A Tale of Ash

A Tale of Ash: Poems is an impressive collection from one of Nigeria's fine young scribes. Lucius Ndimele is unassumingly brilliant in his prose. This collection represents the lyricism of West African scribes and their collective genius of the ages. Ndimele's language is floral yet not overwhelming. His poetry is beautiful, yet not soppy. He writes about love, relationships, death and life."Your home is yesterday, you canOnly exhume what it looked like, Memorials fertilize your songs, everyDawn is laced with mines, everyYoung hour knows the intimacyOf a lime."Ndimele is clearly a sharp mind and his literary prowess is certain. It comes as no surprise that Ndimele comes from the literature paradise of Nigeria. Ndimele's poetry is reminiscent of Okigbo - in fact in many instances, he conjures up the titan of poetry in his work. This slim offering is full of nuggets of wisdom, prose and beauty that places Ndimele at par with his peers in the continent and across the borders." What is poetry if it does not look us straight in the eye, read our minds and stoke the various fires that drape our being? ... The work reinforces the position of poets as the keenest observers of our common human conditions: conflicts, tranquility and spirituality. The author [...] employed diverse imagery, metaphors and symbols to invite us all to reflect on hauntingly, and sometimes, pleasantly memorable glimpses of life and their intricacies. This is a welcomed addition to African/world literature and a continuation of the constant dialogue about humanity." - Edzordzi Agbozo, Poet and Member, Ghana Association of WritersLucius Ndimele, a poet, playwright and writer is the author of the poetry collections 'The Wandering Voice' and 'A Thousand Fading Tale'