Kraft Books – förlag

Winner of the Winner, ANA/Cadbury Prize, 2009, Heart Songs, Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo,s first collection of poems, reveals the hidden poetic mind of a writer who had previously worked extensively and excelled as a novelist. At one level. the poems read like the products of a souls just out of a certain prison. They break the barriers of the unity of thought that governs the writing of a novel, as Adimora-Ezeigbo is at home with subjects as varies as power, love, culture, gender, philosophy and crime in this collection.

Having produced five volumes of poetry, with a vision conscious of nationhood, Raji has become a stable dependable and enduring voice in recent Nigerian poetry. A poet with a consummate political theme, Raji sees versification as an engagement in the socio-political discourse of his land, aimed at forging a just nation.

Marsh Boy and other Poems is a welcome contribution to the tradition of poetry devoted to the revolutionary struggles of the people of the oil-rich Niger Delta region of Nigeria. The poems celebrate the radical spirit of the oppressed and exploited people in their relentless quest for equity, equality, and justice. They are songs of anguish, revenge, defiance, love and patriotism.

As one of the most important Nigerian poets who continue to write the nation in verse, Yeibo, in this fifth collection of poems, has strategically fashioned a kind of poetry that does not only derive its idiom from the prosody and folk tradition of the Izon of Nigeria, it equally advances the poet,s vision through form and structure. His recourse to folklore and reliance on oral materials in the image making process gives coherence and form to the poems. However, what distinguishes this collection from the previous ones is the question of the form through which he demonstrates an intense awareness of the Nigerian experience.

Rome Aboh,s poetry unmistakably enwraps the condition of the politically and socially cannibalised segment of his society; and the beauty of the verse radiates from his facility with language as the stylist and linguist. The section ,patriotism, with such poems as ,hour of truth, aptly brings out the socially obligatory role of the poets whose mission goes beyond versifying and sharing their personal fantasies and urges. Similarly the poem ,letter to the mp, echoes the agonies of the common masses who feel deceived by the ruling elite in their so-called democratic nations.

The play depicts a troubled and violent society stoked by a vicious and violent culture of intolerance and extremism. It is about restiveness, puritanism and the politics of religiosity. The play gives a glimpse of the views and frustrations of young people, the supercilious and hateful perceptions of some clerics and the brigandage of law enforcers in such a given situation. The play points to the role courageous individuals could play in speaking out for peace and standing up to violence and in defiance of fear and for preservation of freedom.

Musa runs from death but not far enough from its canny sting. His heart of stone is so cold that his suicide mission radar stringently points at a large gathering of his family and friends. Kaka Patu his grandmother and Amina his fiancee are unavoidably absent but Kaka Vero and Gladys are unlucky. Musa is apprehended and his death becomes inevitable, either subtle or hard. Yerima brings this ugly social reality to stage in Heart of Stone to unveil the depth of man,s heart of darkness and the visceral vicissitudes of scripture misinterpretation and misappropriation.

Winner, ANA Drama Prize, 2014, Maybe Tomorrow is a drama that conveys the searing anger of a new generation in Nigeria. Soji Cole is a member of the faculty of arts of the Univeristy of Ibadan.

Iredi War was the winner of The Nigeria Prize for Literature 2014. The playwright introduces the notion of ,folk script, with its special stamp. The use of the oral literature genre allows for the full exploitation of the creative licence which allows for the swings from the historical to the oral, the natural to the supernatural, the real to the fantastic.

Ahmed Yerima,s play celebrates the phenomenon of twins among the Yoruba people. Orisa Ibeji is also about man,s fear of death and love of life; destiny and reincarnation; and the place of the gods in human affairs. Yerima employs simple and beautiful language, dynamic characters and deft skill to navigate the labyrinth that is Orisa Ibeji.

Death and the King,s Grey Hair and Other Plays is a collection of three plays, ,Death and the King,s Grey Hair,, ,Truce with the Devil,, and ,Fringe Benefits,, which are all experimental plays from the early period of the writing career of Denja Abdullahi, who is presently renowned as a poet of populist expressions. ,Death and the King,s Grey Hair, examines the use and misuse of absolute power based on an ancient Jukun myth of young kings and short reigns. ,Truce with the Devil, is a satire on the later abandonment of the creed of Marxism by its adherents, a kind of mockery of turncoat revolutionaries in the grip of practical social realities. ,Fringe Benefits,, a radio play, is an expose of the happening in Nigeria,s ivory towers, seen from the eyes of a participant-observer.

Chris Anyokwu,s new creative offerings are snapshots of a the quotidian reality in the playwrights homeland, Nigeria, where polygamy and its associated evils, crass materialism and its classless followers still predominate. Even the ivory towers are not left out as petty rivalry, dirty politics and even fetishism seem to be the name of the game.

An inspiring and intriguing tale of heroism, Zheroís quest for education and self-worth takes him from the rustic village of Amabra to the cities of Port Harcourt and Lagos. Armed with a determination to succeed against all odds, his quest unearths a malignant problem in the society, which is the degradation and loss of human values. Vincent Egbusonís book is compendium of issues pervading contemporary Nigerian society. It beckons on its readers to emulate acts of kindness and self-sacrifice.

It is believed that even silence will whisper when pushed to the wall. Saleh,s love and respect for his mother, Hamsatu, is not only detrimental to his own life but also injurious to his family life. Hamsatu makes all the decisions in his life. She becomes despotic and decides who her son should marry and the type of children his wife should bear. Habiba is just thirteen when her grandmother, Hamsatu brings in a suitor, Zubairu, a contemporary of her late husband. Although Saleh wishes to send all his children to school, a rainstorm renders him hopeless as his mother takes ill and eventually dies. After his mother,s death, Saleh,s bankruptcy compels him to take a loan from the elderly Zubairu on condition that failing to repay the loan means handing his daughter, Habiba, in marriage to Zubairu. Habiba is helpless, as it turns out that she is not just paying for the wrongs of her father but has to carry the responsibility of his abandoned wife and children by remaining married to Zubairu who is willing to assist them as long as she plays his game. Radiant Mohammed brings to the fore the socio-cultural plight and challenges that bedevil impoverished northern Nigerian families and compel parents to scuttle their children,s educational ambitions at very tender ages in favour of marriage. Consistently, Mohammed nails the dilemma of the young Habiba between loving and hating the adults in her life that have caused her pain, and the desire to avenge her lost youth and ambitions.

Okafor ran wildly through the jungle, the phantom captain and his ghoulish platoon in hot pursuit. The faster he ran the more they gained on him. The earth suddenly became marshy and slippery under his feet, impeding speed and balance. He came to an intersection where the jungle paths crossed and saw a mound of earth about four feet high. Just beyond the mound stood a giant Iroko tree. Intuitively, he knew that if he jumped over the mound and quickly climbed up the tree, the ghostly captain and his soldiers would lose him. Eons merge in interstellar whirls. Realism, science fiction and fantasy fuse to drive this drama of transition, cross civilisation and self-discovery.

In King of the Jungle, the bouts of ethno-religious violence in Jos are fused with the heartbreaking story of two brothers who go through life unaware of each other,s existence. Carefully crafted with local colour which evokes memories of pre-2001 Jos, Bizuum Yadok,s first novel weaves humour, urban realism, tragedy and redemption.

This autobiography relives the lifestyle of a Warri Boy, the typical escapades of a young man going through life with the influence of peer groups, and an ultimate transformation through experiences of self-discovery and a deepening relationship with God.

This study explores the nationalist imagination, artistic philosophy and the overtly political dimension of Remi Raji,s poetry. It is an attempt to construct a sustained critical discourse on Raji,s ongoing body of works. Raji is one of the major poetic voices on the Nigerian literary scene today. With the publication of his first collection, A Harvest of Laughters, in 1997 Raji has continued to strengthen his craft and vision through subsequent volumes: Webs of Remembrance (2000), Shuttlesongs: America , a Poetic Guided Tour (2003), Lovesong for My Wasteland (2005); and Gather My Blood Rivers of Song (2009). Evidently he has attained poetic maturity and, given the frequency of his output, is set to realise a fulfilled poetic career. His maturation thus far through these five volumes deserves a major critical assessment, and a possible prediction for the direction of his artistic vision.

A concern for social regeneration stands as the factor that animates Soyinka,s life-long involvement in social and political activism, leading to hid incarceration for two years during the civil war, and his having to flee into exile during the period of Sani Abacha,s dictatorship. Soyinka expresses this same concern for social regeneration in his writings, using difference metaphors. The focus of this work lies in the exploration of the articulations of social regeneration in the works of Wole Soyinka. The first past focuses on the dramatic works, and the argument of the author is that the metaphor adopted by Africa,s foremost playwright in articulating his vision of social regeneration is that of ritual. Attention shifts in part two to Soyinka,s two novels; and here, Bello goes to the roots of Yoruba metaphysics to fetch a metaphor which describes a creature with contradictory personality; which at once is committed to the regeneration of the social order while at the same time retaining a vindictive, vengeful nature.

Trends in Nollywood: A Study of Selected Genres is a welcome addition to the growing body of works on the Nigerian cinema. It is part film history and part film theory and criticism. The history part traces the origin of the Nigerian cinema up to the present era of video productions. The work examines in detail, the contextual issues which have helped to define emergent trends within the industry.