REVIEW: BREAKING SILENCE: A Poetic Lifeline From Slavery To Love

BOOK REVIEW

BOOK TITLE: BREAKING SILENCE: A Poetic Lifeline From Slavery To Love

COMPILED BY: James Robert MYERS

PUBLISHER:  Amazon.com

PAGES: 138
REVIEWER: Ibrahim MUNIRU

Words are easy to utter. Thoughts are easy to form. But it takes a skilful, well versed individual to weave the two into a magnificent strand that evokes an extreme feeling of aweness. And that is what James Robert Myers has done in this anthology BREAKING SILENCE- A Poetic Lifeline From Slavery To Love.

In an era where the patronization of literature-reading and writing- among the Ghanaian populace and more importantly among the youth is said to have atrophied, it is a refreshing and thrilling feeling to see a young poet successfully put together an anthology.

As the title of the Anthology suggests, it features poems about the unforgiveable ills of the colonial past i.e. slavery and its concomitant aftermath, love and romance for the mother Mama Africa.

BREAKING SILENCE features a collection of 59 poems from equally young poets who exhibit true and enormous maturity and depth with the subject they chose to write on. The poems are vigorous and engaging; taking the reader through the corridors of sordidness and sits you in the cozy ambience of love and romance.

The Anthology scars the sensibilities and soothes the emotions of the reader in equal measure by confronting the obnoxious subject of colonization and slavery as well as Romance and love.

BREAKING SILENCE features the works of 52 poets across the corners of the world-Ghana, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Australia, United States, Canada, Belgium, Spain, Malaysia, India and Philippines.

The poems are brilliantly written in simple language for easy grasping by readers of all ages. 

Another interesting feature is the addition of a glossary for readers to understand the meanings of ‘local’ words/expressions employed in the anthology.

The author, James Robert Myers’- who writes under the pseudonym MJ Jimmy-enterprising effort and bravado, must be commended. It is an undeniable fact that poetry as an art form, receives the least appreciation in Ghana.

And for a young poet –who is in his late teens-to have the courage to produce such grand body of work, as a contribution towards the promotion of poetry and literature is worth celebrating.

I can’t but agree with Ayoub Njorge, a poet blogger in Kenya when he wrote that ‘This (Breaking Silence) is an impressive collection of fine and highly creative poetry. The words jump out of the page and assume a life of their own… The poems are deep, poignant and sentimental provoking in their love and slavery thematic settings’.

And poems such as Men of Valour, Head Nigger In Charge, Jero, My Brother, Like A Phoenix, Cherish, Colour Blind, All That I AM, Love In The Sands of Keta among others greatly attest to Njorge’s words.

BREAKING SILENCE is a must have for every poetry enthusiast. The anthology is available online via http://www.amazon.com/Breaking-Silence-Poetic-Lifeline-Slavery/dp/1482353415/