Echoes from the Stream

By Ololade Afolabi

Echoes from the Stream is a collection of thoughts that appear in the authors mind through the quiet flowing of the stream. The author associates with nature as a source of healing, hope and encouragement and emphasizes that the natural environment provides succor when one is in a state of pessimism. The stream as a voice of nature is the strongest inspiration for the author. Going through a state of despondency herself, the author shares how one can find joy in the midst of the vicissitudes of life. The poems in the first part of the collection are a celebration of the life of a deceased mother who gave herself totally to her family and society. The pains that her loved ones feel about her cannot be compared to the joy she provided by her footsteps in the sand of time and this continues to bring hope to the children after her demise. It shows that no matter how powerful death is, some things can kill the pains of death. It is a reflection of hope in the midst of despair.
The second part of the collection, Africa is Home, describes nostalgic feelings for Africa, which is the home of the poet. Despite the glamour of a foreign country and all its endowment, the longing for home seems to be preponderant in her mind; some things always make you long for home wherever you might be. The third part of the collection is a general expression about the new experiences of life gathered across the Atlantic and how things are different. It celebrates this new society with its distinct culture.
-Ron Schaefer

• Language: English
• Publisher: Partridge Publishing Africa
• Release date: May 6, 2015
• ISBN: 9781482806953

Ololade Afolabi

A native of Awe, Oyo State, Nigeria, Ololade Afolabi is one of the emerging writers on the African continent. She has spent most of her life in Nigeria studying and researching into African literature. Based on her strong academic performance during her master’s degree at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, and her deep knowledge of the Yoruba culture, she won the prestigious Fulbright Scholarship in 2013 and was one of the few scholars chosen from Nigeria who were sponsored by the United States government to teach Yoruba language and culture in the United States of America. Her experience at Southern Illinois University–Edwardsville introduced her to the dynamics of intercultural relationship and the global community. Afolabi is a poet who is passionate about the biosphere and how this affects us as human beings and also the African environment. This passion emerged from her deep love for nature and things that surround it. This is vivid in the title of this collection, Echoes from the Stream, showing that her voice of poetry emanates from the natural environment. Echoes from the Stream is her first published collection of poems.

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© 2015 by Ololade Afolabi.

ISBN:      Softcover     978-1-4828-0694-6

                eBook         978-1-4828-0695-3

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CONTENTS

Acknowledegements

Preface

PART 1   FOR MOTHER

Memories

Stay Awake

Janitor

Orchards of Whites

Rays from the Shinning Grave

When the Nights Appear

PART 2   AFRICA IS HOME

Ile-Ife

Kemebradikumo

Ikoko Dudu

Amu

Stay on this Stain Forever

When the Season Comes

Races

When Naira Was Still Us

PART 3   ACROSS THE ATLANTIC

A Night in November

The