Mandela The Spear and Other Poems

Neither the poems, nor Okai himself, need my voice – the poet has long established himself as one of the towering figures in the field of modern African poetry in English.

Readers will find that all the familiar elements of the Okai signature are present – the declamatory posture of the poet – persona; the tactical deployment of assonances, the mobilization of memory; and remembrance; the constant mingling of customary codes and the violent conjoining of names from diverse epochs – all these and more are patently in evidence here.

It is this burning desire to celebrate the black experience and culture through the iconic figures who symbolize our struggles and triumphs, that governs the collection. We encounter names like Mandela, Cabral, Lumumba, Nkrumah.

— Femi Osofisan – Ibadan, Nigeria.