Makoha’s new collection, while poetically stunning at times, makes for a challenging read, leaving the reader lost at times in the layers of all Makoha wished to achieve.
An ‘exploded collage’ drawing upon the work of Basquiat, this four part collection explores the thoughts and experiences of a post-colonialist voice. With a particular focus on African diaspora, Uganda and the themes of power, submission and liberation.
Makoha takes the hijacking at Entebbe Airport in 1976 as his cornerstone - marking clearly how political and colonial desires continue to hamstring the people.
The main message I could gain from this was one of suffering - of how power is held by the few and the majority are oppressed.
But it was hard to find these meanings at times, particularly when once reaching the end, unless you are incredibly familiar with Basquiat’s work, you realise how many of the poems are Ekphrastic.
For some this will no doubt prompt a reread - the beauty of poetic and artistic expression being the layers of experience and exploration.
But for me, it felt too over its head in all Makoha chose as inspiration and this impacted how enjoyable it was to read.