Poetry
Images of the Sun
Barolong Seboni · 1986
Synopsis
The sun, the dominant feature of Southern African landscapes, serves as the thread of the collection: each poem captures one aspect of life under its light. The poet sees it as a deity, always above everyone, which people readily blame for misfortunes when famine, racism, poverty and oppression are the work of men. The poems start from lived experiences, from daybreak to the drought that strikes the fields and the shopping centre in Gaborone, and the sun also stands there for the free spirit that sustains the oppressed.
Context
The book appeared in 1986 in the publications of the African studies programme of the University of Wisconsin, with a critical introduction by Cyrena Pondrom. Seboni saw it as the fruit of several years of attempts to find an image that was both universal and specific to his country. Invited in 2003 to the International Writing Program of the University of Iowa, he presented a selection of it under the title Under the Sun. Other collections have followed.
Who it is for
Short poems in English, in an imagistic language, on the light and everyday life of Southern Africa.
Prizes and reception
The collection was reviewed by Dennis Brutus and Timothy Wangusa, and by the press of Botswana and Wisconsin.
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