To honour the spirit of the Olympics 2012, 204 poems from around the world, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, have been collected from each of the 204 participating countries by the Scottish Poetry Library.
Here is the second set of ten from Africa. Enjoy!
- Egypt: Socks
- Equatorial Guinea: from Minitopography of Santa Isabel
- Eritrea: Unjust Praise
- Ethiopia: The Road to Nowhere
- Gambia: Parachute men say
- Ghana: Tin Roof
- Guinea-Bissau: Regresso
- Ivory Coast: The Death of Old Men
- Kenya: from Poem to her Daughter
- Liberia: Nyanken Hne, My Husband
The poems selected are often not by the most notable poet a country has produced. Some of them are funny or light-hearted. Often they are snapshots of lives rather than grand narratives. And some of the choices may be controversial. However, they all give a glimpse of lives in countries spanning the globe. Together these poems depict a world united not only by sport, but by emotions that are universal and need no translator other than the heart.
You will find the first set of ten here: Africa
Hello, I'm Deborah Swallow and, for the last fifteen years, I've worked in over thirty countries addressing the complexities of people working internationally across multiple cultures, so individuals and organisations alike can gain an authentic competitive edge and win in international markets. 