Abdulai Walon-Jalloh

Panbody Blues Abdulai Walon-Jalloh

"Panbody Blues" opens with the grief-laden 'Absence Presence' and ends with the strength-inspiring 'Babeng'. In between Walon-Jalloh treats us with an array of ambitious craftsmanship that evokes frustration, history, loss, protest, hope and triumphs. This time Walon-Jalloh experiments with other poetry genres like the haiku, the limerick and a semblance of concrete poetry. There is a strong hint of contemporariness within the collection as evidenced by the echoes and vitality from the Mediterranean pieces as our young Africans brave the cold icy embrace of this sea that has come to symbolize the barrier and crossing from Africa to Europe. The blues, also, touches on some joy-inspiring moments of growing up in the city of Freetown.