unlike Suntou, I welcome and adore Pope Francis eventhough my most adorable Pope was John Paul II. How come no one here is posting about Pope Frances? He is a loveable guy.... Best always,Yero Remembrance Day
Your proclaimed mourning
your flag at half-mast your
solemn face your smart backward
step and salute at the flowered
foot of empty graves your
glorious words-none, nothing
will their spirit appease. Had they
the choice they would gladly
have worn for you the same
stricken face gladly flown
your droop嶮 flag spoken
your tremulous eulogy-and
been alive. . . . Admittedly you
suffered too. You lived wretchedly
on all manner of gross fare;
you were tethered to the nervous
precipice day and night; your
groomed hair lost gloss, your
smooth body roundedness. Truly
you suffered much. But now
you have the choice of a dozen
ways to rehabilitate yourself.
Pick any one of them and soon
you will forget the fear
and hardship, the peril
on the edge of the chasm. . . . The
shops stock again a variety
of hair dyes, the lace and
the gold are coming back; so
you will regain lost mirth
and girth and forget. But when,
how soon, will they their death? Long,
long after you forget they turned
newcomers again before the hazards
and rigors of reincarnation, rude
clods once more who once had borne
the finest scarifications of the potter's
delicate hand now squashed back
into primeval mud, they will
remember. Therefore fear them! Fear
their malice your fallen kindred
wronged in death. Fear their blood feud;
tremble for the day of their
visit! Flee! Flee! Flee your
guilt palaces and cities! Flee
lest they come to ransack
your place and find you still
at home at the crossroad hour. Pray
that they return empty-handed
that day to nurse their red-hot
hatred for another long year. . . .
Your glorious words are not
for them nor your proliferation
in a dozen cities of the bronze
heroes of Idumota. . . . Flee! Seek
asylum in distant places till
a new generation of heroes rise
in phalanges behind their purified
child-priest to inaugurate
a season of atonement and rescue
from fingers calloused by heavy deeds
the tender rites of reconciliation By Chinua Achebe Source: http://www.randomhouse.com/acmart/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9781400076581&view=excerpt
Date: Fri, 22 Mar 2013 17:19:04 -0400
From: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [G_L] FW: [>-<] Pan-African Perspectives/Chinua Achebe Dies
To: [log in to unmask]
Nice eulogy Yero. Thanks for sharing.
Haruna.
-----Original Message-----
From: Yero Jallow <[log in to unmask]>
To: GAMBIA-L <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Fri, Mar 22, 2013 2:30 pm
Subject: [G_L] FW: [>-<] Pan-African Perspectives/Chinua Achebe Dies
Thanks for sharing Uncle Sainey et al. Indeed it is sad news and this is no small loss to world citizens.
Chinua in Loving Memory!
Yep, rest now that soul of the pen
the famous name we all celebrated
over the ages, kept the burning flames
when things were up or down
with words of wisdom, sincerely
and you watched the old baobab trees sway
as they danced to times' changes
with the winds of change breezing hot and cold
for the long awaited redemption.
Among the many sons of Africa
you kept your tact to the last breathe
unlike the others who bullied and dictated
not only our conscience but prostituted our virginity
and stripped us naked in all angles
with their tainted ink and barrels of the gun
putting the yokes of the chains back on our necks
after the many years of bitter sorrow
insensitive and unsympathetic to our plight.
Now that time and death has called
a call that everyone must answer to
we mourn and weep bitterly
of your departure to eternity
and we pray that the holy angels
welcomes you with that shiny ink
as you rest in that serene status
on thrones with breezy islands
aloft mansions where the righteous reside.
RIP that Soul of the Pen!
By: Yero Jallow
From: [log in to unmask]
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [>-<] Pan-African Perspectives/Chinua Achebe Dies
Date: Fri, 22 Mar 2013 10:52:59 -0500
Nigerian author Chinua Achebe dies
1 hour ago
The writer and academic wrote more than 20 works
Renowned Nigerian author Chinua Achebe has died at the age of 82 after a brief illness.
A statement from his family said his "wisdom and courage" were an "inspiration to all who knew him".
One of Africa's best known authors, his 1958 debut novel Things Fall Apart, which dealt with the impact of colonialism in Africa, has sold more than 10 million copies.
He had been living in the US since 1990 following injuries from a car crash.
Bilkisu Labaran, from the BBC's Focus on Africa programme, talks about the influence of Chinua Achebe
The writer and academic wrote more than 20 works - some fiercely critical of politicians and a failure of leadership in Nigeria.
South African writer and Nobel laureate Nadine Gordimer called him the "father of modern African literature" in 2007 when she was among the judges to award him the Man Booker International Prize in honour of his literary career.
Things Fall Apart has been translated into more than 50 languages and focuses on the traditions of Igbo society and the clash between Western and traditional values.
'Indelible lessons'
The Anambra state government in Nigeria first made the announcement about his death.
Analysts say in Igbo society the death of an important person must be announced by someone in authority.
His home state was in mourning for the death of "the illustrious son of the state, Nigeria and Africa", Mike Udah, spokesman for Anambra state governor Peter Obi, told the BBC.
A statement released on behalf of his family said Mr Achebe was "one of the great literary voices of his time".
"He was also a beloved husband, father, uncle and grandfather, whose wisdom and courage are an inspiration to all who knew him. Professor Achebe's family requests privacy at this time."
Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan said Mr Achebe's admirers had all learnt "indelible lessons of human existence" from his works.
"Achebe's frank, truthful and fearless interventions in national affairs will be greatly missed at home in Nigeria because while others may have disagreed with his views, most Nigerians never doubted his immense patriotism and sincere commitment to the building of a greater, more united and prosperous nation that all Africans and the entire black race could be proud of," the president said in a statement.
Last year, Mr Achebe published a long-awaited memoir about the brutal three-year Biafran war - when the south-eastern Igbo region tried to split from Nigeria in 1967.
After leaving Nigeria, he worked in the US as a professor. His 1990 car accident left him paralysed from the waist down and in a wheelchair.
A statement of the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory said it offered its condolences to the Achebe family.
The former South African president and anti-apartheid fighter, who spent 27 years in jail, "referred to Prof Achebe as a writer 'in whose company the prison walls fell down'", the statement said.
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