January 2024 Blog: Poem published in Kwee, Liberian Literary Magazine; my chapbook nomination
Welcome to my
first blog of 2024. I continue to hope that those we put in charge of running
our governments will make the right decisions for future generations; I continue
to rely on the people around me, past and present, to be the source of my
growth as a person and inspiration for my writing.
I am sharing the
great news that my book, On the Borders of Belonging, (poems) has been
nominated for a prize. I am humbled by this nomination, and that itself, is
quite an honor. I will be competing against fellow poets. So wish me luck. See
the message below:
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Congratulations!
We nominated
your book for the Eric Hoffer Book Award. It is one of the most
prestigious contests in poetry, and we are happy to submit your book
representing Kelsay Books poetry collections published in 2023.
Good luck!
Karen, Shay,
Delisa, Olivia, Jenna, & Julie
The Kelsay
Books team
Other news.
My poem, “How the Poor Become Hercules,” was published in Kwee, Liberian Literary magazine’s first 2024 edition. Its editor is Othniel Forte, a Liberian educator. The magazine features poetry and prose, Liberian classics as well as contemporary writings, featured writers, local and diaspora poets, writers, artists, book reviews, and articles on critical issues.
"How the Poor
Become Hercules" was inspired by the Liberian rice riots of 1980, which
were a precursor to the Liberian military coup of the same year. Both were
events that affected the entire country and changed many lives forever.
How the Poor Become Hercules
Deprive them of their staple diet—rice
by quadrupling its price.
Watch, feel their anger erupt
like a volcano blowing its top.
The poor are set on fire
by their hunger to set right
what they feel as being ground under
like detested insects by those in power.
Marketers, roadside sellers,
street hustlers. pickpockets, beggars,
those living on last pennies,
morph into Hercules.
Doors to stores, boarded up,
and secured with bolted iron bars,
at the first signs of combat,
are wrenched open, and stock plundered
by the angry underprivileged.
Like driven driver-ants the oppressed
loot buildings of their content.
Everything is snapped up, stripped, and ripped up —
shelves, counters, sinks, toilets, and tiles.
Nothing is left behind.
Refrigerators, washers,
are carried away on heads.
To the unlettered eyes,
tinned cat and dog food are prizes.
Politicians, business owners,
the privileged, cry behind the
scenes.
A war zone is not the place to be
when the fired-up poor are fuelled by
vengeance,
when the might of Hercules reigns in hearts and
heads.
Upcoming blog posts include:
My short story, “Saving Papa Rojas from the Deathbed Flirt,” was published in The Caribbean Writer in December 2023, Volume 37. It is now available for purchase. See the website:
https://www.thecaribbeanwriter.org/product/volume-37/
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Several of my
poems were published in POUI Literary Journal, University of the West Indies at
Cave Hill, December 2023
Poui: Cave Hill Journal of Creative Writing is a leading journal for new writing from
around the region and beyond.
It has only one agenda - to be a vehicle for new and exciting writing.
It doesn’t care about your age, race, class, sex,
religion or where you shop. Poui only cares that what’s on its pages makes the
hair stand up on the back of your neck – the infallible test of good writing!
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