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Nairaland Forum / Entertainment / Literature / Sunday African Poetry Special: Christmas In Biafra By Chinua Achebe (2694 Views)
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Sunday African Poetry Special: Christmas In Biafra By Chinua Achebe by RothmasPop: 7:48pm On Dec 28, 2014 |
Today On PopAfrica.com's Sunday African Poetry Special we’ll be featuring a poetry work of the famous Author Chinua Achebe which is titled “Christmas In Biafra” , this selection was made due to the season…Enjoy! Chinua Achebe Chinua Achebe born Albert Chinualumogu Achebe; 16 November 1930 – 21 March 2013) was a Nigerian novelist, poet, professor, and critic. His first novel Things Fall Apart (1958) was considered his magnum opus, and is the most widely read book in modern African literature. Christmas In Biafra This sunken-eyed moment wobbling down the rocky steepness on broken bones slowly fearfully to hideous concourse of gathering sorrows in the valley will yet become in another year a lost Christmas irretrievable in the heights its exploding inferno transmuted by cosmic distances to the peacefulness of a cool twinkling star. . . . To death-cells of that moment came faraway sounds of other men’s carols floating on crackling waves mocking us. With regret? Hope? Longing? None of these, strangely, not even despair rather distilling pure transcendental hate . . . Beyond the hospital gate the good nuns had set up a manger of palms to house a fine plaster cast scene at Bethlehem. The Holy Family was central, serene, the Child Jesus plump wise-looking and rose-cheeked; one of the magi in keeping with legend a black Othello in sumptuous robes. Other figures of men and angels stood at well-appointed distances from the heart of the divine miracle and the usual cattle gazed on in holy wonder. . . . Poorer than the poor worshipers before her who had paid their homage with pitiful offering of new aluminum coins that few traders would take and a frayed five-shilling note she only crossed herself and prayed open-eyed. Her infant son flat like a dead lizard on her shoulder his arms and legs cauterized by famine was a miracle of its kind. Large sunken eyes stricken past boredom to a flat unrecognizing glueness moped faraway motionless across her shoulder. . . . Now her adoration over she turned him around and pointed at those pretty figures of God and angels and men and beasts- a spectacle to stir the heart of a child. But all he vouchsafed was one slow deadpan look of total unrecognition and he began again to swivel his enormous head away to mope as before at his empty distance. . . . She shrugged her shoulders, crossed herself again, and took him away. Source: http://popafrica.com/sunday-african-poetry-special-christmas-biafra-chinua-achebe/ 1 Like
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