I recently completed my reading of Opal Palmer Adisa’s latest title ( I Name Me Name ), and I'll say more about it soon.
But in brief...
It is a collection of poems and prose (or verses and prose, if you prefer), and I like its tones. It is at times rebellious and confrontational, tender and reflective at other times, and it is unmistakably autobiographical--a woman's carefully constructed story of herself in all her dimensions.
The best part of the collection (for me) is the poems, each of which is a living breathing rhythmical treat. I’ve replicated two verses (below) from one titled “i” to illustrate some of that engaging rhythm and movement.
The first verse begins with the act of making connections to the past, and therefore fittingly appears to have spaces or gaps to either show distance / time or maybe gaps in memory. The first verse may also reflect a certain luxury in its longer lines as it gathers names and lineage. The second verse, on the other hand, has shorter lines, which may correspond with the older, independent self portrayed--the older version of the self in the poem, who communicates in the here and now with the use of modern technology. The self in the second verse may have either bridged, closed, or cut out the gaps (apparent in the first verse) for the sake of brevity or simplicity in compliance with today's internet and mobile modes of communication. But both verses tell of a quester who is either dissatisfied with being defined by lineage--i am the what of which has yet to be defined--or with the ways in which one can express or communicate one's feelings about identity--i not yet invented....
What do you see in the lines?
i am the i am
the same i that is child of catherine and orlando
i that is the granddaughter of edith and ezekiel
and anita & richard
i am the what of which has yet to be defined
i and i womanfari chanting up humanland
the i and i calling on jahmoda
i as in collective as in not standing alone
as in belonging to a lineage
jahmoda i and i
. . . .
i am i
i seeking independence
i the intellectual
i self the i-ness of i
i the internet and the instant message
i not yet invented
i looking at the eye seeking i
the i that i am
_________________
I Name Me Name, by Opal Palmer Adisa (Peepal Tree Press Ltd, 2008, 220 pp).
