Wild

by Ben Okri

Poems of living and loving from Booker Prize-winning author Ben Okri.

Freedom is the most precious commodity in the world. In this powerful collection, the celebrated novelist, essayist, dramatist and poet, Ben Okri, explores the beauty contained in each one of us – the freedom of our spirit, the child within. He recalls the death of his father, the sacrifices of his mother, the hidden river of Edinburgh, falling in love. He writes about Virgil and Mozambique, about ringing the bell for freedom, the dreams of Calliope and the full moon. He enters the fifth circle, sings of the roses of spring, and aligns the pyramids to the magic stars. This is a rich, joyful, exciting collection for everyone who loves Ben Okri's vibrant style, and a perfect introduction to new readers of his poetry.

Genres: Poetry, Africa, African Literature

96 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 22, 2012

About the author

Poet and novelist Ben Okri was born in 1959 in Minna, northern Nigeria, to an Igbo mother and Urhobo father. He grew up in London before returning to Nigeria with his family in 1968. Much of his early fiction explores the political violence that he witnessed at first hand during the civil war in Nigeria. He left the country when a grant from the Nigerian government enabled him to read Comparative Literature at Essex University in England.

He was poetry editor for West Africa magazine between 1983 and 1986 and broadcast regularly for the BBC World Service between 1983 and 1985. He was appointed Fellow Commoner in Creative Arts at Trinity College Cambridge in 1991, a post he held until 1993. He became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1987, and was awarded honorary doctorates from the universities of Westminster (1997) and Essex (2002).

His first two novels, Flowers and Shadows (1980) and The Landscapes Within (1981), are both set in Nigeria and feature as central characters two young men struggling to make sense of the disintegration and chaos happening in both their family and country. The two collections of stories that followed, Incidents at the Shrine (1986) and Stars of the New Curfew (1988), are set in Lagos and London.

In 1991 Okri was awarded the Booker Prize for Fiction for his novel The Famished Road (1991). Set in a Nigerian village, this is the first in a trilogy of novels which tell the story of Azaro, a spirit child. Azaro's narrative is continued in Songs of Enchantment (1993) and Infinite Riches (1998). Other recent fiction includes Astonishing the Gods (1995) and Dangerous Love (1996), which was awarded the Premio Palmi (Italy) in 2000. His latest novels are In Arcadia (2002) and Starbook (2007).

A collection of poems, An African Elegy, was published in 1992, and an epic poem, Mental Flight, in 1999. A collection of essays, A Way of Being Free, was published in 1997. Ben Okri is also the author of a play, In Exilus.

In his latest book, Tales of Freedom (2009), Okri brings together poetry and story.

Ben Okri is a Vice-President of the English Centre of International PEN, a member of the board of the Royal National Theatre, and was awarded an OBE in 2001. He lives in London.

Reviews

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked some poems really much others were meeh.

[Liz W · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up

[Alexander Donnan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Apart from 1 poem...meh, I'll check out his novel though just because it feels like the right thing to do

[Katrinka · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5. I hate the fact that I'm giving this one such a low rating; after all, there are fantastic lines that stand out every now and then. But I'm really not a fan in general of this sort of rhymed poetry, so I went ahead and rated it based solely on its personal enjoyment factor.

[🌶 peppersocks 🧦 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reflections and lessons learned:
“It turns out the great sleep
Is a giant wall that’s made
Of inverted flowers...”

Mmmm... sleep... I read whilst quite close to Bedfordshire time so this was a lovely quick collection with a combination of short pre sleep clarity reflection and prediction thoughts alongside sumptuous dreamlike descriptions and darkness - a strange but working mix of fantasy, mythology, nature and love (wow for Carpe Diem:a love song and Modena), all told from a modern perspective, with a feeling of the present - with nods to the influencing literature, a great insight into an author that I look forward to reading more from

“Because we’re outsiders. We are all born into The labyrinth”

[Gareth Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ben Okri combines African mysticism with London smarts to forge pithy, thought-provoking and beautiful poetry.
Serendipity played a part in my reading this wonderful volume of poems. I am looking forward to my godson’s wedding and I cam across ‘ A Wedding Prayer’ - the words are so apposite I will steal them wholesale (attributed, of course) and pass them on as an additional wedding gift.

[Misha · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Be something
Rare in this much misunderstood
Tale of life: may your love
Help you find that hidden
Gold in the unfinished hours,
That your life together, long
In years, rich in stories,
May yield the tranquility of flowers.” - ben okri

a lovely collection of transcendental poetry. 4/5

[Bethany · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ben Okri’s prose is poetic and luminous. His poetry, on the other hand, I did not enjoy.

[Rachel Ho]

0p pp p

[Jill · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 - 3 stars

[Lily Poppen · Rating 3 out of 5]

wasn’t enthralled. lots of hits or misses and the rhyme schemes carried momentum, but felt the language didn’t do much for me.

[Ralph Burton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of the most beautiful things ever written are in this book.

[Andy Oram · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okri, with a dozen books to boast of, has done very well here at combining his intense mastery of poetic imagery with "true lucidity" so that he can "stand simply" (the goals he states in the preface to this book). I melt over lovely ideas such as birds that "speak now with / Voices of stone" or "We had / Been in the dark age of iron." The poems from the Olduvai Gorge are amazing.

Unfortunately, this search for direct expression sometimes ends up dragging along conventionalities, and resorting too easily to rhyme. I find rhyme effective in "Dark Light." And also there's a noble simplicity to: "But then a melody of light / Transforms the night."

Many poems touch on politics and social issues, oftne subtly and usually with a positive, uplifting spin. Okri's imagery can be very positive: "Tomorrow's music sleeps / In undiscovered orchestras / In unmade violins / In coiled strings." Or this: "libraries yield / New books in the charged / Margins of the old." But in one powerful poem (the longest in this book) Okri reflects agony triggered by an attack in the West Bank of Palestine.

[Asma · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are no words to describe how much Okri's words blew me away. Each poem was succinct and raw, beautiful as it draws on emotional imagery. The poetry takes on different subject matters, and all of them convey the depth of human pain and perseverance. This is a short book that needs to be savored, and it was well worth the emotional journey.

Though this is the first work I've read by Okri, I'm determined to read more of his beautiful writing.

For more book reviews, check out my book blog A Reading Kabocha.

[Celena · Rating 4 out of 5]

A poet must have a way with words. Ben Okri has his way that is enlightening, enchanting and disarming. Highlights for me were A Wedding Prayer, More Fishes Than Stars, Carpe Diem: A Love Song and the indelible Clouds. There were lines I loved like "while clouds do drift above our heads And dreams do flit above our beds" from As Clouds do Drift and "I say the world is rich with love unfound" from The World is Rich.

[Hawraki · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love poetry.. I don't read much of English poetry but I liked Okri's simple poetic language :)

[Stacy-Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very Good writing love the poems. I meet him at a talk in which he talks about what is poem in which I find was really good.

[Debs · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a difficult time focusing on this one.

[Deb · Rating 5 out of 5]

A peaceful book of poetry to end 2024.

[Fadwa القاسم · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love his prose far more than his poetry.