It’s Sunday evening here on this shore, my side of the Atlantic. It’s been a quiet and restful day in my house. I have a couple of younger relatives visiting and we spent the day baking muffins and drinking tea. I’m also following the returns of the Nigerian elections on Twitter at #NigeriaDecides. So far, the incumbent president, Johnathan Goodluck, is leading in the polls. A run-off is still a possiblity but we won’t know until later, possibly on Monday. However, it turns out, let’s all hope that Nigerians continue to hold the peace. So far so good :).
April is the National (US) Poetry Month and I’ve joined the celebrations with a 21 Days/21 Poems feature here at Kinna Reads. To date, I’ve posted 9 poems on the following themes:
- Childhood – Fifteen, Maybe Sixteen Things to Worry About by Judith Viorst
- Motherhood/fatherhood – The Mother by Gwendolyn Brooks
- Prejudice – Telephone Conversation by Wole Soyinka
- Commonplace object/thing – Ode to My Socks by Pablo Neruda
- Everywhere you go there you are – The City by C.P. Cavafy
- Flowers – Sunflowers by Pamela Mordecai
- War – Some People by Wislawa Szymborska
- A poem you’ve just read and loved – A Curve in the Tell by Nana Fredua-Agyeman
- Aging – Next Day by Randall Jarrell
I’m enjoying re-visiting some old favorites as well as discovering new poets as I go through the poem selection process.
I participated in last week’s read-a-thon. The pace of my reading had slowed somewhat and I really needed to up my enthusiasm. The read-a-thon did just that. I’m reading a lot more now than in previous weeks. I’ve finished the following:
- Mr. Happy and the Hammer of God by Martin Egblewogbe
- Clear Light of Day by Anita Desai
- Queen Pokou by Veronique Tadjo
- Paradiso by Jose Lezama Lima
On the menu, at Kinna Reads, this coming week are:
- More poems
- A review of The Lottery by Shirley Jackson for Short Mondays
- Reviews of three novels as I try to clear my backlog.
That’s it for now. Have a good week, everyone. It will be a short work week for some of us :).
Kinna Reads 
I came upon you searching for commentary on William Saroyan. Would you believe it, I am an American in Armenia teaching his stories to university students. He has a great deal to say to them that is timely and helpful for their current life. I really enjoyed your insights and used some of them with my students, Please let me know if you will be reading any more of his stories.
Julie
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Will do. I have a book of his on my shelf which I will reread one of these days. Thank you for your kind words. I’m really flattered.
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Nice recap of more than a week’s activities. Was alone today so i completed Mine Boy yesterday, The Purple Violet of Oshaantu today and a poetry chap book. I have enjoyed your poetry.
How did you find Mr Happy and the Hammer of God? It’s been one of my favourite single-author short story collection. Perhaps similar to Mia Couto’s Voices Made Night in terms of enjoyment.
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Well, you are getting some reading done despite the little one. I loved Mr . Happy and The Hammer of God . Review coming soon. I got the book from Nana Darkoa. Will keep the Couto book in mind. Thanks.
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Elections are always nerve wracking, aren’t they?
It looks like you had a great reading week! I finished one book in the last 2 weeks..
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Yes, they are. I did have a good reading week. I’m reading more now than in the first 3 months of the year. Don’t worry, reading will come back to you too.
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