Another Thought - Postcolonial Poetry

I drifted up to the attic where various cobwebs hung heavy. I scratched my ear, as this particular attic is not the one at the top of the stairs, the one we call a loft, but the one inside my head. Some years ago I was asked by friend Lorna Wood, she the Facebooker and partner/wife of Associate Professor of English at Auburn University, if I would take the prof, her husband, around London after he finished his talk in French France's capital, Paris. This I did. As a token of appreciation, and very unexpectedly, Don (for that is his name) gave me a signed copy of one of his books. The title of which is "Levinas and Nineteenth-Century Literature. It was this act that blew the dust out my attic. What if this site had as a third or fourth 'column' one about Postcolonial Poetry! With that thought in mind, I contacted Don and Lorna via E-mail...

Hello to you both. I trust all is well with you and your family. Forgive this unexpected and most likely unwanted e-mail during this the age of the pandemic.

Having pursued all and sundry related to the world of poetry, including published poets, publishers of poetry, societies dedicated to poetry, universities and others, finally, I have found a very small crack of light from which I pin my hopes.

Stateside you have the Poetry Society of America. Over here we have The Poetry Society. Trust us to THE. As both were started one year apart there is hardly any difference especially as they share the same passion. I have been in contact with all and sundry trying to restart "Something For The Weekend, Sir?" with limited success until now. The Poetry Society has given me their blessing to post poets who appear on their site. The first post goes live today. Then I had a thought. Dangerous that especially as it concerns Mr Wehrs and Ms Wood. You know, the authors of "Levinas and Nineteenth-Century Literature."  With an eye on Donald's expertise of Post Colonial Literature and Lorna's love and being editor of a poetry magazine along with her contribution in the aforementioned book, if the two of you, subject to your schedules and time available, contribute to an irregular post regarding Post Colonial Poetry?

If time prohibits such an enterprise then not to worry. 

Russell

I was thankful for Lorna's response but disappointed with what it had to say...

Hello Russell,

I hope you and yours are well also.

Thank you for thinking of us, but sadly we know nothing of postcolonial poetry. Don has mostly written on novels, and I have very little familiarity at all.

Good luck with your site, and I'm sorry we can't help in this area.

Best,

Lorna

As will be obvious by now, I never give up. Subsequently, I discovered the above book and its author, Rajeev S. Patke. I have no idea, not a whiff of a notion who this chap is apart from he too is an American Prof who specialises in poetry from postcolonial England, Britain if you will but countries who were once part of that horrid empire that forced the likes of India, Canada, South Africa, Barbados, the USA and surely others, to conform, convert, capitulate to the then mighty British Empire.

Finding the gentleman's E-mail address was no hardship. Writing what I hoped would catch both his eye and interest was more problematic. This is what I sent...

Dear Sir,

Not knowing where to begin I shall take a leaf out of Maria von Trapp's songbook and start at the very beginning. I had the privilege some years ago of showing Professor Don Wehrs, author of, among other books, "Levinas and Nineteenth-Century Literature."  For a man much like Winnie the Pooh, a bear of very little brain, I struggled somewhat with the content but was sufficiently impressed to ask both Don Wehrs and his wife Lorna, to join my spoken word poetry blog to write an irregular post entitled "Postcolonial Poetry." 

Their response was not the one I had hoped for but all the same understandable...

(Please see above)

Unfettered I muddled on. In my muddling, I came across your book "Postcolonial Poetry in English." Perfect! 

I'd like to extend my invitation to join the blog site to you but understand, what with this shut-down, I refuse to call it a lockdown, that you may have far more important things to do. I would understand were that the case. On the other hand, should you have time and inclination, you'd be very welcome.

My thoughts as far as including a post entitled "Postcolonial Poetry" would be to have a brief synopsis on the poem from whichever country posted along with said synopsis. If you are, as Oasis would say, 'up for it, GREAT. If not, don't worry.  

All the best,

Russell

This thought needs thinking about. Friday for Spoken Word Poetry. Sunday free for the Ornery Lady if and when. Tuesday for Postal Poetry and Wednesday for Postcolonial Poetry. If any of you have thoughts on this subject or know of someone who'd like to perform the regular posting of said title, then please let me know. As of this moment, I haven't heard back from Rajeev S. Patke. The thought though remains. Postcolonial Poetry. Hmmm.

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