poems from mauritius
in his preface to this slim volume Mr. flaxman qoopane describes these poems as “glimpses into an idyllic place, and peoples.” the collection is essentially a tourist’s glimpse into the manufactured idea of an idyllic space. kagablog readers know from guy debord’s “society of the spectacle” that “tourism, human circulation considered as consumption, a by-product of the circulation of commodities, is fundamentally nothing more than the leisure of going to see what has become banal.”
and hence these poems, “patently aware / of pivotal role of tourism”, never quite succeed at “having their moment under the / sun”. at his best the gently contemplative mr. bolaji brings to mind somerset maugham in the tropics - there is something terribly english about his way of perceiving and describing the “coruscatin paradise” where “there’s something for everybody” and it is no wonder that Mr. bolaji flummoxes a delighted englishman with his expert knowledge of english football (”step over monsieur”).
in these poems from mauritius our beloved free state literary eminence becomes an englishman abroad, confirming guy debord’s suspicion that “the economic organization of visits to different places is already in itself the guarantee of their equivalence. the same modernization that removed time from the voyage also removed from it the reality of space.”
in a sense tourism’s relatlonship to travelling is analogous to advertising copy’s relationship to poetry. on the surface the two would appear to have a lot in common, but the tourist’s waters are necessarily shallow and from these shallow waters the poet can gain no sustenance. A poet is always a traveller, never a tourist.
ps. i would like to publicly apologize to mr. bolaji for imputing that he was in any way a “colonialist”. this is not only erroneous, it is also foolish, as many of his loyal readers and cadres have pointed out to me. i am sorry.
July 17th, 2007 at 9:05 am
Oh my God! What a “whipping” for Bolaji! But a beautiful cover (of the book) nonetheless
July 17th, 2007 at 9:26 am
My attention has just been drawn to this, and I find it very exciting! As a “disciple” I know Mr Bolaji is in no way a “colonialist” - how could he be? He just tries to be broad minded, and to find good in most things. Anyway the most important thing is that despite the decline in his physical, and writing powers, he managed to write something again!
July 17th, 2007 at 12:11 pm
How can Mr Bolaji, always in real life on the side of the poor and underprivileged, always denouncing material things, be a “colonialist or Englishman?” I really don’t understand this. Does a love for soccer make one an Englishman? Should simple poems become ideology???
July 17th, 2007 at 12:35 pm
je suis vraiement ravi de decouvrir cette nouvelle publication , qui viens confirmer talent infini de cette personne, que j estime et repecte a la fois.merci combler mon seulement ma curiosite mes aussi mon coeur , et les coeur de touts ceux qui comme moi on lu de tes ouvrages.je l ai rencontre a jo burg lors d un voyage et depuis toujours ses livres me rappellent de sa sagesse, meme a distance, je ne reve que de retourner en afrique du sud pour l entendre de vive voix, parler de ses ouvrages. keep well chief, aaron from paris
July 17th, 2007 at 1:55 pm
When we look at all the works of ntate Bolaji, it’s obvious that he is not a colonialist. Maybe the “island holiday mood” took the edge from his pen, as the “disciple” of guy debord implicates?
July 17th, 2007 at 3:23 pm
I really don’t know, the explanation here seems too complicated and quite frankly, uncharitable. Criticism is something taht does not sit too well with blacks, though the likes of Bolaji claim it’s “natural/okay”. Maybe this is about ideology - that a black man should never “relax” but claim to be espousing the rights of the masses everytime. Hot air in most cases. Should we also believe that a poem from the book like “indian movie” has anything to do with colonialism?
July 18th, 2007 at 9:17 am
I cannot pretend to understand this “review” well, but as a poet I am happy Mr Bolaji has brought out this new book; and a very fine front cover too. The idea that Mr Bolaji can be something like a colonialist is absurd, though.
July 18th, 2007 at 11:56 am
Hey! There is no need to apologize! You guys are giving us plenty of exposure worldwide. I am sure Bolaji hismself is delighted, and does not feel insulted.
July 18th, 2007 at 3:54 pm
Please! There is indeed no need to apologize. Let’s try to bask in the cornucopia of literature (looked that up!) We thank the likes of Lechesa, Mafike, Tila et al for their sterling contributions to FS black writing.
July 20th, 2007 at 1:29 pm
Indeed kagablog has gone out of its way to put Free State black writing on the map, and no apologies are necessary. We are now noted for the vibrancy of our local writings despite the fact taht we operate under daunting conditions.
July 20th, 2007 at 3:25 pm
There are actually two new books here featuring Bolaji, teh other - a long interview - edited by Lechesa. This is something to celebrate, as many believed we would not be seeing new books from Bolaji again. Booklets are better than no books at all!
July 22nd, 2007 at 4:28 pm
It’s good to see these two new books which have Bolaji as a central figure, if you know what I mean. It’s fair enough to state that Omoseye Bolaji has been pivotal in what some refer to as a “renaissance of Free State black writing”. In the recent past hardly anybody here believed black people could write books, especially in a language like English, which somehow most blacks feel more comfortable to read
July 23rd, 2007 at 8:20 pm
It,s a pity i can not get Bolaji books in the UK but i know he,s such a brilliant writer and he believes strongly in fairness and don,t give damn about material things.
July 27th, 2007 at 9:16 pm
Thank You, Chief Bolaji! You were never a colonialist, rather a pride to the black race…
July 30th, 2007 at 3:46 pm
It’s a long time we heard from you, Mr Amoo! Did you see my latest book - also on Mr Bolaji? You can see the cover, and a review, on this blog. Check: On awards, authors, literature
August 1st, 2007 at 3:53 pm
I felt that there was no need for apology for this review (above), unless we no longer believe in freedom of speech. I personally liked the poems under this collection, especially the buoyant spirit, but anybody who dislikes them has committed no crime.
August 4th, 2007 at 12:53 pm
I wish to congratulate Mr Bolaji on the publication of his new book. I am excited that my debut book (written in Sesotho) will be published this year too.I found some of the comments on the blog here quite funny.
August 5th, 2007 at 1:32 pm
Thanks Mr. Lechesa, I have been on the field for quite a while and with limited acccess to internet. Seye Bolaji is no doubt a literary Icon that should be immortalized while even alive. His literary contibutions are primus inter pare and as a brown man (or is it Black - apologies to colour bigots), this is worthy of greater accolades. I congratulate all of you also in the kagablog circus for promoting African Literature in your best ways. Kudos!
August 21st, 2007 at 3:20 pm
I was about to give up reading about Mr Bolaji’s new book on the internet, then I tried “Omoseye Bolaji, poems from Mauritius” on google, and it opened up! Very interesting comments etc here. let me just congratulate Bolaji for his new book. For me he will always be a good editor of poems, not really a poet, though.
August 23rd, 2007 at 9:20 am
It surprises me that many people underrate Mr Bolaji as a poet. I remember years ago at our literary circle, we read, studied Snippets, his book of poems. I remember most of the poems were so well written, powerful, full of African wisdom and proverbs, brilliant descriptions, fine imagery etc. All of us agreed this was a very powerful poet indeed; yet people continue to undermine Mr Bolaji as a poet. But having said this I must admit that his Poems from Mauritius are simpler and more direct.
September 19th, 2007 at 3:43 pm
I am a poet myself, and love reading poems. So i welcome any book of poetry. Must get a copy of this one.