Back to the Future

Otieno Amisi presents to us the consummation of the merits and pleasures of a personal anthology. This book proves that the personal is also societal, and that a single collection can grapple with the issues of an entire continent. Amisi shows the leaders in their true picture: hypocritical, arrogant and even downright silly. His characters range from insensitive government officials through street families, an on to almost prophetic popular uprisings. Amisi' s works are more than just poems of protest. The evils and their perpetrators merely an ephemeral stage in history, preceding a new birth. Their thrust is in nature, which provides a fertile ground for the exploration of different moods. Love, sexuality and human companionship prominently come to the fore. These poems are rich in the melody and rhythm, of African politics, nature, emotions, society and culture. Adrian Onyando, dept of Literature,Egerton University, Kenya.