Talking Drums: A Selection of Poems from Africa south of the Sahara

by Véronique Tadjo

In this intriguing and unusual anthology, poet and artist Véronique Tadjo introduces young people to a wonderful range of African poems, some traditional, some modern. Such powerful poetry cannot fail to broaden the perception and understanding of the southern part of this vast continent.

Genres: Poetry, Africa

96 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Véronique Tadjo (born 1955) is a writer, poet, novelist, and artist from Côte d'Ivoire. Having lived and worked in many countries within the African continent and diaspora, she feels herself to be pan-African, in a way that is reflected in the subject matter, imagery and allusions of her work.
Born in Paris, Véronique Tadjo was the daughter of an Ivorian civil servant and a French painter and sculptor. Brought up in Abidjan, she travelled widely with her family.

Tadjo completed her BA degree at the University of Abidjan and her doctorate at the Sorbonne in African-American Literature and Civilization. In 1983, she went to Howard University in Washington, D.C., on a Fulbright research scholarship.

In 1979, Tadjo chose to teach English at the Lycée Moderne de Korhogo (secondary school) in the North of Côte d'Ivoire. She subsequently became a lecturer at the English department of the University of Abidjan until 1993.

In the past few years, she has facilitated workshops in writing and illustrating children's books in Mali, Benin, Chad, Haiti, Mauritius, French Guyana, Burundi, Rwanda and South Africa.

She has lived in Paris, Lagos, Mexico City, Nairobi and London. Tadjo is currently based in Johannesburg, where since 2007 she has been head of French Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand.

Tadjo received the Literary Prize of L'Agence de Cooperation Culturelle et Technique in 1983 and the UNICEF Prize in 1993 for Mamy Wata and the Monster, which was also chosen as one of Africa's 100 Best Books of the 20th Century, one of only four children's books selected. In 2005, Tadjo won the Grand prix littéraire d'Afrique noire.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[K · Rating 5 out of 5]

There’s a lot of important themes in this book. I found many poems to be engaging and even sad. They were taken from multiple sources, across multiple countries, across multiple years to really give you a variety. Some are bits from longer poems, and many pages have artwork. The book also comes with a glossary and a map of Africa.

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Favorites:

Death
Death is when one is very old, then one lies down one evening, and one cannot wake up anymore, the sleeping man is carried to a village, where everybody sleeps all the time, each one of them alone in a bed, dug in the earth.
Ahmed Tidjani Cisse (Guinea)

Extract from “Why am I so cynical about my country now?”
Why, why am I so cynical about my country now?
God make me love my country again, it is the only one I have, I have no other. I cannot live anywhere else, I can travel to the east or west for weeks or months. As the case may be but I always long to return to my country. In spite of all the attractions in foreign lands, or things are orderly, or everything works. How, how can one be comfortable in a country that is not one’s own?
Flora Nwapa (Nigeria)


Extract from “Breath”
Listen more to things than towards that are said. The water is voice sings and the flame cries, and the wind that brings the woods to sighs, is the breathing of the dead. Who have not gone away, who are not under the ground, who are never dead.
Birago Diop (Senegal)

But a grave voice answers me. Impetuous child that three young and strong, that tree over there, splendidly alone amidst white and faded flowers. That is your Africa springing up a new, springing up patiently, obstinately. Who’s fruits bit by bit acquire the bitter taste of liberty.
David Diop (Senegal)

[Sookie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice collection to balance out colonial literature in schools. Some of these poems have been around for decades, their origins unknown but the words common. With time, they have been lost to the modern reader with onslaught of foreign literature being mandated and the linguistic tongues beaten out as yet another form of oppression. The poems are concise and precise to the subject matter.
Tadjo compiles poems from bygone days and from her contemporaries alike. It offers a file balance as readers can see the way the tide changes - from observing nature, questioning universe to seeing changing times around them. Childlike wonder morphs to cynical everyday survival tactics.

A good collection that will work well with children.

[Hannah of the Sky · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book! The poems are selected from both traditional and modern African poets. They are beautiful, hilarious, tear-jerking, thought-provoking, and all around very poetic. If you've never encountered African poetry, this would be a great place to start. The layout and illustrations are quite attractive too.
Unfortunately this book is out of print (at least in the US), but used copies are available. Add it to your library while you can. :)

Note to teachers that while this book is intended for adults, the beginning sections on nature and animals would work well for elementary/primary school age kids. The later sections deal with more complex and difficult themes, better suited for highschool.

[Matt Miles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Covering a wide variety of styles and topics, these poems beautifully meditate on death, dignity, friendship, the nature of the universe, and basically everything else. This is a brief but beautifully illustrated and written book.

[Spiegel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice collection, some poems quite touching.

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Poetry from several African nations. I am just not a huge fan of poetry. This book has some cultural value. The poetry is written more for children/youth reading.

[Sophie Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an anthology of poems from Africa (South of the Sahara) - a more diverse anthology to offer children alongside the plethora of well-known British white male poets often taught in primary school. It features both traditional and modern poems by African poets, covering topics such as
the animal kingdom, love and celebrations, death, pride and defiance, the changing times, war, race and immigration - and some are inspired by the Négritude movement (the struggle for independence from colonial rule). It is emphasises that oral poetry is an old tradition in this culture, and I feel that many of these poems would be great to read aloud to children, and would provoke interesting discussions.
Some of my personal favourites:
Who Knows (Fatou Ndiaye Sow) - asks questions about the world
The Key (Fatou Ndiaye Sow) - links to nature and how it is important in our lives
The Lion Roars with a Fearful Sound (Mabel Segun) and Song of the Animal World (traditional) - good for young children, repetition of sounds they could join in with, learning about animals
Kob Antelope (traditional, Yoruba) - second person description of this animal - children could create their own based on different animals
My House (Annette Mbaye d’Erneville) - discusses what/who is ‘home’ to you (this would be a good PSHE stimulus- talking about people and things that are special to the children)
Friendship (Veronique Tadjo) is a really lovely poem about why you should appreciate your friends and be a good friend
Breath (Birago Diop) - about death, but conveys the idea that our loved ones are still with us, you can feel their spirit in the world around us
The Song of Life (Tadjo) - would make a good comparison to Circle of Life from the lion king! Similar words and theme
I have come to look for a job (Francis Bebey) - about an immigrant worker coming to this country to make money for his family, and the sacrifices he’s had to make