鈥淯nder Ducor Skies鈥� by Patrice Juah.
鈥淯nder Ducor Skies鈥� by Patrice Juah is a compilation of sixty-six poems on women鈥檚 empowerment and perseverance. It is her first poetry compilation鈥攁 modernist, thought-provoking piece of literary work that swings between the extremes of sorrow and joy, conquest and liberation, and weaknesses and potential.
The title of the book may seem abstract to a reader unaccustomed to Ms. Juah鈥檚 background. Ducor is the traditional name for Monrovia, Liberia鈥檚 capital city. There is Ducor Hill, which is a picturesque location in Monrovia, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and the Saint Paul River. Its serenity is a writer鈥檚 paradise.
Unlike poets who are invisible in their works, Ms. Juah does not mask her face or still her voice. She uses the first person generously to convey thoughts, making it easy for readers to connect with her life's experience. Fourteen years of a brutal civil war in Liberia ended in 2005 when the author was a teenager. More recently, in 2014, the country was hard hit by the Ebola virus. However, the author鈥檚 optimism shines through most of the poems.
The poems 鈥淪tep Out Girl,鈥� 鈥淚 am Doing Me,鈥� and 鈥淐elebrate Women, Celebrate鈥� have a liberating resonance. In another such poem, 鈥淭he Flower Story,鈥� the author writes: 鈥淲hen you see a beautiful flower/ Stop and reflect/鈥hink about the many days/ It went un-watered鈥hink about the Growing pains of bursting out/Springing forth and breaking free.鈥�
A reader鈥檚 favourite must be 鈥淩iding Through Africa,鈥� which the author often does with folksy aplomb. The poem is simple but sophisticated; it conjures the image of the African downtrodden happily eking out a living. It is a fascinating paradox, underscoring an anthem of Africa鈥檚 poor. The author uses alliteration effectively. A sampler: 鈥淚 head to the east side, making a stop in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, on my boda, I am chilling as a Zulu鈥� on my Sthuthuthu.
Ms. Juah also uses emotions to elicit empathy. In 鈥淧ainful Christmas鈥� for example, she laments: 鈥淚 sit here/ Heart filled with grief/ Eyes flooded with tears/ I should be singing/ But I鈥檓 here weeping.鈥� This, like many other poems in the compilation, is a highly relatable stanza鈥攔einforcing the author鈥檚 humanistic approach to poetry.
Reviewed by Kingsley Ighobor
