;
a 132-page volume in which she overwhelms readers with both her artistic ingenuity and a broad spectrum of subject-matter
affecting humankind in the contemporary world. In this collection, Ezeigbo does not only succeed in reestablishing herself
as an artist of worth, but also a compassionate one whose legacies will endure because of her interest in salvaging a
deteriorating and decadent age from destruction. In this collection, she leaves for readers something remarkable,
something memorable, and something phenomenal.
Heart Songs is arranged under eight sections. The sub-titles act as a compass
carefully directing readers to the thought-pattern of the poet in this collection. The sub-titles are: 'Satirical Tunes',
'Praise Songs: Celebrating Lives', 'Njakiri: Songs in Pidgin', 'Gendered Musings', 'Love Songs', 'Random Songs', 'Memorial
Songs' and 'Songs for Women'. From the titles of the sub-sections, one becomes rather suspicious of the direction of
poet's musings. One immediately begins to brace up to the perceptible nature of humankind and its struggles. One also
becomes mindful of the intent of a conscious artist, who believes she has a God-assigned duty of helping to save
humanity from the holocaust, and who embraces the poetic form as her best channel for this divine project. She
reminds us of the beauty of poetry, but more fundamentally, its utilitarian purpose and functionality. It not
only educates us; it also gives us pleasure pleasurably. We are reminded once more of Alexander Pope's meaning
of poetry; "what oft was said/ but ne'er so well expressed",
The poems under 'Satirical Tunes', focus on such subjects as the misuse and abuse of
power, racism, hatred, corruption, joblessness, Africans in the diasporas, racism and the peculiar nature of the Third
World countries.. In the poems that constitute the satirical tunes, she simply draws attention to debilitating conditions
and calls for a change. In 'Ram Syndrome', she upbraids the perpetrators of evil and sympathizes with victims of naked
power, and in 'Homeless', weeps for the jobless Africans in the diasporas who live in very enervating and sub-human
circumstances, scavenge for food in trash cans, but prefer such lives to returning to Africa. In 'Lootocracy' and
'Victims of our Wars', Ezeigbo, the poet beams her searchlight on the shameless African leaders who impoverish their
countries by looting their resources and leading them to mindless and thoughtless wars.
In the section entitled, 'Praise Songs: Celebrating Lives', Ezeigbo treats readers to
the culture of minstrelsy, which reminds us of the good old days of oral tradition when the bards were highly respected
because of their roles in not only bringing happiness and joy to people in society, but also in being the custodians
of the people's history. Some of the poems sing like the old folksongs, like 'Uhamiri's haven', dedicated to a deity
that has been a source of inspiration not only to a famous female writer, Flora Nwapa, but also to others including
Ezeigbo. She turns into a praise singer to deserving individuals in society.
One significant section is subtitled 'Njakiri: Songs in Pidgin'. One wishes the entire
collection was written in this linguistic medium that has the capacity to reach all and sundry. It educates, entertains
and edifies. The poet here, joins late and celebrated Ezenwa Ohaeto, referred to in his lifetime as the 'njakiri master',
and other poets like Mamman Vasta, Tunde Fatunde and Ken Saro-Wiwa, among others, to extend the argument about the
functionality of Pidgin English in a multilingual society like Nigeria. She effectively uses this medium to reach all
segments of society as she broaches a number of issues.
For instance, her commitment to the cause of the African continent, and a genuine
concern for "a humanity whose dignity has been brutally ripped apart by the carnage of war", are discernible in
this cry for help. With eloquent pidgin, she admonishes, chastises, criticizes, advices, condemns and almost wears
the toga of 'a lonely voice in the wilderness' crying for people to change their ways and return to the path of
sanity. Pidgin as pundits have noted habours some linguistic style and stylistic sensation that easily lend themselves
to satire and homour and therefore engages the interest of its readers or audience. Ezeigbo had averred somewhere that
she chose the medium of pidgin because she wanted to reach as many people as possible. And this she undoubtedly
achieves this in this work.
This section contains poems like 'Cultism' that addresses students who abandon
their studies in pursuit of trivialities like participating in cult activities; 'nudity', in which the poet
excoriates the dignity of womanhood that has been thrown to the dogs as even mothers now parade the street almost
naked. In 'Madonna and baby david', the poet weeps for Africa, a safe haven for everything negative. Hear her:
"we swim for poverty, in spite of we resources/ we hungry pass people of the whole world/ we sick pass everybody:
kwashiorkor, HIV/AIDS/ every flying disease or problem go visit Africa.", She argues against re-colonization, a
problem confronting Africa today. To the led: "we follow dem like ode, mumu” as they line their pockets with the
money that belongs to all of us.
In 'Monkey dey work, baboon dey chop', rendered in fifteen couplets, Ezeigbo
agonizes over the exploitative tendencies of capitalists and the privileged class and the inhuman conditions
under which the poor work. There are other poems like 'Tornado jam london', 'Cancer', 'Suffer-head immigrant',
'As man live na so man die', 'Na so life be' 'Sex machine' that address issues suggested by their titles. The
rendering of these poems would leave one's head spinning and swirling in this successful experiment in language
use. And the truth is that efforts to paraphrase these poems without reading them would do a disservice to them.
Reading them is a rewarding experience.
The section entitled Gendered Musings contains four poems. These poems concentrate
on women in their different circumstances. 'Chicken gizzard', criticizes subtly some obnoxious cultural practices
in some African societies deliberately designed to deprive women of certain privileges, which the poet seems to
insist must stop. In a very subtle criticism of male chauvinism, Ezeigbo uses 'African male lizard' to satirize
the male sex and its patriarchal 'sins'. The lizard is portrayed as lawless, lascivious, sadistic, selfish,
oppressive, vindictive, and dispenses favours only to those he likes.
'Love Songs' is the title of another section with twelve poems dedicated to love
in its different dimensions and facets. While some of them demonstrate how love and its passion are strong enough
to conquer all obstacles, others attempt to capture the bliss, melody, sweetness and its strength. Love defies and
abhors differences in clan and clime to bind two minds together. The use of consonance, alliteration and assonance
turn some of these poems into almost danceable music because of their rhythmic quality. Two of them are unique
because of their structure. 'Passion' and 'Coupling' are remarkable as their structures are used to indicate
the power, depth of passion and the process of physical romantic relationship.
'Random Songs' is the title of another section that contains fourteen poems. The
subject matter of these poems is as diverse as the title suggests. For instance, 'unresolved questions' raises
questions about the unfathomable nature of life and 'What went wrong?' is on friendship and its devastating effects
when it turns sour. 'Mad pursuit' encourages the young to make effective use of the advantages which age confers,
while 'Ripper-style serial killer', is devoted to prostitutes found dead on the street of Ipswich. Such poems as:
'Strange encounter', 'Healthy eating-catch them young', 'Lagos slums', attempt to educate readers on a number of
issues about life and living. 'After the harvest' and 'Enticing termites' bring back memories of traditional
societies and folklore.
The section entitled 'Memorial Songs' contains six memorable poems that pay tributes
to colleagues, friends, relations, national and international heroes and heroines who have passed on. They include
'Voice of the night masquerade' written in memory of Ezenwa Ohaeto, a poet and critic who died in 2006; 'Death of a
princess', that laments the death of an icon in Diana, the Princess of Wales, recalling the controversy that surrounded
the cause of her death; 'Farewell, great patriarch', a tribute to a custodian of history; 'great historian/ And
guardian of the word/ You were a storehouse of knowledge'. Some poems are also dedicated to Murtala Mohammed, a
former Head of State of Nigeria, whose reign was short, but memorable; Bola Ige, a former Attorney General of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria, who was assassinated 'by beasts' and 'His blood still cries/ for justice'; and Nina
Emma Mba, a 'woman of substance', always supportive and who preached patriotism.
The six poems in the final section of this collection are written under the title:
'Songs for Women'. Some of the poems here are highly emotional. They include 'Violated Ogoni women', dedicated to
the Ogoni women of the Niger Delta whose daughters are being ravaged by rampaging soldiers, blood-sucking 'vampires'
and rapists, in the Niger Delta. These predators violate not only their natural resources but also their 'virgins'
hymens/ torn to shreds/ with violence/ impunity. 'Leona launched' and 'Ode to the successful woman writer', celebrate
women that have excelled in their chosen careers and deserve tributes for their hard work and doggedness.
Also in 'To a grieving mother', a mother mourning the loss of her child is encouraged
to turn her sadness to joy and try to stifle her sorrow, and in 'Women of my land', Ezeigbo focuses on Nigerian women
and bemoans their predicaments occasioned by male chauvinism. She is not happy that the reward of their hard work is
enslavement. She charges them to shake off their docility and take their destiny into their hands. In 'Dress to kill'
Ezeigbo compares the days of innocence, when nudity among African women was a norm with the present days of 'anachronistic
nudity' of the modern day women, unpardonably shameful.
It is difficult to stop any of these poems half-way. The intellectual depth and
versatility exhibited in the entire volume portrays Akachi Ezeigbo as an informed and well articulated artist.
She lives in an age of moral depravity and of the battle of the sexes, but is able to chart a course the entire
human race will find useful.
Heart Songs is an eloquent testimony of "a rare kind of academic discipline, rigour,
investigative drive and researching patience.”
Ezeigbo clearly proves herself a teacher and a humanist. Musical qualities are
woven into most of the poems, rendering sweet music as she discusses serious subjects and issues. These poems
therefore serve as soothing balm on festering sores: the harsh realities of the Nigerian society. Ezeigbo's style
in representing the socio-cultural and political realities of her life and period would evoke strong and diverse
responses from readers. Like we observed earlier, she leaves a legacy in this collection and sets a high standard,
especially for future poets that would be fascinated by the Pidgin English. The structures are varied and voices
cacophonous reflecting the mood and temperament of the moments in the poems. Its rendering may also be said to
be conversational. This is a compelling collection. It is a project well conceived and well executed.
Reviewed by Onuora Benedict Nweke (PhD): Dr. Nweke teaches Literature Courses
at the Department of English, University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria. His research interests include
African Fiction, African American Women Fiction, Gender Studies and Postcolonial Literature. He was a Fulbright
Fellow at the University of Iowa, Iowa, USA, between 2005 and 2006.
Facts About the Moon by Dorianne Laux: W.W. Norton/2005
Available at: Amazon.co.uk
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Adimora-Ezeigbo is undoubtedly one of the most significant and remarkable African women writers
today. What with the avalanche of awards and accolades in her treasure grove for her efforts. She has traversed all
literary genres and in each of them would successfully leave artistic legacies for readers in particular and humanity
in general. Her literary endeavours have established her as both a prolific and resourceful writer, endowed with
ideas. Her intellectual acumen is awesome and her humanistic credentials unquestionable. Her mother instinct forcefully
overflows on every page of her literary works. One easily notices her tears for humanity, and she is always preoccupied
with man in society anyway. She is a crusader of sorts and one cannot ignore the passion inherent in her works.
