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The Penguin Book of Modern African Poetry
Culled from twenty-seven different countries, this survey of the verse of modern Africa includes the work of L. S. Senghor, Augustinho Neto, Christopher Okigbo, and many others. Reprint.
480 pages, Paperback
First published September 30, 1963
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618 people want to read
About the author
Gerald Moore
8 books3 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
August 11, 2019
I remember finding Noémia de Sousa online and then in a looseleaf literary piece while in Portugal. I had nothing but time in Portugal, so I sat at a cafe and slowly tried to translate her verse, using a portable Portuguese translator.
Canção fraterna
Irmão negro de voz quente
o olhar magoado,
diz‑me:
Que séculos de escravidão
geraram tua voz dolente?
Quem pôs o mistério e a dor
em cada palavra tua?
E a humilde resignação
na tua triste canção?
The more I read, the more I realized her poetry spoke to me at a soul level. So when I bought this collection, the first country I turned to was Mozambique. And there she was:
(Noémia de Sousa, by Club of Mozambique)
From: If You Want to Know Me
If you want to know who I am,
examine with careful eyes
that piece of black wood
which an unknown Maconde brother
with inspired hands
carved and worked
in distant lands to the North.
de Sousa was born in Mozambique and educated in Brazil. She was a writer and newspaper editor who later had to live in exile after she was jailed briefly in Mozambique for her writing during the liberation movement. She then lived in France and Portugal; which, by the way, is something you see often: writers, or refugees and asylum seekers from the African diaspora living in exile from the countries of their birth (for many different reasons).
And so I get to why this collection is such a treasure. It is pieced together by countries within the African continent, an eclectic and enthralling mix of poetic forms and an introduction to renowned poets you may have never heard about.
I next turned to a familiar name, Ellis Ayitey Komey, a Ghanian poet and contributor to West African Review. His poem has sensory images that evoke nostalgia:
From: Oblivion
I want to walk among the palms
With their razor-edged leaves
Shadowing the yam and cassava shrubs
Under which the crab builds its castle
Mukula Kadima-Nzuji, a poet from the Democratic Republic of Congo, has published three collections of poetry, yet it is possible you may not have come across any. "Love in the Plural" is one of my favorites because of its nuance and texture:
neither this sobbing ocean
in the moon of your swelling voice
nor the milky vapour
on the window of my waking
nor this flood of men
in the margin of my shadow
which yearns for a safe shelter
nor the slipstreams on camelback
in the desert of my solitude
nor the spindrift nor the seaweeds
pillows for my storm-filled head
are able to decipher
where I inspect myself in vain
the reverse side of mirrors.
Some of the poems are heavy in historical context, some reflections of the evolution of the continent. Some are songs of war, songs for freedom. Some are landscape poems, some love poems, some reflections. Some have traditional line breaks while others are enjambment. Some drip with meaning and emotion, some are abstract and one would have to understand the context to understand the poet. For instance, you would have to know the tragic history of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) (Congo-Kinshasa) to understand why there is a section for the DRC and a separate one for the Congo Republic (Congo - Brazzaville). You will have to understand what led to violence in Sierra Leone in order to appreciate how Syl Cheney-Coker, a Sierra Leoneon poet who studied at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and taught in Nevada, wrote about those precursors to violence and had to live exiled in America:
but already the walls are closing around me
the rain has stopped and once again I am alone
waiting for them, the politicians of our country to come for me
to silence my right to shouting poetry loud in the parks
but who can shut up the rage the melodrama of being Sierra Leone
the farce of seeing their pictures daily in the papers
While leafing through Nigeria, I enjoyed the lyric and sound of John Pepper Clark's "Olokum" or "Goddess of the Sea:"
I love to pass my fingers
As tide through weeds of the sea
And wind the tall fern-fronds
Through the strands of your hair
Dark as night that screens the naked moon
For personal reasons, I was saddened that there was one country missing (Liberia). But one would have to understand the history of the literary arts in Liberia (or lack thereof), particularly of poetry, to know that although she hasn't been included in the past by older generations, Liberia is still being written (will be written) into literature by her offsprings that form this generation. Until then, I leave you with a poem that is a reminder. It is from Tchicaya U Tam'si who was born in the Congo Republic and lived in France (with his father, a diplomat from Congo), where his work for UNESCO enabled him to travel frequently to Africa:
You must be from my country
I see it by the tick
of your soul around the eyelashes
and besides you dance when you are sad
you must be from my country
Canção fraterna
Irmão negro de voz quente
o olhar magoado,
diz‑me:
Que séculos de escravidão
geraram tua voz dolente?
Quem pôs o mistério e a dor
em cada palavra tua?
E a humilde resignação
na tua triste canção?
The more I read, the more I realized her poetry spoke to me at a soul level. So when I bought this collection, the first country I turned to was Mozambique. And there she was:
(Noémia de Sousa, by Club of Mozambique)
From: If You Want to Know Me
If you want to know who I am,
examine with careful eyes
that piece of black wood
which an unknown Maconde brother
with inspired hands
carved and worked
in distant lands to the North.
de Sousa was born in Mozambique and educated in Brazil. She was a writer and newspaper editor who later had to live in exile after she was jailed briefly in Mozambique for her writing during the liberation movement. She then lived in France and Portugal; which, by the way, is something you see often: writers, or refugees and asylum seekers from the African diaspora living in exile from the countries of their birth (for many different reasons).
And so I get to why this collection is such a treasure. It is pieced together by countries within the African continent, an eclectic and enthralling mix of poetic forms and an introduction to renowned poets you may have never heard about.
I next turned to a familiar name, Ellis Ayitey Komey, a Ghanian poet and contributor to West African Review. His poem has sensory images that evoke nostalgia:
From: Oblivion
I want to walk among the palms
With their razor-edged leaves
Shadowing the yam and cassava shrubs
Under which the crab builds its castle
Mukula Kadima-Nzuji, a poet from the Democratic Republic of Congo, has published three collections of poetry, yet it is possible you may not have come across any. "Love in the Plural" is one of my favorites because of its nuance and texture:
neither this sobbing ocean
in the moon of your swelling voice
nor the milky vapour
on the window of my waking
nor this flood of men
in the margin of my shadow
which yearns for a safe shelter
nor the slipstreams on camelback
in the desert of my solitude
nor the spindrift nor the seaweeds
pillows for my storm-filled head
are able to decipher
where I inspect myself in vain
the reverse side of mirrors.
Some of the poems are heavy in historical context, some reflections of the evolution of the continent. Some are songs of war, songs for freedom. Some are landscape poems, some love poems, some reflections. Some have traditional line breaks while others are enjambment. Some drip with meaning and emotion, some are abstract and one would have to understand the context to understand the poet. For instance, you would have to know the tragic history of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) (Congo-Kinshasa) to understand why there is a section for the DRC and a separate one for the Congo Republic (Congo - Brazzaville). You will have to understand what led to violence in Sierra Leone in order to appreciate how Syl Cheney-Coker, a Sierra Leoneon poet who studied at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and taught in Nevada, wrote about those precursors to violence and had to live exiled in America:
but already the walls are closing around me
the rain has stopped and once again I am alone
waiting for them, the politicians of our country to come for me
to silence my right to shouting poetry loud in the parks
but who can shut up the rage the melodrama of being Sierra Leone
the farce of seeing their pictures daily in the papers
While leafing through Nigeria, I enjoyed the lyric and sound of John Pepper Clark's "Olokum" or "Goddess of the Sea:"
I love to pass my fingers
As tide through weeds of the sea
And wind the tall fern-fronds
Through the strands of your hair
Dark as night that screens the naked moon
For personal reasons, I was saddened that there was one country missing (Liberia). But one would have to understand the history of the literary arts in Liberia (or lack thereof), particularly of poetry, to know that although she hasn't been included in the past by older generations, Liberia is still being written (will be written) into literature by her offsprings that form this generation. Until then, I leave you with a poem that is a reminder. It is from Tchicaya U Tam'si who was born in the Congo Republic and lived in France (with his father, a diplomat from Congo), where his work for UNESCO enabled him to travel frequently to Africa:
You must be from my country
I see it by the tick
of your soul around the eyelashes
and besides you dance when you are sad
you must be from my country
July 24, 2022
And it was too late to disturb the solitude which crept in
Read
June 8, 2020Κριτική και στα Ελληνικά στις βιβλιοαλχημείες
In summer 2016 I ordered nine books, all from the continent of Africa, apart from one (The Oxford Book of Caribbean Verse) a region of the Americas closely related with Africa.
Part of this book-haul was the book I'll talk today.
I started parallel reading it between 05/08/16 and 05/09/16 along with the 7 African novels I bought:
1] Under the Frangipani Country: Mozambique, Language: Portuguese
2] Disgrace, Country: South Africa, Language: English
3] In the Country of Men Country: Libya, Language: English
4] A Grain of Wheat Country: Kenya, Language: English
5] Lyrics Alley Country: Sudan, Language: English
6] My Father's Wives Country: Angola, Language: Portuguese
7] Half of a Yellow Sun Country: Nigeria, Language: English
So at the beginning of September when I finished the seventh and last book, and since I was beginning an entirely different book from an entirely different continent and era (Leave It to Psmith) I felt that it was time to leave the African Poetry aside and read it with my next African novel so to the shelf it went.
I returned five more times to this book before finishing it:
(24/09/17… 16/04/18… 31/07/19… 11/08/19… 14-15/08/19)
Africa is a continent usually neglected when it comes to literature. Especially if the country is a non-English-speaking one, then there are two barriers, one of them the translation into English.
A lot of the African books I have in my wish-list are out of print but whenever they arrive in my hands I'm joyful.
But August 2016 was the month where I brought African literature from the margin to the foreground.
It was the year when I decided it was time to make my reading much more diverse. Much more colourful, and therefore much more interesting.
So as I said I was parallel reading this poetry anthology in August 16, along with seven African novels. So last August I said to myself.
-You've just finished with Shakespeare's mammoth volume of poetry. Why not finish the African Poetry one, after four years?
And that's what I did.
And I felt a relief and a joy.
Of course I can't write a typical review for a book that contains poetry from 27 different countries, 99 different poets, 315 different poems, and from at least four different countries.
A mosaic of cultures, voices, myths, traditions, songs.
A tapestry of History, pain, exile, love, conflict, civilisation.
This book is like a portal to Africa. You learn about the country through the poem, and you want to learn even more, so you start looking for more books from this country, and you end up expanding your horizons every year.
July 12, 2017
I love this anthology. Anyone interested in African literature or postcolonial poetry is bound to find a dozen handful of poems that resonate. The collection covers the entre continent shedding a voice from tiny Mauritius to giant Algeria, and from the most populous Nigeria to the sparsely populated Sao Tome. Beauty, injustice, slavery, corruption, dictatorship, rivalry, segregation, inequality, poverty, disease, nature... it is a collection to read and reread.
February 4, 2015
This review is of the fourth (1998) edition. The book contains a selection of short poems (most half a page to two pages each) by 99 poets from 27 countries in Africa, written in the last sixty years of the twentieth century. Some were written originally in English and some were translated from other European or African languages. The poems are arranged alphabetically by country, from Angola to Zimbabwe; the largest section is from Nigeria. There were three poets I had read something by previously (Senghor, Soyinka, Mapanje) and a few others I had heard of, but most were new to me; in an anthology this varied there is bound to be a certain unevenness, but I was surprised by how many of these authors I enjoyed. The style ranged from traditional to very modern, from straightforward to obscure; the influence of Senghor was obvious in much of the poetry translated from French. There is a later edition (2008).
April 1, 2025
Great collection I picked up on a whim because I’m horrifically low-read in Senghor. By far and away my favorite of the collection, however, is the one Malian poem included, Ouologuem Yambo’s “When Negro Teeth Speak.” I also very much enjoyed Wole Soyinka’s “Civilian and Soldier” and Mbella Sonne Dipoko’s “Exile,” both of which were my other favorites - though I enjoyed the vast majority of these, which is a testament to the skill and breadth of the collection. Overall a lovely and interesting read and I’ll definitely be using this as a gateway resource into finding more poetry from several authors.
March 7, 2025
i really enjoyed this collection! I will say personal preference-wise I didn’t find it as enjoyable as I would’ve liked but the content itself is wonderful and still beneficial to read. the other thing I’ll say is my initial idea of "modern" was a bit misguided when picking it up; most authors seemed to have been born in the 40’s.
otherwise, it was fantastic. Some real gems, and even the ones that didn’t resonate personally had something to say.
Femi Fatoba, Lamuel Jackson, Sipho Sepamla’s poem about peace-loving “what I don’t know is what peace will still be lovable” DAMN. Mukula Kadima-Nzuji’s “the rough backwash of my being” line, Edouard Maunick, “blueing shoulders of the horizon”; Gavriel Okara’s “Moon in the Bucket”, Femi Fatoba’s “In America”
Tchicaya U Tam’si: “I myself will be the stage for my salvation!”; “Tell me in what Egypt my people’s feet lie chained”
Stella Chipasula “I’m My Own Mother, Now”; Emile Ologoudou’s “Vespers” (fav fav fav); Mbella Sonne Dipoko’s “Our Life” & Parisian Diary, and Ayi Kwei Armah’s ravishing “Seed Time”: “all history is foreplay” - Jofre Rocha’s “Poem of Return” & “do not bring me flowers / bring me rather all the dews”
Some lovely finds in here I’ll treasure for a long time!
otherwise, it was fantastic. Some real gems, and even the ones that didn’t resonate personally had something to say.
Femi Fatoba, Lamuel Jackson, Sipho Sepamla’s poem about peace-loving “what I don’t know is what peace will still be lovable” DAMN. Mukula Kadima-Nzuji’s “the rough backwash of my being” line, Edouard Maunick, “blueing shoulders of the horizon”; Gavriel Okara’s “Moon in the Bucket”, Femi Fatoba’s “In America”
Tchicaya U Tam’si: “I myself will be the stage for my salvation!”; “Tell me in what Egypt my people’s feet lie chained”
Stella Chipasula “I’m My Own Mother, Now”; Emile Ologoudou’s “Vespers” (fav fav fav); Mbella Sonne Dipoko’s “Our Life” & Parisian Diary, and Ayi Kwei Armah’s ravishing “Seed Time”: “all history is foreplay” - Jofre Rocha’s “Poem of Return” & “do not bring me flowers / bring me rather all the dews”
Some lovely finds in here I’ll treasure for a long time!
March 31, 2018
This collection is indescribable. Particularly because the poems are so well written and are so diverse in the range of topics that within this collection we aren’t just reading poems. We are hearing the many voices of the many countries of Africa speak through words in a fluid, honey-like language. Within these words, we hear the emotions of humanity expressed and executed with grace, technicality, but above all, passion.
Perhaps it was the beauty of the language or the emotions it represented that made me dart through the pages and finish it right on Christmas Day when I received it.
The Africans truly don’t get enough credit for their talent. While the world may focus on the bad news surrounding the continent (Rwandan genocide, HIV/AIDS epidemic, Ebola outbreak, poverty, etc.), they need to look deeper and discover the immense talents that are possessed by the African people and what they’ve done for our world.
Perhaps it was the beauty of the language or the emotions it represented that made me dart through the pages and finish it right on Christmas Day when I received it.
The Africans truly don’t get enough credit for their talent. While the world may focus on the bad news surrounding the continent (Rwandan genocide, HIV/AIDS epidemic, Ebola outbreak, poverty, etc.), they need to look deeper and discover the immense talents that are possessed by the African people and what they’ve done for our world.
July 22, 2024
The Penguin book of modern African poetry is a diverse collection of sub-saharan poets from the 1900s. The range of countries is quite diverse but not complete, with some countries like Kenya and Nigeria having significantly larger section compared to for example Seychelles, and many countries such as Ethiopia and Eritrea are completely snubbed. Despite that its still a very worthwhile anthology anyone interested in African poetry should pick up
October 13, 2018
The fastidiousness of the poets in this collection, as well as the urgency of their lyrical voices, has surely resonated in the African nations' unending quest for spiritual depth and tranquility. Included in this book were the interesting, intriguing and uncompromising verses by poets who have always deserved intercontinental readership. Christopher Okigbo (Nigeria), David Diop (Senegal), Kofi Awoonor (Ghana) and Jack Mapanje (Malawi) are some of the African poets whom I adored for their works which spoke of transcendence and of man's perpetual discourse with nature and with the painful past, the prejudicial present and the puzzling future. How they have always loved light to remedy the daunting darkness of history and politics, and how they have always lingered to listen for sounds of hope and celebration whenever dryness and silence penetrate their identity --- these are the operative themes of the poems in this collection, poems that captured the essence of antiquity, with the rhythm of the contemporary. Here is an excerpt from "The Seed in Me" by José Craveiriñha (Mozambique) :
And one day
will come all the Marias of the distant nations
penitent or no
weeping
laughing
or loving to the rhythm of a song
To say to my bones
forgive us, brother.
And one day
will come all the Marias of the distant nations
penitent or no
weeping
laughing
or loving to the rhythm of a song
To say to my bones
forgive us, brother.
April 20, 2024
LThis is one of those instances of: she was a poem, he was illiterate, except more like “this was a poetry book and I am not a poetry person. I bought the book bc I had to read some poems for my Modern African Literature class and decided to read the rest of it bc why not. I found some lines that I liked, but other than that it didn’t do much for me. I’m sure other more qualified people can give better reviews so don’t let my review sway you, I didn’t think there was nothing horrendous about it, it’s just I’m not a poetry person
August 1, 2021
Anthologies always have that mix of VERY APPEALING and SNORE FEST, but I was pleased to be entertained much more than not. I have a list of poets of whom I plan to read more:
Augustine Neto
Antonia Jaanto
Simon Mpondo
Mbella Sonne Dipoko
Oneuchekwa Jemie
Aig Higo
Odia Ofeimun
And last but not least, Mongane Wally Serote
(‘With Ofay-Watcher Looks Back’)
Augustine Neto
Antonia Jaanto
Simon Mpondo
Mbella Sonne Dipoko
Oneuchekwa Jemie
Aig Higo
Odia Ofeimun
And last but not least, Mongane Wally Serote
(‘With Ofay-Watcher Looks Back’)
February 11, 2023
Eh poetry is poetry. I have never liked it, but I came across this book in my dad’s collection of books from the 50a-70s.
However, by far my favorite is that Moore and Beier put together poets from their home countries in Africa to showcase them. By showcasing them by name and country!! This book was put together in 1963
However, by far my favorite is that Moore and Beier put together poets from their home countries in Africa to showcase them. By showcasing them by name and country!! This book was put together in 1963
December 25, 2017
It's a big responsibility to say about certain books that they are life changing, but all the rage, love and pain collected in these African verses have to leave a mark on you, regardless of how cold-hearted you might be.
June 15, 2019
Overall an excellent volume, though I wish more African nations were represented.
July 22, 2020
A really precious collection of poems.
December 31, 2020
One of my best reads this year.
Read
January 4, 2021“I anoint my heart
Within its flame I lay
Spent ashes of your hate –
Let evil die.
(Wole Soyinka)”
Within its flame I lay
Spent ashes of your hate –
Let evil die.
(Wole Soyinka)”
July 22, 2021
An amazing collection of poems.
March 16, 2024
Está bien la selección, aunque la representación geográfica es muy mejorable
November 1, 2024
Really wanted to read something African this year and found this poetry collection from various African authors. A great intro into a vast range of authors and poems.
April 30, 2025
an absolutely stunning collection, great to dip in and out of, and a treasure on every page.
December 12, 2020
I have been reading this book on and off for almost a year now, even though it can be easily finished in a month or so. I really enjoyed reading these poems reflecting elements of anti-colonial sentiment, fight for liberation, pan-Africanism, and love of the motherland (Africa). Despite being quite rich in content, the editors have expressed the limitation of this collection; due to only including poems written in the "colonizers'" languages. In conclusion, an interesting yet sometimes painful read, 4/5.
May 19, 2022
This collection of African poets published in the 1960s is worth reading. "Modern," in this sense, refers to a genre of poetry rather than a "current" era. Thus, this collection is of black African poets writing in the modern style. The poems from a variety of countries in the African continent also have a variation of style and content. However, many have a theme of longing. The poem that most struck me is by Lenrie Peters of The Gambia. Here is the first stanza.
"We have come home
from the bloodless war
With sunken hearts
Our Boots full of pride -
From the true massacre of the soul
When we have asked
'What does it cost
To be loved and left alone?"
It is now many decades since this collection was written. It's important to seek out the poets written and translated nowadays as well.
"We have come home
from the bloodless war
With sunken hearts
Our Boots full of pride -
From the true massacre of the soul
When we have asked
'What does it cost
To be loved and left alone?"
It is now many decades since this collection was written. It's important to seek out the poets written and translated nowadays as well.
September 30, 2014
This really was a powerful book. There are many beautiful and wonderful poems, but what really adds to it is the way that the book introduces Africa. I have never been to Africa, though I have long wanted to go. Although I have studied some about Africa, learning about it through poetry gives a very different sense. This volume really seems to hold much of the tragedy and trauma of Africa in a very personal way. I felt closer to Africa after reading this. Although the book is a book of poems, it is also more than that. The poems serve as a beautiful introduction to aspects of Africa that could be missed through more narrative and historical overviews.
June 1, 2013
This collection strikes a nice balance between traditional, culture-heavy poetry which wouldn't turn any heads and some pretty outlandish and outstanding surreal and vanguardy selections. Thematically, it tends towards the grim, which can't be surprising since Africa has been a wealth of post-colonial fuckups and shenanigans since the 1960s, thus a lot of the poems reflect rape, genocide, murder, killing, war, and so on. Now, don't get me wrong, there are plenty that aren't, so, don't be deterred. Excellent editing with some brief bios in the back.
January 15, 2017
My expectations of vivid colors, lively content and rhytmic verses were not met. Instead I found most of this poetry to be grim. Overwhelming existence of loss, exile, torture, death and injust imprisonment causes this anthology to be hard to read, but reflects reality of living in Africa. There were some funny verses, but not very many. Strangely, most of the poems gave impression as if they were native to the European cultures. Africa has not found its voice yet. I liked the most poems from Nigeria.
December 10, 2013
It's a great collection, but it would be nice if the years for each of the poems were included on the page with the poems. The biography of Ben Okri is also missing from the authors' biographies at the end.
January 20, 2008
second hand copy too icky
Read
July 27, 2011I wish Merwin would translate more African poets.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews