Hill Songs, Poems
$5.00
Ushie Joe: Hill Songs, Poems (Ibadan: Kraftbooks, 2000)
Metaphoric, satiric and witty, Hill songs paints an idyllic canvas of the poet’s homeland against which contemporary issues and events are contrasted; and the result is a distorted calligraphy.
Lamenting, protesting, but never despairing, the voice in Hill Songs is that of commitment to, and identification with nature, humanity and the sociopolitical destiny of his country.
The poet’s language is elegant and free-flowing. He gives new meaning and depth to ordinary and familiar words and creates in the process, a whole new understanding of human nature and society.
Honoured recently by the Cross River State Government for outstanding contribution to Literature and Culture, Joe Ushie was born at Akorshi, Bendi in Obanliku LGA of Cross River State. A product of the Universities of Calabar and Ibadan respectively, he is the author of Popular Stand (1992), Lambs at the Shrine (Kraft 1995), Eclipse of Rwanda (Kraft, 1998) and A Reign of Locusts (Kraft, 2004)
Joe Ushie lectures atthe University of Uyo, Nigeria.
Description
CONTENTS
Hill song
The african mosquito
Pendulum
First october
Palace wedding
The lion
Volcano 2
Encounter
The spiv’s recipe
Begwu cocoon
The gun
Mother hen
The he-goat
Coin sides
Back to kugbudu
Urban blues
Sunrise
Moon
From hill to valley
Fan-ner of maize
Song of the dead
Hour of despair
Sobs at dawn
The light goes out
On lagos beach
The hills will rise again
Mother’s back
Cloud phases
Coffin maker’smatins
Prognosis
Beyond hara-kiri
Hillside rill
Tombstones
From cradle to catacombs
Battle
Winter in the tropics
Early bird
Congo music
Game mate
Hilltop flower
Duck bath
Creeds
A ray of faith
Balloon
Fela anikulapo kuti
Verse, not blood
Poetry on exile
Prof. Joseph Ushie
Joseph Akawu Ushie is a Professor of General Stylistics and Literary criticism at University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State Nigeria.
He is the current Vice-Dean, Postgraduate School, University of Uyo, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. He was born at Akorshi, Bendi, the hilly Obanliku Local Government Area (which houses Nigeria’s foremost tourist attraction, the Obudu Cattle Ranch) of Cross River State, and he attended St. Peter’s Primary School, Bendi, Government Secondary School, Obudu, and the University of Calabar, Calabar, where he studied English and Literary studies, and was the Secretary-General, Student Union Government in 1980-81 session. He subsequently obtained the M. A. (1988) and PhD (2001) in English from Nigeria’s premier university, the University of Ibadan. Professor Ushie had served as Head, Department of English, and on several boards and committees in the University of Uyo. He had also been Chairman, Association of Nigerian Authors, Akwa Ibom State Chapter, Judge, ANA national literary competitions (2009 – 2010), Juror of the Canada-based International Poetry Competition (2017) and a Co-Editor, Montreal 2017 Global Poetry Anthology.
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