Their Champagne Party Will End!
Poems in Honor of Bate Besong
Bate Besong was Cameroon’s most vocal and controversial poet, playwright and scholar, who died in March 2007. The poems in this collection are a tribute to the man and his work, and provide a snapshot of the mood that prevailed after his death. Bate Besong ushered in a new kind of nationalist “fighting” literature in Cameroon, unapologetic in its defense of Cameroon’s Anglophone minority and scathing in its denunciation of postcolonial African dictators and their foreign collaborators. These poems defy Bate Besong’s death by affirming that his impact as a writer lives on. 34 poems are included from 30 poets.
ISBN 9789956558193 | 76 pages | 216 x 140 mm | 2008 | Langaa RPCIG, Cameroon | Paperback
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Reviews
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“Moving and tellingly generous, these tributes attest to the value of Bate Besong as humanist, artist, and patriot; the ‘Inextinguishable Flame’ of his inspiration; the triumph of his life over the pain of his departure. Here is a resonant celebration not only of the brief but boisterously bright fire of one of our bravest writers, but also of the unbreakable chord of our common humanity. The refrains in these elegies are anthems of hope. The ink in their lines will for ever stay aglow.”
- Niyi Osundare
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“These poems put into perspective the essence of that Anglophone Cameroon literary icon, the fearless “Obasinjom Warrior” with the bemused smile, who once upon a time, was called Bate Besong.”
- Ba’bila Mutia, Professor of Literature, ENS, University of Yaounde 1, Cameroon
About the Editors
- Joyce Ashuntantang
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Joyce Ashuntantang was born in Kumba Town, Cameroon. An Actress, screenwriter and filmmaker, she has studied in Cameroon, Great Britain and the USA. She earned a B.A in English from the University of Yaoundé, Cameroon, a Masters in Librarianship from the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, U.K., and an M.phil/ Ph.D in English from the City University of New York, Graduate Center. She has been teaching English/African Literature at the University of Connecticut at Storrs/Greater Hartford, USA since 2003.
- Dibussi Tande
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Dibussi Tande was born in 1968 in Buea, Cameroon. He obtained a “Licence” in Public law (1989) and a “Maitrise” in Political Science (1990) from the University of Yaounde. He also holds Masters degrees in Political Science and Instructional Technology from Northeastern Illinois University and Northern Illinois University respectively. Before moving to the United States in 1993, he wrote for a host of leading Cameroonian newspapers. He was also an associate editor for Cameroon Today and Cameroon Life Magazine. He currently produces the leading Cameroonian blog, Scribbles from the Den, and writes for a variety of print and online journals. His poems have been published in several anthologies.
