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. 中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中 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] 中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中 中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中 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] 中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中 中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中 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] 中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中