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Malawi’s prophet of good
By
Desert Nkolokosa - 18-06-2002 |
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Title of book: Gazing At The Setting Sun
Writer: Francis Moto
Publisher: Fegs Publication
Year of publication: 1994
Reviewer: Desert Nkolokosa
Francis Moto’s Gazing At The Setting Sun , is a col-lection of poems written between 1980 and early 90s.
The collection symbolises the end of one party rule and hope for a fresh start of multiparty democracy.
Although Moto is depicting how Malawians suffered under Malawi Congress Party, the presentation of agony brings pleasure to the reader. This is a strength in Moto because poems aim to delight the reader through the beauty of language, music and imagery, among other devices.
The poems are also a good example of imitation of nature and life experiences. Moto’s choice and arrangement of words evoke mental pictures and appeal to the senses of sight, touch, smell, taste and even hearing.
As was the case with most poets during the one party era, poetry devices, such as metaphors, were usually in abstract and sometimes departed from the universal conventions of poetry.
Moto’s symbolism creates a little mystery by disordering the reader’s senses and at the same time giving room for guessing.
There is beauty in every poem in the book. Even in a lament — a poem expressing intense grief — the beauty comes from the choice of words and the hope of change.
Even at the peak of one party rule, Moto was sure that politics would change one day. Hence such writing as:
Mine is a painful tale sweetened by elements in the wind of a new season (p. 46).
Here is a figurative use of language in which a paradox contains a direct contradiction.
In the same lines we see the hope the personae had in the painful tale which was sweetened by elements of change. What a great hope!
One would have expected Moto to sound almost like Mapanje or Steve Chimombo but he has his own way of writing and it is clear that he tackled common issues from a different angle altogether.
Notably, Moto is less cryptic than Mapanje and Chimombo. This quality makes Gazing At The Setting Sun a good book for everyone.
In the final analysis, it is surprising that a book which was published in 1994 is not well accessed by the public.
May be as a way forward, Moto should use his influence to encourage reading in Malawians. The best way is to start with publicity of his own book during the Education Day celebrations for example.
Gazing At The Setting Sun, a prophetic collection of poems, is a must for every patriotic Malawian to read.
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