Well, recent is always a relative term, no?
Over the last year or so I've tried to track and bookmark reviews of works of African poetry that might be of interest to readers. What follows is just that which has come relatively easy to me. I'm sure there's much more out there but you have to start somewhere, even if you're reduced to far too much self-citation.
That's how I justify what follows...
For my own practice and benefit I try to write up brief reviews of each book I read. I'm woefully far behind -- my reading even still outstripping the rather paltry overview I give each book -- but have
five six
(I inadvertently left off Anyidoho's volume from the initial post) short reviews to offer:
African Literature Today 26 (2009) published
my review of three collections by Tayo Olafioye (pdf):
A Stroke of Hope,
Arrowheads to My Heart, and
Ubangiji: The Conscience of Eternity -- none of which I found particularly edifying. But... well... read the review.
Elsewhere, the new Nigerian paper NEXT (also the
first-Sunday-of-the-month home of Niyi Osundare) has published a few reviews of note:
Ede's
Globetrotter & Hitler's Children (in my pile of books to read... soon!!) has probably gotten the most notice of any of the more recent releases, reviews of it also appearing in
eyeweekly.com (by Brian Joseph Davis) and
Molossus.
Addendum (1 February 2010): In the latter, there is also an extended Conversation with Amatoritsero Ede from November 2009. Well worth reading.
Helen Moffett's Strange Fruit is reviewed by Grace Kim on the South African literature site, LitNet, while
Karlien van der Schyff reviews Sindiwe Magona's Please, Take Photographs on the same site. Karen Press offers up
An Introduction to Imprendehora by Yvette Christiansë on the Poetry International Web website and
Shaun de Waal offers an extended and considered review of Dan Wylie’s Road Work in South Africa's Mail & Guaradian.
I'd be remiss not to point you back to the
overview of the year in Ugandan letters I wrote about earlier, which links to a number of reviews of Ugandan collections from the last year.
What am I missing? Lots, I'm sure.
So if you wrote, read, or have stumbled across a review of poetry that's appeared in the last year -- that is, the review has appeared in the past year; I don't care how old the collection itself might be -- send it along:
email me the url and I'll compile another list for posting.
