You can buy this book at the following link (Amazon): http://www.amazon.com/Knees-Before-These-Mighty-Heavens/dp/1578640660/ref=sr_1_1/103-4983557-2692664?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194300878&sr=8-1 =========================================================================================================== A Universal Marriage of Peace *By Akatu Ajonye* *Monday, November 05, 2007* Momodu Ceesay, poet and artist creates a unique artistic marriage between the two callings to deliver a powerful message of peace Title: On My Knees Before These Mighty Heavens Author: Momodou Ceesay Publisher: The Donning Company Publishers, Virginia Price: Not Stated Momodou Ceesay's On My Knees Before These Mighty Heavens is a unique creative experiment. It sets out to join words, lines and stanzas with figures, shapes and colours in an artistic marriage of poetry and painting. Interspersed with 34 paintings also by the author, across 99 pages, the book is rendered as an epic poem divided into nine parts which could pass for chapters. But they are not designated as such. Ceesay's key theme is the grim fortunes of Africans in the comity of races. But after a spirited treatment of the issues confronting the 'mother continent' and its children, the author fans out to the global stage. The story is basically a dialogue between man and his Maker. Ceesay, through the protagonist, Issa Kujabi, whose only co-character is the 'voice of God,' reflects on the lamentable condition of man, first as an African and then a human being. In the opening part, he establishes himself as a burden bearer, an intercessor for the suffering Africans. Pleading for God's attention, he wonders where else he could turn, after all else have obviously failed. Where else am I to take this grieved soul of mine? / Where else would anyone lend an ear? (p.7) To Kujabi's relief and pleasant surprise, 'God' shows up and a prolonged communion ensues. The man inundates heaven, and the readers' sensibilities, with descriptions of deprivation, dehumanisation, violence and many other negative realities that man afflicts fellow man with. He takes portraits from the experiences of Africans in the homeland: the severe poverty, hunger and starvation, disease, genocide….And from the diaspora he highlights the manifestations of racist discrimination and immigration-related problems. He also mentions certain despicable lifestyles which black populations in the diaspora are frequently associated with, including drug addiction and gangsterism. But a ray of hope descends as Kujabi is 'appointed' as messenger of peace and love to humanity. Promptly taking on the task, he prescribes the only way forward for fellow men: the enthronement of 'moral law,' to stamp out the chaos on Planet Earth. He begs God to send down this new order on the condition that governments, legal structures, world and international governing bodies / Cannot do so, or do not wish to do so….(p.81) The universality of Ceesay's message of peace and harmony finds apt expression in the artpiece titled The Hand Of God, with the rider: "The door to me is the same." It shows adherents of some major religions of the world patronising God who is represented by a gigantic hand whose five fingers they respectively cling to. This, added to the several quotations from the Bible and the Koran, give a strong spiritual hue to Ceesay's work. His poetic style is eclectic. Exploiting the vastness of his subject matter, he moves swiftly across countries, regions and continents in successive stanzas. It is with similar ease that he examines the different circumstances of the social groups within his settings. Ceesay also brings to bear his observations as a widely travelled person and sojourner in a number of foreign lands, one of which, incidentally, inspired the book. Yet, the author remains culturally loyal to his roots. This is evident in the paintings accompanying the poem. Rich colours, exuberant motifs and other artistic nuances that characterise African aesthetics can be seen in the artworks. Also, the name 'Issa Kujabi,' along with those given as his parents,' effectively peg the fictitious character to the author's Gambian origin. Ceesay's theme is familiar, topical and sure to inspire pan-African as well as humanist sentiments. His style is dramatic and engaging. The most complex feature of the book is the character Kujabi. Clearly, he is drawn as a conscientious and forgiving person whom 'God Himself' praises for his "outpouring of mercy" (p.58). But Ceesay's characterisation conceals who the very outspoken character 'really is.' The mindset, generation or real-life social group his poetic voice speaks for is left to a guess. Perhaps the author-artist chose the open-ended approach of abstractionists. However, he has effectively summarised and documented crucial and sensitive aspects of African cum human experience in a joint literary and pictorial presentation. Above all, he spreads the message of hope that things can possibly be different and better. Momodou Ceesay was born in Banjul, in The Gambia in 1945. He studied in the US and France, majoring in Languages. He has been privileged to read this work to big global audiences such as the Peoples Forum of the Commonwealth Heads of State meeting. Also an active artist, he has a sizeable number of exhibition credits and his works are in corporate and private collections around the world. ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤