Author’s Biography Muyiwa Adesokun is a storyteller that has immersed himself in the art of telling stories through film, photography, poetry and design. When he is not disturbing friends with good music, he is learning Spanish. He currently lives in the colourful city of Lagos, Nigeria. The Review Last year at the Senior Secondary School I attended in Nigeria named Nickdel, I was awarded the position of the Library prefect. During my tenure – I ensured that the library bookshelves were upgraded, and some more books were added. Knowing who and what I know now, of literature, particularly Nigerian creative writing, if I were to go back to be that Library prefect, I would add books by authors like Muyiwa Adesokun. At the time of being a Library prefect in 2013, I wasn’t a book lover, and the only books I read were textbooks out of obligation. However, I had started writing but of unfamiliar things only in the shadow of books, poetry, fiction, and non-fiction by outdated non-Nigerian authors. Even the ones by Nigerian or African authors we read didn’t fulfil the meaning our young hearts needed. It gave us words, conjured up, poetic devices, forced interpretation out of us for marks but failed to be simple enough to be enjoyed and meaningful. Here is the first poem in Muyiwa Adesokun’s The Taxi Driver and other poems: Not For Sale
The conspicuous sign Hung on her father’s fence. Passerby laughed, For the road that led To her father’s house Was condemned. But her father wasn’t Alerting the gullible. His message was for the Shameless man who lived Three streets away. Who offered his farmland In exchange for his Twelve-year-old daughter. Page 1 The more I read and write poetry – the more I fall in love with the simplicity of life and all the meanings it can interpret to me. Books like Muyiwa Adesokun’s, are entailed with life’s simplicity and doused in humour. His poetry and work remind me a lot of Tolu Akinyemi who actually recommended The Taxi Driver and other poems. In an article by Tolu Akinyemi’s titled Why I Write How I Write, he enlightened on how the unnecessary complication of poetry could be why people hate it. He wrote: Soon, I found a very simple reason for this ‘hatred’ of poetry. These people often find it ostentatious, intimidating, boring, and obscure. This rings truer, especially when they struggle to understand or enjoy what is conventionally considered as brilliant poetry. Tolu Akinyemi continues: These people (who ‘hate’ poetry) desire to appreciate and enjoy poetry but on their own terms. They want it to be readily relatable, to speak to them directly, simply, yet profoundly; not through an interpreter or critic, nor through navigating a tedious byzantine literary maze. These are the ones I write for. If you are the type who wants to enjoy poetry and on your own terms, Muyiwa Adesokun’s The Taxi Driver and other poems is the right book for you. This book is a collection of poetry for those who like poetry, pretend to like poetry, and those who have the potential of liking poetry. Very simple - yet captivating and a short read (less than an hour). I am in the pursuit of reading more Nigerian authors - especially the new and contemporary ones. Muyiwa Adesokun’s The Taxi Driver and other poems met my expectations. Unlike other book reviews where I select poems to analyze and explain – I think I’ll be doing a disservice to repeat such here concerning this collection. You just have to get yours to read it. My favourite poem in the book, of course, is the one that bears its title. The Taxi Driver Don’t let his incessant Chewing fool you Beware of the Taxi driver. He pretends to listen To his favourite broadcast Oblivious to your preference He smiles, loathes at your Bargaining prowess or the lack of it. Crafty balance in his superpower; One ear on the road The other on your conversations Grinning at lies, One eye on the road The other flicks to and fro the mirror Peeking at fondlings Surveilling and archiving Every detail and nuance. Beware of the Taxi driver Tomorrow, he will run for president With a campaign jingle that says Vote for me or I’ll reveal. Page 41 Before the pandemic, I used to read one to two books per week in my three hours transit from home to work, to school, then back home at night. I had become so dependent on the aura of public transit to motivate me to read. And as you can guess, more than once, I have missed a stop because I was so lost in the book. Since the lockdown, remote learning, and teleworking in March and me, not taking the transit I have had great difficulty in reading physical books. I purchased everything I thought could inspire me, but when there was no success, I went back to audiobooks. That was good, but I still needed a breakthrough – something that would bring about the hypnosis from the smell of a freshly printed book or one that has been drenched in the perfume of a bookshelf or bookstore. Muyiwa Adesokun’s The Taxi Driver and other poems is my breakthrough. This is the first book in print that I have read since the past six months, and I am glad I did. The simplicity Muyiwa used in describing everyday life – digging in humour, sarcasm, yet poetic and uncomplicated is the reintroduction, so many of us need especially in this pandemic. This collection is an introduction to the joys in the simplicity of life through poetry. This is the kind of book that I will fill the library with if I could go back to 2013 when I was the library prefect of Nickdel. I hope you purchase your copy, read, and cheer for Muyiwa Adesokun’s success with this collection.
6 Comments
Sandra
25/10/2020 05:55:30 pm
Wow!!! there is truly beauty in simplicity. I can absolutely relate with the reviewers thoughts. Most of my friends find poems complicated and difficult to understand and as a result are not interested in poems. To be honest, even I myself shrug at poems that are more focused on being complicated than actually passing an understandable message in a creatively profound manner. I am also curious of the author's inspirations as to the Not for sale and Taxi driver poems. They are quite intriguing. I would make sure to read and recommend to friends who find poems hard to understand. I appreciate the reviewers effort in shedding light on the beauty of simplicity. Thanks for letting us know of this Nigerian master piece that is embedded in simplicity.
Reply
27/10/2020 07:35:32 pm
Poetry is the expression of feelings through words.
Reply
Grace
28/10/2020 05:04:38 pm
I don't like complicated Poetry. If you are talking about the sun or ice cream I want to be able to understand it. So I know I will love taxi driver. I love poetolu afterall
Reply
Ebenezer
28/10/2020 12:34:18 am
Wow. This got me reading on.
Reply
Grace
28/10/2020 05:05:21 pm
I agree
Reply
Adeoye Favour I.
13/11/2020 11:39:50 am
This is convincing enough.Kudos to Muyiwa Adesokan for his work.
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
SprinNG Quicklinks
For inquiries regarding publications email:
contact@SprinNG.org and we will respond to you within 48hrs. |