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Wreaths for a Wayfarer: An Anthology in Honour of Pius Adesanmi
Pius Adesanmi died in the doomed Ethiopian Airline flight 302 on March 10, 2019. Wreaths for a Wayfarer: An Anthology in Honour of Pius Adesanmi is an assemblage of 267 original poems written by 127 established and emerging African writers. While some of the poets celebrate Adesanmi, others reflect philosophically on existence, mortality, immortality and/or offer hope for the living. In this memorably textured collection, the poets â some who knew, and some who did not know Adesanmi â exorcise the pains of loss through provocative poems that pour out their beating hearts with passion.
Chris Dunton, editor of Wasafiri, writes:
“… Adesanmiâs passing has been commemorated in a superb anthology of commissioned poems, Wreaths for a Wayfarer. This beautifully produced volume contains the work of 126 contributors, mainly from Nigeria, but also from other countries, ranging from Mexico, through the UK, to Sri Lanka; as Odia Ofeimun puts it in his foreword: âPius Adesanmi was âmy personal personâ, as he was to so many people around the globeâ (xxv). It also includes a selection of poems from Adesanmiâs own collection The Wayfarer.
“Nduka Otionoâs Introduction to the anthology is a model of its kind, eloquent, heartfelt and informative, with a great deal of valuable background material in footnotes. An especially pleasing touch, so much in the spirit of Adesanmi the dedicated mentor, is the editorsâ decision to take on âbudding poets . . . [a decision which] necessitated editing and working with such authors to help develop writings that might otherwise have been rejectedâ (7). A little later, Nduka comments: âwe conceptualized an anthology that will be enduring in its thematic range and stylistic variety. And we got oneâ (8). …”
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements  |ForewordâOdia Ofeimun  | Introduction: Death and an African Digital TowncrierâNduka Otiono  | Introit: Coffin in the skyâNiyi Osundare
Part I. WAYFARER
Scabha or The Sliding Door OperatorâSihle Ntuli  | When an Iroko FallsâIquo Diana Abasi  | How to Survive War in NigeriaâIquo Diana Abasi  | I Wet the Earth, I Sing You Wreaths… âFareed Agyakwah  | Harvest IVâFunmi Aluko  | WayfarerâFunmi Aluko  | The WayfarerâSaudat Salawudeen  | End of ForeverâSaudat Salawudeen  | Muse of HomecomingâJustus K. S. Makokha  | Encoreâ Agatha Agema  | Now that I know young birds die in flightâSegun Michael Olabode  | The Water-Pot is BrokeâSusan Bukky Badeji  | from absence, memory and fartherâObemata  | UmbilicalsâTijah Bolton-Akpan  | The Pilgrim UnboundâClara Ijeoma Osuji  | Eclipsed at NoonâAbdulaziz Abdulaziz  | To the Daughtersâ Abdulaziz Abdulaziz  | The TravelerâAbiodun Bello  | For the WayfarerâChifwanti Zulu  | The Acts of BrotherââBunmi Ogungbe  | Backing His Daughter: For Pius, on FacebookâJane Bryce  | Avoiding SunlightâUnoma Azuah  | AkĂĄáčŁá»lĂ©ri Ì (Mourners) âKá»ÌlĂĄ TĂșbá»ÌsĂșn  | Last TweetsâKá»ÌlĂĄ TĂșbá»ÌsĂșn  | Farewell, WayfarerâOyinkansade Fabikun  | SolitaireâKafilat Oloyede  | How to Keep the Wake for a Shooting StarâChuma Nwokolo  | EagleâUzo Odonwodo  | In MemoriamâUzo Odonwodo  | Can You Do This Thing?âSarah Katz-Lavigne  | LightsâJohn Chizoba Vincent  | The MeteoriteâOmowumi Olabode Steven Ekundayo  | Black BoxâIan Keteku  | Paramour of the PenâAbraham Tor  | Flying CoffinâJames OnyebỄchi Nnaji  | Looking for the DeadâJames OnyebỄchi Nnaji  | The Eagle PerchedâMoses Ogunleye  | A Pius FlightâKennedy Emetulu  | Kwanza for PiusâIfesinachi Nwadike  | Dream-mareâNidhal Chami  | A Walk in the GraveyardâChimeziri C. Ogbedeto  | PayoâBiko Agozino  | IkuâPeter Olamakinde Olapegba  | He leftâAmatoritsero Ede  | Spousal LossâPeter Olamakinde Olapegba  | The Face of My Savior is the Ordinary MomentâGloria Nwizu  | DenouementâGloria Nwizu  | A Conversation between Two Young CousinsâEthel Ngozi Okeke  | Sunday FlightâEmman Usman Shehu  | DepartureâIvor Agyeman-Duah  | The CountâUthpala Dishani Senaratne  | Rude ShockâOlajide Salawu  | Saturday 12:56âLudwidzi M. K. Mainza  | DaughterâLudwidzi M. K. Mainza  | Tough LoveâNnorom Azuonye  | In the Midst of it All, I am…âAnushya Ramakrishna  | Haiku â Ai-Ku (Immortality) âAdesanya Adewale Adeshina  | He RoseâAdesanya Adewale Adeshina  | A Singing BirdâAdesanya Adewale Adeshina  | ArrivantâAkua Lezli Hope  | EarthWork SestinaâAkua Lezli Hope  | Animalia, Chordata, Mammalia, ProboscideaâAkua Lezli Hope  | Poem of Relief: When Your Sadness is AliveâKennedy Hussein Aliu  | If I SeekâKennedy Hussein Aliu  | When You Ask me About my TeacherâKennedy Hussein Aliu and Leyda Jocelyn EstradaâšArellano  | The Eagle is not the Quills and TalonsâOlumide Olaniyan  | without a farewellâNduka Otiono  | After the FuneralâNduka Otiono  | Fugitives from the Violence of TruthâEfe Paul-Azino  | Just but a JourneyâSam Dennis Otieno
Part II. REQUIEMS Â
Elegy for PiusâHelon Habila  | This Exodus Has Birthed a SongâEchezonachukwu Nduka  | where to find you: a requiemâEchezonachukwu Nduka  | BlownâRichard Inya  | words melt in his mouthâPeter Midgley  | Requiem for the Fallen / Mogaka o oleâLebogang Disele  | To Our Hero: Rest in PeaceâLebogang Disele  | What Shall We Do to Death?âWinlade Israel  | A Star Just FellâWinlade Israel  | RequiemâPeter Akinlabi  | Requiem for PiusâRasaq Malik Gbolahan  | WayfarerâRasaq Malik Gbolahan  | Twirling the Beads of Grief… âTade Aina  | Say me RebellionâKingsley L. Madueke  | When this Calabash BreaksâKingsley L. Madueke  | Requiem for the WayfarerâAdesina Ajala  | Song of SorrowâSoji Cole  | Planting SeasonâAnote Ajeluorou  | For Our Departed BardâMaria Ajima  | Memory of TearâJoshua Agbo  | Why? âMargaret Wairimu Waweru  | Letter to DadâMargaret Wairimu Waweru  | Missing VoicesâUgochukwu P. Nwafor  | Tears on CanvasâWesley Macheso  | NauseaâWesley Macheso  | This EasterâWesley Macheso  | When I Am GoneâMaryam Ali Ali  | Nothing Has ChangedâMaryam Ali Ali  | ProtestâEjiofor Ugwu  | Our Voice is GoneâJanet James Ibukun  | Agadaga Iroko / Giant IrokoâSunny Iyke U. Okeigwe  | This PoetryâJames Tar Tsaaior  | The Passing of PiusâUzor Maxim Uzoatu  | Light Dims to Shine ForeverâAkachi Adimora-Ezeigbo  | You Bled Africa! âMitterand Okorie  | To the Muse of Isanlu: A SaluteââBioDun J. Ogundayo  | you remain with usâNkateko Masinga  | A Bit of NarcissismâOkwudili Nebeolisa  | BereavementâOkwudili Nebeolisa  | Dirge for the DepartedâKoye-Ladele Mofehintoluwa  | If OnlyâFemi Abidogun  | Falling BirdsâYusuff Abdulbasit  | ImmortalityâYusuff Abdulbasit  | Harvest of DeathsâYemi Atanda  | The Horse and the TortoiseâYemi Atanda  | The Chorus Is DeathâUbaka Ogbogu  | Breaking BreadâObiwu  | Still They Hunt for Emmett TillâObiwu  | on wisdomâs wingsâJumoke Verissimo
Part III. HOMECOMING
The Indent (For Pius) âUche Nduka  | when the sun setsâAdejumo Uthman Ajibola  | Aridunun AkoweâDahunsi Ayobami  | Pius: Myth, Mystic, MysteryâTenibegi Karounwi  | Returning the Light as WreathâNdubuisi Martins (Aniemeka)  | Naija is a Badly-Behaved PoemâNdubuisi Martins (Aniemeka)  | Confessions of a GypsyâRichard Kayode O. James  | When the Pious DieâUchenna-Franklin Ekweremadu  | Song of the PilgrimâObinna Chukwudi Ibezim  | Pius, the SeedâCelina O. Aju-Ameh  | Cloud CoffinâTola Ijalusi  | Letter to My FatherâOlolade Akinlabi Ige  | I Journey Quietly HomeâMartin Ijir  | Hopeful PeopleâNdaba Siban  | Explaining My Depression to YouâYusuf Taslemat Taiwo  | The Broken QuillâNathanael Tanko Noah  | we do not know how to carry this painâEdaki Timothy. O  | Stars, OutâS. Suâeddie Vershima Agema  | Converging Skies and ShadowsâS. Suâeddie Vershima Agema  | Will You? âBiodun Bamgboye  | FarewellâMaryam Gatawa  | Transit to KenyaâAnthony Enyone Ohiemi  | Abiku AgbaâUsman Oladipo Akanbi  | Evening BirdâBayowa Ayomide Micheal  | Withered GreenâAugustine Ogechukwu Nwulia  | Home Call…047âOnuchi Mark Onoruoiza  | Outshining the StarsâOnuchi Mark Onoruoiza  | The Eagle Has FallenâManasseh Gowk  | FarewellâManasseh Gowk  | DeathâKhalid Imam  | The FloodâKhalid Imam  | Blue SkiesâYejide Kilanko  | This Very GoodbyeâNseabasi S. J. King  | The Deserted Road or Elegy for Pius AdesanmiâDaniel Olaoluwa Whyte  | What My Father Said on His Death BedâGbenga Adesina  | WayfarerâJames Yeku  | One Meets TwoâJames Yeku  | First GoodbyeâD.M. Aderibigbe  | MonsterâAfam Akeh  | where you are nowâRaphael dâAbdon  | When the Curtains FallâUchechukwu Umezurike
PART IV. A SELECTION FROM PIUS ADESANMIâS THE WAYFARER AND OTHER POEMS
The WayfarerâPius Adesanmi  | Ah, Prometheus! âPius Adesanmi  | Odia Ofeimun: The Brooms Take FlightâPius Adesanmi  | To the Unfathomable OneâPius Adesanmi  | Message from Aso Rock to a Poet in ExileâPius Adesanmi  | EntriesâPius Adesanmi
Part V. POSTLUDE
A Prose-Poem, a Tribute, and a Wreath for PiusâAdesanmi Anuâa-Gheyle Solomon Azoh-Mbi | When and If…âPamela J. OlĂșbĂčnmi Smith
Contributors
About the editors
Reviews: Otiono, Umezurike announce release of Wreaths for a Wayfarer
Soundtrack to a Wayfarer s Transition by Eyitayo Aloh https://doi-org.proxy.library.carleton.ca/10.1080/00083968.2020.1829830
“Wreaths for a Wayfarer is an eclectic collection of 161 poems by 126 poets and writers, woven like a tapestry of words into a wreath for one of their own. The mix of writers cuts across generations, social strata and stylistic practices of the genre. Rather than being a drawback, this is actually a strength of the anthology, that one man can bring together such an array of writers in one tome. It is an attestation to the influence of Adesanmi, the wayfarer, on his earthly journey â a man who served as a bridge that connected people from different backgrounds and brought them together for a common cause, be that the academic field of African studies and his desire to see it gain greater traction in academia, or global literature at large and his love of deconstructing the western canonisation of literature. Above all these, however, Adesanmi quintessentially remained a human with love for fellow humans. lt is a testament to Adesanmiâs influence and reach across generations that renowned African poets such as Niyi Osundare, Helon Habila, Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo, Maxim Uzor Uzoatu, Emman Usman Shehu, Jumoke Verissimo and Funmi Aluko, all representing various ethnic and generational divides, share the pages of the collection with up and coming poets in a poetic salute to a wayfarer who also happens to belong to their artistic tribe.
As a collection, Wreath for a Wayfarer fills a gap in the coming to terms with the tragic passage of Pius Adesanmi by his artistic peers. In a culture that has become so material, that the concept of a wreath carries with it the presence of a cadaver and a tomb â neither of which was present at the time Pius died, due to the nature of his death â to have a âwreathâ of words helps give Adesanmiâs contemporaries closure and deal with the trauma that accompanied his passing. One of the co-editors, Nduka Otiono, alludes to this in his introduction, pointing out that the poems represent âthe collective wreaths laid by a dispersed community of writers unsettled by the untimely loss of Adesanmi.â -
Poems for the Penniless
These poems by Issa Shivji, lawyer, activist and Tanzanian public intellectual, were written at different times in different circumstances. They give vent to personal anguish and political anger. Mostly originally written in Kiswahili, here accompanied by English translations, and they are intensely personal and political.
Poems are clustered under several headings to provide a context. The first combines personal agony at the loss of comrades and friends with poems about love and affection for living ones. The second is about robberies of freedom, resources, and dignity and the loss of justice under neoliberalism. The third section, entitled Hopes and Fears, comprises short poems tweeted over the last five years expressing despair, fear and hope in the human capacity for freedom.
The last section are poems, concerned with Shivjiâs period in South Africa in 2018, reflect on the emergence of neo-apartheid with its wanton and shameless exploitation of the majority.
Wonderfully translated by Ida Hadjivayanis.
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