Paa: a Tribute

By Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe Jr.

Notable critical praise for Okoampa-Ahoofe's poetry:
"Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe is a poet whose aunt once aptly called him a 'son of drums.' Poetry is his drum, on which he beats contrapuntal polyrhythms of praise and criticism, joyous celebration and bitter defeat, sexual exultation and existential despair. His poems are passionate in the fullest sense of the word like sheet music for percussion"
-Bobbie Kramer, literary critic and scholar.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Mar 7, 2004
• ISBN: 9780595759477

Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe Jr.

The first recipient of the 1988 John J. Reyne Artistic Achievement Award for English Poetry at New York City College, where he earned his bachelor?s degree (summa cum laude) in English, Communications and African-American Studies, Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr., was born and raised in Ghana. He teaches English and Journalism at Nassau Community College of the State University of New York, Garden City. A graduate with Master?s and Doctor of Philosophy degrees from Temple University, Philadelphia, Okoampa-Ahoofe regularly writes political and cultural columns for the Accra Daily Mail, Ghanaweb.com, Africa-Forum.Net, AfricaNewsAnalysis.com, as well as occasional book reviews and commentary for the New York Beacon and the Ghanaian Chronicle. He is married and has a daughter.

Book preview

Paa: A Tribute

All Rights Reserved © 2004 by Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr.

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, graphic,

electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or by any information storage

retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher.

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ISBN: 0-595-31117-2

Library of Congress Control Number: 2004091253

ISBN: 9780595759477 (ebook)

Contents

PREFACE

INTRODUCTION

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

BETRAYAL

ANEW DAY

SUNDAY MORNING

FATHER’S DAD

ONLYHUMAN

DRUMMER

SAGE

WAKE

HELL

SLOWLY

PAA

REGRET AND SHAME

SACKCLOTH AND ASHES

GRIM HARVEST

JFK

DAUPHIN

POETIC PANGS

COVENANT

GUILT

MIRACLE

OUR BABOON

ANOTHER ROUND

JOURNEY’S END

THE FADE

PRIVATE WOUNDS

E.R./I.C.U.

THE WAIT

WILL OF GOD

INDUCTION

BAD PLAY

ON THE CROSS

EUTHANASIA

SPECTATOR SPORT

VULTURES

A CARRY-OVER YEAR

FUNNY THING

CREST OF REGRET

SCRIPT

ABOUT THEAUTHOR

PREFACE¹

The death of Kwame OkoampaAhoofe, whom I affectionately and with unrestrained admiration called Oteaannankannuro, has left an unfillable and unbridgeable gap on the cultural landscape of Ghana. For, he was unquestionably one of the resolutely stalwart advocates of, and a firm believer in, the inestimable worth of our culture, and he not only taught it in Ghana and in the United States, but above all, he also lived it actively throughout his illustrious and many-sided life.

I met Kwame in 1967 when I joined the staff of the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, Legon. He was then working at the School of Performing Arts and we were immediately drawn to each other and shared many precious and unforgettable experiences together discussing our Akan cultural heritage. These stimulating discussions continued over the years and lasted till the end of his life. The work I did interested him to no end, and he gave me unceasing encouragement and irrepressible inspiration. And, the recognition I have received for my work, both at home and abroad is due, in no small measure, to his constant and unfailing encouragement, and I offer this recognition as a living memorial to his illustrious name.

Kwame exemplified for me a delightful mixture of the giver of wisdom and the seeker of understanding. He was a person of steady judgment and boundless good sense, whose breadth of intellectual achievement, strength of character and fundamental humanity brought considerable credit to himself.

No remembrance of Kwame can fail to do homage to his formidable wit. His conversation was rapid-fire, apparently so effortless, that he seemed quite unlike the rest of us. We all feel diminished by his death; and while we mourn his passing away, we also express gratitude for his life which was a blessing to all of us.

Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe’s life has ennobled us and given us an awareness of the value of our culture, and because Kwame lived and toiled so hard, the present generation and posterity will walk with pride in our cultural achievements:

Kwame,²

the giant-bear

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