Title: Poetic footprints: Returning Home
Author: Dickson Wasake
Publisher: lulu.com
Available at: Leading bookstores
in town and online
Price: Sh16,400(paperback),
sh4920(download)
Reviewed by: Stephen Ssenkaaba
IN a country with so much to read and so few readers, you might need something like this. Short musical rhyming lines of verse. Not too hard to grasp; teeming with imagery. Should it be plain? Maybe not, because then the essence of it will be missed.
It should draw on the sweetness of language to appeal and yet be simple. Enough to hold the reader at ransom and to set them free. It cannot be prose; it can only be poetry.
Poetic Footprints: Returning Home is a good place to start. This is a collection of carefully chosen poems by Dickson Wasake, one of Uganda’s young, upcoming poets.
Simple, carefully woven and colourful, this work has garnered critical acclaim for its gripping style. It has now been published into a book on lulu.com, a leading self-publishing site.
It comprises Wasake’s finest works including some of his memorable pieces performed in November 2007 at the Sine Qua Non Gallery in Nassau, The Bahamas.
Born and bred in Uganda, Wasake studied in Kampala, lived in the Bahamas and moved to London, where he now works.
His work draws on his wealth of crosscultural experience to paint a world picture of life. “I am inspired by the everyday things given a spin-off effect by my poetic mind,” says Wasake.
Poetic Footprints reads like a journey through life’s challenging experiences, one where the author takes the reader on a search for identity. It is a journey filled with love, anguish and joy.
On the one hand, Wasake paints a sad picture of life; of love — love lost or love that never was; of promises broken and of a community scorned with human injustice and cruelty.
On the other, he espouses a more positive image; where music, dance and celebration take centre stage, all in the rich context of this young poet’s cultural experience.
It is a careful balance between the spiritual and secular, the traditional and contemporary. Punctuated by short, rhythmic verses, this work tackles nearly every aspect of life.
It thrives on rich use of imagery, humour and irony, to lead the reader on. Wasake’s canny ability to juxtapose gloom and glimmer blends in well with the eclectic nature of his book.
It is neither happy nor sad, but rather a careful balance between different emotions. “At the death of love”,“A letter to Manjeri of the mountain”,“Coffee house discourses”, “A haiku journey around the world” and “A battle where limbs meet” are some of the more interesting poems in this 36-page collection.
It makes fascinating reading, but could do with more variety. Wasake’s main influences have been W B Yeats, Maya Angelou, Matsuo Basho (Haiku maestro) and Ugandan poet Professor Timothy Wangusa.
