A creative tour of the mind
|
May 8, 2009 10:40PMT |  |
From a Poem to its Creator
By Odoh Diego Okenyodo
54pp; Hybun Publications
Poetry is a sojourn into the world of creative imagination--an adventure into the realm beyond the beyond. Real poetry makes use of language in a creative and inventive way; and Odoh Diego's ‘From a Poem to its Creator,' a collection of captivating poems raises its head high in the world of real poetry.
Using the eponymous poem ‘From a Poem to its Creator' as a case study, Okenyodo's poetic exploration can be described as eclectic as he uses poetry to make social comments, admonish and define poetry itself. Okenyodo has his own opinion about what poetry should be and should not be: ‘Our pens do not work magic/They are magic...'
He says poetry could be ‘infuriating', ‘entertaining' and ‘nonsensing.' The poet's pen bears emotions which are best transferred through poems; true poetry ‘knocks, nags and yelps' at the mind of the poet.
The desire to write is like an ulcer, it keeps spreading until it gets attention: ‘Postponed poetry is the poetry/of the ill-fated poet's poem/ which shall find its true poet.' When the muse comes upon a true poet, the only way s/he can allay the burden is by writing.
Okenyodo says: ‘Poet wey no dey write im poem, na swegbe.' Any poetic piece that is not able to ‘tickle your fancy' or ‘fancy your tickle' is po(or)etry that is poor poetry. Po(or)etry will not be able to make the reader attain the apogee of ‘creative orgasm' and is not worthy of being called ‘Kenana', ‘Canaan' or the ‘promised land.'
Putting aside his idealistic view of what poetry should be, one might be tempted to ask Okenyodo from where he got his authority to define what poetry should be and what it should not be. Let's assume Okenyodo got his definition from the spirit of poetry--the muse.
No work of art exists in a vacuum; the role the society plays cannot be underestimated in the creation of any form of literature. Okenyodo does not fail to depict the reality of life in his work, this he does by the utopian description of poetry vis-a-vis the imperfect state of the society.
The politician is depicted as ‘god' to whom all humans pray without getting a response; the answers to the prayers of the electorates may seem so near but never materialises. The elected leaders only take ‘midget strides' (p.39). The prayer of the poet-protagonist for the politician is short: ‘May you live short'. These powers-that-be try to gag; buy over; do and undo the pen. This places a big question mark on news reports by journalists: How objective are they?
Bribery (I'm sorry, lobbying) of the members of the fourth estate ought to be brought to the beaming light of inquisitiveness.
According to Niyi Osundare ‘the remarkable writer is one who is able to bend, if not break the precept rules of language-the linguistic outlaw who has flouted the hallowed ‘Thou-shalt-not' of language.' Okenyodo plays on words (pun, assonance and alliteration) and coins new words (neologism/coinage) as seen in ‘debt' and ‘death'; ‘borrow' and burrow'; ‘fool' instead of ‘full'; ‘elergy' and ‘synergy', etc. He coins words like ‘knowrance' (knowledge+ignorance); po(or)etry (poor poetry), etc.
Personification is used as an instrument to accentuate his admiration for poetry. These devices enhance the aural and oral beauty of this collection.
Accept it or not, a book cover is like a woman: outer beauty attracts faster than inner beauty. Thus, the cover of any book goes a long way to determine among other things its acceptability by the reading public. The book reeks of creativity from the cover page to the acknowledgement, the table of content (even the empty pages). The only hitch however is that the binding is not top-notch as pages (of my copy) almost fall through after a first read.
Odoh Diego Okenyodo's ‘From the Poem to its Creator' is a collection that shows how far the human mind can roam.
It is one thing for the mind to take a creative stroll; it is another for the poet to be able to capture the journey in words; and greatest is the ability of a poet to take readers along on a poetic tour; Okenyodo succeeds at this to a great extent.
In an age ridden with pseudo-poetry, it would be alright to welcome Okenyodo into the league of those who raise the banner of true poetry high.
Oyindamola Olofinlua is a student of the Department of English, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife
http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/ArtsandCulture/Books/5413378-147/story.csp
No comments:
Post a Comment