Eko Ree – The Many Faces of Lagos

Description

“The collection is a candid but graphic reflection on the many faces of Lagos. The city is portrayed as a medley of experiences and the reader is taken through the hustle and bustle of a city, which in a way, manages to reveal its own magic. The experiences captured in this book are those of the ordinary Lagos dwellers hacking their way through seemingly impossible passages to make a living. Eko ree is distinctly impressive. It is very rare to find a poetry book that is entirely devoted to the urban. This is where the author’s strength lies. The collection is engaging. The title is apt and captures the metaphor of Lagos life. Almost every poem in the collection is successful.”

– Professors Mary Kolawole, Idris Amali, Saint Gbileka & Dr Charles Bodunde (Citation by Association of Nigerian Authors Jury at the announcement of the book as ANA/CADBURY 2004 PRIZE WINNER)

“One of the strong points of this collection is the use of simple, accessible language…Eko Ree is a collection thatthrives on connects from different levels, catching images of city life as experienced in the peculiar city of Lagos…He captures the fine details of everyday life, depicting the degeneration of the human condition and how these characters have adapted to live in cheerfulness and gusto in spite of the difficult times. Indeed, the collection paints the many faces of Lagos.”

– Dr Hope Eghagha

“I believe that Simbo has magnificently captured the pulse of life of the city in his collection. He notices the usually unnoticed and interpretes the street life vividly and uniquely. He presents the reader with a delightful mixture of complex and simple, abstract and concrete, urban conversations that challenge us to examine our very being and relationship with our total environment – socio-economic and political.”

– Dr Ambrocio Lopez