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A Fire in My Head

Poems for the Dawn

Author Ben Okri
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Hardcover
$21.99 US
Other Press
On sale Feb 28, 2023 | 160 Pages | 9781635423082
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From the renowned Booker Prize–winning author, a powerful collection of poems covering topics of the day, such as the refugee crisis, Black Lives Matter protests, and COVID-19.

In our times of crisis
The mind has its powers
 
This book brings together many of Ben Okri’s most acclaimed and politically charged poems.
    “Grenfell Tower, June 2017” was published in the Financial Times less than ten days after the fire, and Okri’s reading of it was played more than six million times on Facebook.
    “Notre-Dame Is Telling Us Something” was first read on BBC Radio 4, in the aftermath of the cathedral’s near destruction. It speaks eloquently of the despair that was felt around the world.
    In “shaved head poem,” Okri writes of the confusion and anxiety felt as the world grappled with a health crisis unprecedented in our times.
    “Breathing the Light” is his response to the events of summer 2020, when a Black man died beneath the knee of a white policeman, a tragedy sparking a movement for change.
    These poems and others, including poems for Ken Saro-Wiwa, Barack Obama, Amnesty International, and more, make this a uniquely powerful collection that blends anger and tenderness with Okri’s inimitable vision.
AFRICA IS A REALITY NOT SEEN

africa is a reality not seen
a dream not understood
its wars are the scab of a wound
its famine the cracking of seeds
its dictatorships a child torturing
beetles in a field.
 
its soul’s older than atlantis
and like all things old,
it’s being reborn,
and doesn’t know it.

countless cycles of civilisation
and destruction are lost in its memory
but not in its myths.

africa is a living enigma
an old woman taken for a child
a wise man taken for a fool
a beggar who is also a great king.
 
ON RACE  

ignorance thinks there’s black and white
ignorance thinks there’s them and us
ignorance thinks of outsiders and insiders
ignorance thinks about skin and not heart
ignorance thinks one race is better than another
ignorance thinks people should be kept apart
ignorance thinks nothing unites us all
ignorance fears the foreign and unknown
ignorance is the soul of cowardice and fear
ignorance speaks and darkness forms in the air
ignorance will destroy this world with hate
wisdom with light will change that fate
Copyright © 2022 by Ben Okri. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
“Amid outrage and protest, the collection insists on the possibility of change and on a fundamental unity…Globally engaged, accessible, and relevant.” —Library Journal 

“The fire in Ben Okri’s head, and thus his poems, is one of both indignation and illumination, casting light on the injustices of contemporary life, particularly Black life the world over, yet never abandoning the importance of beauty, art, nature, and the human connections we forge. Whether written for an occasion, in tribute, or addressed to inspirations or intimates, these poems strike notes of international importance and personal significance. Okri witnesses and reminds us of the important lesson that ‘Tyranny rises where vigilance sleeps,’ all the while holding space for each of us to ‘Walk in a Moonlight Wonder’ and remember the promises of dawn.” —Amanda Moore, author of Requeening: Poems

Praise for Ben Okri:

“I love the mythical, fablelike quality of his stories. There is something very comforting and ancient about them.” —Alan Cumming

“Ben Okri is that rare thing, a literary and social visionary, a writer for whom all three—literature, culture, and vision—are profoundly interwoven.” —Ali Smith
 
“Fiction’s master of enchantments stares down a real horror, and without blinking or flinching, produces a work of beauty, grace, and uncommon power.” —Marlon James
© Matt Bray
Ben Okri is a playwright, poet, novelist, essayist, short-story writer, anthologist, and aphorist. He has also written film scripts. His works have won numerous national and international prizes, including the Booker Prize for Fiction. His books include the eco-fable Every Leaf a Hallelujah, the play Changing Destiny, the genre-bending climate fiction Tiger Work, the poetry collections A Fire in My Head, Wild, Mental Fight, and An African Elegy, and the novels The Last Gift of the Master Artists, The Age of Magic, Dangerous Love, and Astonishing the Gods. In 2023 he received a knighthood for services to literature. View titles by Ben Okri

About

From the renowned Booker Prize–winning author, a powerful collection of poems covering topics of the day, such as the refugee crisis, Black Lives Matter protests, and COVID-19.

In our times of crisis
The mind has its powers
 
This book brings together many of Ben Okri’s most acclaimed and politically charged poems.
    “Grenfell Tower, June 2017” was published in the Financial Times less than ten days after the fire, and Okri’s reading of it was played more than six million times on Facebook.
    “Notre-Dame Is Telling Us Something” was first read on BBC Radio 4, in the aftermath of the cathedral’s near destruction. It speaks eloquently of the despair that was felt around the world.
    In “shaved head poem,” Okri writes of the confusion and anxiety felt as the world grappled with a health crisis unprecedented in our times.
    “Breathing the Light” is his response to the events of summer 2020, when a Black man died beneath the knee of a white policeman, a tragedy sparking a movement for change.
    These poems and others, including poems for Ken Saro-Wiwa, Barack Obama, Amnesty International, and more, make this a uniquely powerful collection that blends anger and tenderness with Okri’s inimitable vision.

Excerpt

AFRICA IS A REALITY NOT SEEN

africa is a reality not seen
a dream not understood
its wars are the scab of a wound
its famine the cracking of seeds
its dictatorships a child torturing
beetles in a field.
 
its soul’s older than atlantis
and like all things old,
it’s being reborn,
and doesn’t know it.

countless cycles of civilisation
and destruction are lost in its memory
but not in its myths.

africa is a living enigma
an old woman taken for a child
a wise man taken for a fool
a beggar who is also a great king.
 
ON RACE  

ignorance thinks there’s black and white
ignorance thinks there’s them and us
ignorance thinks of outsiders and insiders
ignorance thinks about skin and not heart
ignorance thinks one race is better than another
ignorance thinks people should be kept apart
ignorance thinks nothing unites us all
ignorance fears the foreign and unknown
ignorance is the soul of cowardice and fear
ignorance speaks and darkness forms in the air
ignorance will destroy this world with hate
wisdom with light will change that fate
Copyright © 2022 by Ben Okri. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

Reviews

“Amid outrage and protest, the collection insists on the possibility of change and on a fundamental unity…Globally engaged, accessible, and relevant.” —Library Journal 

“The fire in Ben Okri’s head, and thus his poems, is one of both indignation and illumination, casting light on the injustices of contemporary life, particularly Black life the world over, yet never abandoning the importance of beauty, art, nature, and the human connections we forge. Whether written for an occasion, in tribute, or addressed to inspirations or intimates, these poems strike notes of international importance and personal significance. Okri witnesses and reminds us of the important lesson that ‘Tyranny rises where vigilance sleeps,’ all the while holding space for each of us to ‘Walk in a Moonlight Wonder’ and remember the promises of dawn.” —Amanda Moore, author of Requeening: Poems

Praise for Ben Okri:

“I love the mythical, fablelike quality of his stories. There is something very comforting and ancient about them.” —Alan Cumming

“Ben Okri is that rare thing, a literary and social visionary, a writer for whom all three—literature, culture, and vision—are profoundly interwoven.” —Ali Smith
 
“Fiction’s master of enchantments stares down a real horror, and without blinking or flinching, produces a work of beauty, grace, and uncommon power.” —Marlon James

Author

© Matt Bray
Ben Okri is a playwright, poet, novelist, essayist, short-story writer, anthologist, and aphorist. He has also written film scripts. His works have won numerous national and international prizes, including the Booker Prize for Fiction. His books include the eco-fable Every Leaf a Hallelujah, the play Changing Destiny, the genre-bending climate fiction Tiger Work, the poetry collections A Fire in My Head, Wild, Mental Fight, and An African Elegy, and the novels The Last Gift of the Master Artists, The Age of Magic, Dangerous Love, and Astonishing the Gods. In 2023 he received a knighthood for services to literature. View titles by Ben Okri

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