The Audacious Young Poets of Angola and Mozambique

Author(s): Russell G. Hamilton

Reviewed work(s):
Source: Research in African Literatures, Vol. 26, No. 1, New Voices in African Literature
(Spring, 1995), pp. 85-96
Published by: Indiana University Press
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 TheAudaciousYoungPoets
ofAngolaandMozambique
RussellG. Hamilton

Until recently bothAngolaandMozambiquewereoffi-

ciallyPeople's Republics.Thus,theexpectation in thosethenemerging socialist
nationswas,orwas atleastperceivedtobe,thatliterature andotherformsofcul-
turalexpression shouldfurther therevolution andotherwise servetheinterestsof
thestate.In spiteofthespeculation thatthepartylinewouldmoldandgoverncul-
ture,andalthough somewriters andotheragentsofcultural productionindeeddid
embracea formofsocialistrealism, thelatter neverbecameanofficially prescrip-
tivemodeofartistic expression ineither MozambiqueorAngola.Infact,Agostinho
Neto,thecelebrated poetandfirst president ofthePeople'sRepublicofAngola,ina
speech to members of the Union of Angolan Writers onJanuary 8, 1979,denounced
socialistrealism(Neto26).
InthemidstofAngola'sindependence euphoria, anynumber ofdedicatedrev-
olutionary writers, manyof themveteransof the liberationstruggle, soberly
advisedyoung,inexperienced poetstolearntheircraftandnotletpatriotic exuber-
ancesubstitute fora carefulexaltation oftheword.ManuelRui,forexample,who
himself haswritten manypatriotic andotherwise circumstantial poems,albeitones
whosecontent generally doesnotoverwhelm form, oftentimes washeardtoinsist,
in discussionsat theWriters Union,that"a politicalpoemcouldonlybe a good
politicalpoemifitweregoodpoetry." Anda number ofAngolanandMozambican
poets,ofboththeolderandyounger generations, beforeandafterindependence,
indeeddidsucceedinwriting publicversefreeofthetendentiousness andcommon-
places thatcharacterize much circumstantial art.
Atthisjuncture itis worth takinga briefparenthetical lookatthewaningyears
ofcolonialruleinAngolaandMozambique.The 1960sandintotheearly1970s
witnessed a number ofsignificant advancesandnota fewcuriousoccurrences with
respect toa literatureofand a literatureinlusophone Africa. Among thesephenom-
ena werethe beginnings of sporadicdebatesaboutwhichwritersand works
deserved tobe includedintheemerging, butstillill-defined, canonsofluso-
literary
phoneAfrica.The debateswerealso aboutwhoshoulddetermine whoandwhat
weretobe includedin,and,forthatmatter, excludedfromthegrowing corpusof
authors andworksofandinAngolaandMozambique.Although thedebatesoften
becameacrimonious, theyhelpedestablishsomeimportant epistemologicalfron-
tiers.Needlesstosay,a complex,butoftencompelling, setofsocial,political,
cul-
tural,and aestheticfactorshas usheredin thiscurrent periodof Angolanand
Mozambicanpoetry.
In theyearsimmediately followingAngola'sand Mozambique'sindepen-
dence,brigades ofmostly youngwould-bepoetsburstontothesceneinLuandaand
Maputo.Mostoftheseaspiringpoetswerechildren or notyetbornin the1960s
whenthewarsofliberation erupted. Not a few, although perhapssincereintheir

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86 Research in AfricanLiteratures

exuberant patriotism, producedoftennaive,pamphletary verse.Ongoingpost-

independence civil in
strife both countriesmade forthecultivation, intothe1990s,
of documentary, circumstantialwriting.In thiscategoryLina Magaia's Dumba
Nengue:Hist6riasTrdgicasdo Banditismo [RunforYourLife:PeasantTales of
in
Tragedy Mozambique] andEduardo White's poemsintheslimvolumeHomoine
[thenameofa villagenearMaputowhere, inthe1980s,a massacreoccurred] come
immediately tomind.In spiteofthesocialbanditry inMozambiqueandtheseem-
inglyendlesscivilwarinAngola,as theeuphoria thathadattended theinitialyears
ofindependence to
began dissipate, youngpeople withno or limited livedexperi-
enceundercolonialruleturned increasingly tothetaskofcreating newformsfor
newcontents. A number ofrespectableolderwriters, whohadmarched underthe
bannersofrevindication, andcombativeness,
protest, urgedtheiryounger compa-
oninthisquestfora newliterary
triots order.
YoungAngolanwriters possessthelegacyofsuchimposing poets(nota fewof
themdistinctly engages),borninthe1920sand1930s,as Agostinho Neto,Airesde
AlmeidaSantos,Alda Lara,MarioAnt6nio,Viriatoda Cruz,Ant6nioJacinto,
Antonio Cardoso,CostaAndrade, ManuelLima,andAraldo Santos.Although the
legitimate heirstothesegroundbreaking poetsoftheAngolanGeneration of 1950,
manywriters oftoday'syounger generationlikelyfeelmoredirectly inspired,how-
ever,bytheirimmediate predecessors.PoetslikeJofre Rocha,JorgeMacedo,and
especiallyManuelRui,ArlindoBarbeitos, DavidMestre,andRuyDuartede Car-
valho,all borninthe1940s,initiated, evenbeforeindependence (andwe alsomen-
tionRosarioMarcelino,bornin 1953,whoinitiated his writing careerjustafter
independence), thekindofexperimentation thatinthe1980sandbeyondmanyof
thepost-independence poetshave carriedto levels of whatcan onlybe called
audaciousness.
PaulaTavares,bornin 1952,is oneofthefirst ofa groupofAngolanpoetsto
cultivatea kindoftropicalsensuousness anda sensuality bordering on eroticism.
Tavaresmadeherbookdebutin 1985withRitosde Passagem[RitesofPassage],a
thinvolumeoftwenty-four shortpoems.Thevolume'sfirst section,withthesynes-
thetictitleof"De CheiroMacio ao Tacto"[Witha Fragrance SofttotheTouch],
includessevenpoemsinspired byfruitsnativeto Angola.In "O Maboque"[The
MonkeyApple],forexample,thepersonaboldlystates:
Ha umafilosofia
do
quemnuncacomeu
tem
por resolver problemas difeceis
da
libido(10)
According toonephilosophy
withrespectto
thosewhoneverhaveeatenone
theyhave
yettoresolve
seriousproblems
ofthe
libido

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 RussellG. Hamilton 87

Thepoetgoesbeyondsensuality incelebrating "O Mamao"[ThePapaya]:

Fragilvagina semeada
pronta, semanal
uitil,
Nela se alargamas sedes
nomeio
cresce
insondavel
ovazio... (15)
Fragilevaginastrewn withseeds
ready, beneficial,on a weeklybasis
Initthirstsexpand
andinitscenter
looms
unfathomable
emptiness.
Thetropical sensualityanderoticism ofthisandotherofTavares'spoemsepit-
omizethenewliberation oflanguageandpoeticform andtheexpanding freedom of
expression innominally socialistsocietiesinwhichprevaileda measureofsexual
Puritanism. Thisliberation also extendstothepresenceofa woman,inthemale-
dominated ranksofAngolanwriters, whocomposesaudaciously erotico-tropicalist
poetry. PaulaTavaresis not,however, theonlyinnovative womanamongAngola's
contemporary poets.Anade Santana'sSabores,Odores& Sonhos[Flavors,Scents
& Reveries]is, accordingto theeditor'sblurbon thebackcover,a first bookof
"pouco maisde vintepoemasque constituem a surpreendente revelaqaode um
poetacapaz de invefinao no actoda escrita, de fidelidade
ao real,ao nossotempoe
espaqo,uma atmosfera recriadapela for;ada palavra"'littlemorethantwenty
poemsthatconstitute thesurprising revelation ofa poetcapableofinvention inthe
actofwriting, offaithfulness tothatwhichis realtoourtimeandspace,anenviron-
mentrecreated bytheforceoftheword.'Santana,a youngeconomist (atthetime
herbookappeared, in 1985,shewastwenty-five), givescredence totheeditor'sfur-
ther,aptcharacterization ofherpoetry: "Umavozfeminina coma coragemdepene-
trarareasdefendidas ou minadasporpalavreadoe ret6rica anteriores"'A feminine
voicewiththecourageto invadeterritories defended byorminedwithrhetorical
verbiage.'Andnolessdaringly thaninTavares'spoems,Santana'spersona, inthis
titleless
poem,states:
Queriadizer-vos
do melhor retratoque colhi
do vossomaisqueridofantasma.
Mas,
eisque o escarnioirrompe
de dentro das vossasbraguilhas
descaradas.
Vale-mea sensatezda musica
dizendoemritmo de semba,
da mulatacormuamba
e labiospintanga
e solta-sea minhagargalhada
nanoite.(26)

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88 Research in AfricanLiteratures

I wantedtotellyouall
aboutthebestportraitI couldget
ofyourmostcherished phantom.
But,
andhere'swheremockery
bursts
forth
fromyourtrousers'
shamelessflies.
I'm thankful forthediscreetness ofmusic
witha lambadabeat,
forthemulatto girlthecolorofpalmoil
withcherry-red lips
andmylaughter
piercesthenight.
Amongtheseveralrevelations in therealmofa boldnewAngolanpoetry to
appear, between 1985 and 1991,figure most Rui
prominently Augusto's A Lenda
do Chd[TheLegendofTea],E. Bonavena'sUlceradodeMinguaLuz [Afflicted by
WaningLight],J.A. S. LopitoFeij6K.'s Doutrina[Doctrine], AdrianoBotelhode
Vasconcelos'sEmoqoes[Emotions], WayovokaAndre'sLimosdeLume[Algaeof
Fire],andJoseEduardoAgualusa'sCoraqaodosBosques[TheHeartofForests].
Alloftheseyoungpoetshavemingled private andpublicvoicestoachieveinnova-
tiveresults inanartthatrevealsaesthetic andsocialtensions.
TheseyoungAngolanpoetsandtheirMozambicancounterparts havemanyof
thesame concernsthatpreoccupied theirpredecessors. They are concerned, of
course,withlanguage-notonlywithwordsas poetry's rawmaterial,butalsowith
therealand imaginedtensionsbetweenPortuguese and theBantulanguagesof
AngolaandMozambique.Relatedtothisconcern isthepreoccupation withidentity
(individual,ethnic,macro-ethnic, cultural,and national,to mentionthe most
salient)and,concomitantly, alienationfrom primordial sources(realandimagined)
andfrominevitably elusiveforms ofauthenticity. Inotherwords,someofthesame
opposingaesthetic, social,andpoliticalforcesthatconcerned pre-independence
poets still
obtain today.Thedifference is thattoday'spoets,withtheirgreater sense
ofcreativefreedom, areaptto playmoreexperimentally offdyadictensionsand
juxtapositions (e.g., privatevoice-public local and/or
voice; identity-alienation;
regional-universal) forstylistic and,generally, aesthetic
effects.
Thenewtropicality, whichcharacterizes someofPaulaTavares'sandAnade
Santana'smostcompelling poemsas well as theworksof anynumberof other
youngAngolansandMozambicans, isoneofseveralstrategies usedinanattempt to
resolvetheongoingcrisisof identity, identification, and
alienation, authenticity.
Another suchstrategy, onethatcharacterizes muchofthepre-independence poetry
ofcultural revindication,is an ancestralist,oftenromanticized depiction ofAngo-
lannessorMozambicanness and,byextension, anevenmoreelusiveAfricanness.
Inhispoem"NetoBisnetodeJagas"[Great-great-grandson ofJagas],included
intheaforementioned CoraadodosBosques,JoseE. Agualusausesan aggressive
genealogical, ratherthanjusta romanticized ancestralist,
approach:

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 RussellG. Hamilton 89

Netobisnetode Jagas
Tenhonosangueo lumedo sangue
Das noiteslonguissimas de espantoe temporais
Das noiteseriSadasdepressagios
E punhais
Tenhonosanguea morte
Nestesangue
Ondedormitam calados
Os chacais(28)
Great-great-grandson ofJagas
Mybloodcarriestheflameoftheblood
Ofendlessnights ofterrorandstorms
Ofnights bristlingwithforeboding
Anddaggers
Mybloodcarriesdeath
Inthisblood
Wherejackalssilently
Slumber.
TheJagas,whointhe1560sinvadedAngolafrom theeast,havethereputation
of beingfiercewarriors and a mysterious people(see Wheeler24 and 26). This
imagisticancestral,bloodrelationship witha supposedlyfearsome,bellicose,and
proudlyindependent peoplemarks personal and ethnic
identitythrough themys-
tiqueofdescentinAgualusa'spresumably thussomewhat
autobiographical, self-
aggrandizing,butaudaciously haunting poem.
Ina similarvein,although witha somewhat different
approachtothedilemma
ofidentity,LopitoFeijo's Doutrina includes "Um Cantodo Candondor" [A Chant
oftheCandondor),' a poemappearing inthevolume'sopeningsection,titled"Eu e
o CoroemTala-Mungongo" [TheChorusandI atUpperMungongo]. Thefollow-
ingis thefirst
halfofthepoem:
Solo:-A LUZ quandose apagabrilhamais
Coro:-E a morte...e a morte
Solo-SUKU/HUD se techamapassaentaoumgrandefrio
Coro:-E a morte...a morte
Solo:-HUKU/SUKU emnomede Deus paifilhoo espirito
santo
Coro:-E a morte...ea morte
(15)
Solo:-THE LIGHT whenitdimsshinesevenbrighter
Chorus: Itis death...itis death
Solo:-THE GOD OF DEATH whenhecallsyou,yousuddenly feelthe
coldbecoming intense
Chorus:-It is death...it
is death
Solo:-THE ORPHAN/GODinthenameofGodfather sonholyghost
Chorus:-It is death...it
is death
Thispoem,someofwhosesourcesdoubtlessly aretheritualorature
ofAngo-
la's autochthonous peoples,also depends,forthesakeofethnicidentity,on Kim-
bundutermsandon suchsocioaesthetic customsas call andrefrainandchant-like

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90 Research in AfricanLiteratures

rhythms. In thefinalanalysis,whatthisperformance-poem anddespite

represents,
whatever genuinely traditional
culturalsourcesitmayrelyon,is thepoet'swilling-
ness to experiment withlanguage,form,and content. In themannerof Arlindo
BarbeitosandRuyDuartede Carvalhobeforehim,butperhapswitha kindofdis-
arming innocence, Feij6takesartisticliberties
thatdefytherulesoftraditional
Afri-
canrituals andconventional Angolanpoetry ofPortuguese expression.
No lessthantheirAngolancounterparts themostrecent generationofMozam-
bicanwriting benefits froma significantlegacyofwide-ranging pre-independence
poetry.Ruide Noronha, OrlandoMendes,Virgflio de Lemos,Marcelinodos San-
tos,FernandoGanhao,SergioVieira,SebastiaoAlba,ArmandoGuebuza,Jorge
Rebelo,andJorgeViegasarea fewofthepre-independence poetswhosenames
comereadilytomind.Withrespectto attempts atrevolutionizingthelanguageof
poetry,thosewho mayhave had themostdirectinfluence on membersof the
younger generation areNoemiade Sousa,RuiNogar,FonsecaAmaral,Heliodoro
Baptista,AlbinoMagaia,AntonioQuadros,RuiKnopfli, and,aboveall,JoseCra-
veirinha, theunofficial Poet Laureateof Mozambiqueand arguablylusophone
Africa'sfinestpractitioner oftheart.
Oneofthefirst heirstotheCraveirinha legacyoftransforming thelanguageof
acculturatedpoetry isLuisCarlosPatraquim. Thelatter'sMonfao[Monsoon], pub-
lishedin 1980,was theclarioncall fora neworderofMozambicanpoetry. Patra-
quimfollowed thatfirst volumeofinnovative, well-craftedpoemswithAInadidvel
Viagem[TheUnpostponable Voyage]andVintee Tal NovasFormulafOes e uma
Elegia Carnivora[Twenty-something New Formulations and a Carnivorous
Elegy],published, respectively,in 1985and1991.Amongthepoemsin A Inadid-
velViagemis "ErosFonetico"[Phonetic Eros],whichis something ofa manifesto
forthenewsensuality andtheliberation ofthelanguageofpoetry:
a dicqaodo teucorpo
desnudo-anopolen
quandohumidavibra
e fendidafrenetica
mordemos as escamas
vermelhas dasvogais(15)
amidstthepollenI undress
thedictionofyourbody
whenmoistyouquiver
andshakily frenetic
we chewonthered
scalesofvowels
By thetimePatraquim, whonowlivesin Lisbon,had publishedhis second
book,therevolution in Mozambicanpoetrywas well underwayin thecitiesof
MaputoandBeira.Youngpoetshadbeguntopublishin whattheAssociationof
MozambicanWriters (AEMO) appropriatelydubbeditsColecqio Inicio[Begin-
ningsCollection].Itis worth partoftheCollection'sstatement
transcribing ofpur-
pose,printed ineachofthevolumes:"Paraa afirmaqao da literatura
moqambicana
no contexto literario
universal,passandopeloafricano,
impoe-se, implicitamente,
que se descubram e divulguem novosvalores"'To affirm
Mozambicanliteraturein
theuniversalliterary context,bypassingthrough theAfricancontext,
implicitly
inspiresthediscovery and spreading
of newvalues.'Indeed,thecontribution
of

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 Russell G. Hamilton 91

African values,inanartistically integratedMozambican mode,totheso-calleduni-

versalcontext hasheightened verbalandthematic tensionsintheworksofseveral
promising poetswhoseworkshave appearedin theColecgaoInicio.Foremost
amongthesepoets,allofwhomwereintheir twenties orthirties
whentheyinitiated
theircareersin the 1980s,are JuvenalBucuane,ArmandoArtur, and Eduardo
White.
After Patraquim, EduardoWhiteis perhapsthemostdaringly innovative,yet
artisticallysubtle, ofthisgenerationofyoungpoets.White,ofmixed-race origin,
bornin Quelimanein 1963,debuted,in 1984,withAmarsobreo Indico[Loving
abovetheIndianOcean],a titlepossiblysuggested byPatraquim's "CantoemSet-
embrosobreo Indico"[September Song abovetheIndianOcean],a poempub-
lishedin theaforementioned Monfdo.The IndianOcean has become,in fact,a
nationalemblem, a kindofsensuous,fecund, aquaticiconforMozambiqueandits
tropical,beach-lined coast.
WithO Pais deMim[TheCountry thatComesfromMe],2a volumepublished
in theAEMO seriescalled"Timbila"(a Rongawordformarimba), Whitetruly
began to fulfill
the he in
promise displayed previous efforts.
Theselinesfromthe
sixteenth ofthebook'sseventy-four titlelesspoemsconstitute a meta-poetic
state-
mentabouttheexhilaration thatattends theliberationoflanguage:
Javisteas avespelosmeuspoemas?
Javistecomose repetem taosonantes?
A mestria que as domestica...
Gostodelasemmeusversos,
gostoda no;ao de liberdade
que elasdao aos meuspoemas.(25)
Haveyouseenthebirdsthataboundinmypoems?
Haveyouheardhowtheyrepeatthemselves so sonorously?
Themastery thattamesthem...
I liketheminmyverse,
I likethenotionoffreedom
theygivetomypoems.
InWhite'ssensuous, sometimes eroticlovepoems,thenotionofavianfreedom and
oftheoceanandtheland(thecountry thatcomesfromhim)as metaphors forthe
lover'sbodycometogether inthesefirsttwostanzasfrom poemeighteen:
Talvezpudessecantar-te assim:
-Es o Indico
numatardequentedeJaneiro,
tranquila vestesa subitafrescura
e beijasa precisabocadospassaros
a lentamaturaiaodosmoluscos
soba costa,
teucorpoe de agua,
pura
e de vagase de espuma,
teucorpoque eu habito
comoquemprocura

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92 Research in AfricanLiteratures

a verdemem6ria das algas,

a doqura,a loucura,a poesia.(27)
PerhapsI might singtoyouinthisway:
You aretheIndianOcean
ona hotJanuary afternoon,
tranquilly youdressthesuddencoolness
andyoukisstheprecisemouths ofbirds
theslowmaturation ofmollusks
belowthecoast,
yourbodyis madeofwater,
itis pure
andmadeofwavesandfoam,
yourbodythatI inhabit
as onewhoseeks
thegreenmemory ofalgae,
sweetness, madness, poetry.
Another keymember ofwhatsomemayconsider tobe a generation ofenfants terri-
blesis HelderMuteia.Muteiais keynotonlybecauseofhispoetry butalsobecause
ofhisleadership roleamongtheyoungwriters andhiscontributions toanemergent
literarycriticism inMozambique.In themessagetothereadersthatintroduces the
poemscollectedinVerdadesdosMitos[Truths ofMyths], hisfirstbook,theauthor
writes: "O que n6sseremose a unicaverdadeutil.E nocampodos 'vaticinios infali-
veis' apenaso mitoe a poesiaabremcaminho. MPOPA" 'Whatwe shallcometobe
istheonlyusefultruth. Andinthecategory of"infallibleprophecies" onlymyth and
poetry showtheway.SO BE IT!.' Muteia'swordsandhispoetry, alongwiththatof
othermembers oftheyounggeneration ofMozambicanandAngolanwriters, point
an
up apparent desirein their
ranksfor a new cosmopolitanism and,indeed,thewish
toenterintothemainstream ofPortuguese-language culturalexpression (i.e.,Por-
tugalandBrazil,as wellas theotherlusophone African countries).3
Persuasive evidenceofa growing cosmopolitanism inAngolanandMozambi-
canpoetry liesnotonlyinthenatureofthewriting itselfbutalso inthescopeofits
literary referents.A perusalof severalofthevolumesmentioned aboverevealsa
number ofquotesfromthepoetry ofand/or allusionstoworldliterary figures.The
epigraph inAnade Santana'svolume,forexample,consistsoffourlinesofpoetic
prose,inFrench(witha Portuguese translation),byElsa Triolet,pseudonym ofElsa
Kagan, the Russian-born Frenchnovelist andcritic.Adriano B. de Vasconcelos's
bookbears,as epigraph, a fewlinesofversebyNazimHikmet, theTurkish poet.
AndArmando Artur's EspelhodosDias [Mirror oftheDays]quoteslinesbyJorge
de Sena,thePortuguese poet,Paul Eluard,theFrenchsurrealist, andRui Nogar,
Artur'sfellowMozambican.Patraquim introduces hisA InadidvelViagemwitha
versebyHerberto Helder,thePortuguese poetfrom Madeira,anda translation from
theKAMA SUTRA. An epigraph introducing oneofPatraquim's poemsquotesa
lineby CarlosDrummond de Andrade,one of Brazil's foremost contemporary
poets.Throughout hisbook, Patraquim sprinklesquotesfromanddedicatespoems
toanarrayofotherpoets,fromEluardtofellowMozambicans HeliodoroBaptista,
Craveirinha, and Nogarto Luso-Mozambican Rui Knopfliand fromPortugal's
Fernando PessoatoSpain'sJorge GuillenandChile'sPabloNeruda.

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 RussellG. Hamilton 93

Although severaloftheir morecelebrated predecessors arewell-read andwell-

traveled, somehavinglivedabroadin forcedor self-imposed exile,theyounger
AngolanandMozambicanwriters generally havea widerworldviewandpantheon
ofliterary rolemodels.Easieraccess,thanincolonialtimes,tobooksandjournals,
frequent andmoreprofound contacts withthatbroaderworldhavebeenimportant
inforging thiscosmopolitanism. Often, thesecontacts derivefrom a greatermobil-
ityonthepartofyoungpoets,notonlyvisitstoneighboring African countries andto
theformer metropolis, butalsotootherpartsofEurope,Brazil,andeventheUnited
States.(In thelatterregard,FilimoneManuelMeigos,another promising young
Mozambicanpoet,recently spenta yearattheUniversity ofIowa's famedWriters
Workshop. WhileinIowa,Meigospresumably wrotemanyofthepoemstoappear
in his collectionto be publishedunder the linguisticlyhybridtitle of
Poemakalashinlove.)
Needlesstosay,thechanging politicalclimate,withthecurrent movetoward
multi-party democracy inAngolaandMozambique, alsocontributes totransforma-
tionsin theroleandnatureofcultural expression. The changesbrought aboutby
independence and,morerecently, internalpoliticaltransformations have influ-
encedtheverynatureandsubstanceofcontemporary AngolanandMozambican
poetry.
To helpmakethepointwithrespecttothenatureandsubstance ofa growing
bodyofcontemporary AngolanandMozambicanwriting, we might pausetocon-
template, however briefly,thecurrent stateofpoetry as "highart"intoday'sworld.
LloydSchwartz, incharacterizing ElizabethBishop'sstyle,writesthat"...a poem
presents a complex, lived-through experience" (85). Theallusionto"serious"poet-
ry'scomplexity brings tomindRandallJarrell's well-known assertion,withrespect
toa poembyMarianne Moore:"I don'tentirely understand it,butwhatI understand
I love,andwhatI don'tunderstand I lovealmostbetter" (62). DavidLehmanuses
Jarrell'squoteinhis"ThePleasuresofPoetry," anessayontheworkofJohnAsh-
bery,oneofAmerica'sbest-known poets.Lehmanassertsthat"[a]nAshbery poem
hasanextraordinary immediacy, butyoucan't'entirely understand it.'Itspleasures
areaccessible,butitsmeanings areso elusivethatthepoetry itselfsometimes seems
tobe itsfirstandlastsubject"(62).
Thepointtobe madeherehastodo withtheelusiveness, ifnotinaccessibility,
ofcertain poems,specifically thosethatdonottella story. (John Yau,oneofAshbe-
ry'sformer students, is quotedas sayingthat"[m]ostpoetryin Americais anec-
dotal..."[90].) Starting inthelate1940sandcontinuing untilindependence, many
of theacculturated poemsof Angolaand Mozambiquemostcertainly qualifyas
anecdotal.Someofthesepoemstellcompelling storiesas theyprotest onbehalfof,
politicize,andmobilizeas manyofthecolonizedas possible.Andinthoseheady
yearsimmediately afterthe coloniesgainedtheirindependence, poetryoften
helpedtellthestoriesof nationbuilding.Linesofpoetryemblazonedpropagan-
disticbillboards orweresettothemusicofrevolutionary andpatriotic songs.
In the1980ssomecommunal events,inwhichpoetry playedanemotiverole,
continued totakeplaceinAngolaandMozambique.Mostnotably, startingin 1984,
younger members of the AEMO have in
regularly gathered Maputo's Tunduru Park
forpubliccultural festivals knownas Msaho(a Chopewordmeaning "song"),dur-
ingwhichtheyrecitefromtheirownworksas wellas thosebyotherMozambican
writers.

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94 Research in AfricanLiteratures

In spiteof thesecommunalhappenings, poetry,whether in Mozambique,

Angola, or the United States,appears tobe becoming more and more distant from
thepublic.Aproposofthequestionofpoetry's elusiveness aresomeofRitaDove's
observations on theoccasionoftheannouncement ofherappointment, inJuneof
1993,as PoetLaureateoftheUnitedStates.In a feature articlein TheNewYork
Times,Dove statesthatoneofherobjectivesas Laureateis "toendpoetry'sisola-
tionfrom American society."(7). According tothereporter whointerviewed Dove,
thelatter realistically this
puts hope into perspective: "Not thatsheexpectsa poetry
readingtofillfootball stadiums, as usedtohappeninMoscow.Notthatsheexpects
an American poettobe electedpresident, as LeopoldSedarSenghorwas inSene-
gal. Butshehopesthatan artthatseemedso inaccessibletoherfather [whoonce
toldherthathenotunderstand poetry] might becomea partofeveryday life"(97).
Withrespect topoetry's roleineveryday life,itis worth remembering thatdur-
ing the anti-colonialwars, in the liberated zones of Angola and Mozambique,
poetryand guerrillatheater, drawingin parton autochthonous oral traditions,
servedcommunal, motivational, anddidacticends.Inthe1980sand1990s,a grow-
ingbodyof "art"poemshasemerged toseta new,moremodemuniversal standard
forwriting inlusophone Africa.Thereadership forthis"highart"is,ofcourse,lim-
ited.As isthecaseinEuropeandNorth America, inlusophone Africathereaders of
in
poemstend, largepart, tobe poetsthemselves, a small eliteofconsumers of"high
culture," andteachers andstudents ofliterature,mainly atthecollegeanduniversity
level.Itappearsthatworldwide relatively smallsegments ofthepopulation consti-
tutetheaudienceforpoetry. Thecommonallegation that"poetry isdead,"atleastin
theWest,is a subjectforanother essay.Forthetimebeingandwithregardtothe
Portuguese-speaking world,including AngolaandMozambique, itis worth noting
that,compared with works of fiction, books of poetry sellas poorlythereas theydo
elsewhere inEuropeandAfrica, as wellas inNorthAmerica.4
If,however, we accepttheproposition thatpoetry, evenwheniteludesfacile
communication, celebrateslanguage("thelanguageofthetribe," as Ashbery putsit
[80]), we can affirm thata numberof contemporary Angolanand Mozambican
practitioners ofthearttrulyhavecarriedtheliberation oflanguageto new,often
audaciousheights ofexpressiveness. ThebestoftheseyoungpoetsofAngolaand
Mozambique,as do truepoetseverywhere, haveheededRitaDove's assertion that
"[i]nordertoconveythings accurately, thehumanbeingis almostforcedtofindthe
mostprecisewordspossible,whichis a pre-condition forliterature" (7). Andso itis
thatintheprocessoffinding thosemostprecisewords,members ofthenewestgen-
erationofpublishedAngolanandMozambicanpoets,writing in Portuguese, are
creating gratifying,audaciousAfrican anduniversal art.

NOTES
1.I wasunabletodetermine
theexactmeaningofcanddndor, I assume,
which however,
refers
toa diviner
orspirit.
2. Thetitle,
O PaisdeMim,alsoconveys
thesenseof"Country
ofMine"andperhaps
even
"Countrywithin
Me."

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 RussellG. Hamilton 95

3. Withrespecttorecentpoetry fromMozambique,see Mendon9aandVirgflio de Lemos.

Also ofinterestareEugenioLisboa's "ReinaldoFerreira et les douleursdes autres,"an
articlethatmakesthecase fortheinfluence a Portuguese
ofFerreira, poetwholivedin
Louren9oMarquesforseventeen years,onthepoetry ofsomeyoungMozambicans. See
Sauteas wellas CostaandMendonqa.
4. Somewouldmaintain thatintheU.S., poetry intheghettoes
flourishes andbarriosofthe
innercitiesintheform ofrapandelsewhere inurbansettingsinthe"SlamPoetry" sessions
thathavebeencropping upfrom NewYorktoSanFrancisco. Whatis ironicisthatevenas
poetry'scommunal functions seemtowaneinpartsofAfrica, intheWest,including the
U.S.,publicpoetry is,infact,makinga modest, butnotinsignificantcomeback.Twosuch
significantoccurrences thatlenda certaincachetto publicpoetryin theU.S. areMaya
Angelou'spublicpoemwritten forandrecitedbyherattheinauguration ofPresident Clin-
tonand,ofcourse,thenaming ofandattentiongiventoRitaDove as PoetLaureate.

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