ISBN 9789956558148
Pages 84
Dimensions 216 x 140 mm
Published 2008
Publisher Langaa RPCIG, Cameroon
Format Paperback

Coils of Mortal Flesh

by Ba'bila Mutia

The diverse voices in the poems in this collection are unified in the single voice of the omnipresent persona who appears to be searching for a collective voice, some kind of order or rhythm that would impose meaning to life. Reading the poems constitutes an individual journey. This poetic journey from Awakening that takes the reader to Moonlight Spells & Wreaths and leads her/him through Laments to the Epilogue is a continuous movement in the search for humanity's existence. As a metaphor of self-discovery, the poetic quest is both an expression of, and a search for mankind's elusive self - that single, unbroken umbilical cord that is firmly rooted in the African experience and identity.

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Review

"Coils of Mortal Flesh is the work of a mature poet who delves into a wide range of experiences and emotions to produce his work. In both the tenderest love poem and the most overtly political ones, Mutia weaves effortlessly between cultures and worlds."

The African Book Publishing Record

About the Author

Ba'bila Mutia

Ba'bila Mutia is an award-winning Cameroonian author, poet, and playwright. He holds an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Windsor, Canada. His short stories and poetry have been featured in anthologies and reviews worldwide. He is the author of Whose Land? (Longman children's fiction); "Rain" (short story) in A Window on Africa; "The Miracle" (short story) in The Heinemann Book of Contemporary African Short Stories; "The Spirit Machine" (short story) in The Spirit Machine and Other New Short Stories from Cameroon, Coils of Mortal Flesh (poetry) and The Journey's End (2016). In 1993, Mutia was a guest of the Berlin Academy of Arts for an international short story reading. In September 2011, Mutia's play, The Road to Goma, was among six winners of the African Playwriting Project sponsored by the London National Theatre Studio where excerpts of his play were staged by professional actors. He has lived in Lagos and Benin City (Nigeria), Windsor and Halifax (Canada). He currently resides in Yaoundé, Cameroon where he is professor of African literature and creative writing at the École Normale Supérieure.

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