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'Poems from Abakwa in Cameroon Pidgin English is one patriotic rage. An anthology of sorts, this book of poems contains wisdom, inspirational reflections and witticisms for all. Through apt descriptions, illustrations, dialogues, interrogations and incisive phraseology, Peter Wuteh Vakunta creates an effective balance of colorful images that traces and documents disturbing accounts and evidences of corruption, greed, skewed values and life experiences that have assaulted his fatherland, betrayed political leaders and institutions, court judges, and parliamentarians as the police-cum-military continue to put their ambitions above the country's needs while forsaking future leaders-children. Vakunta describes how civil servants represent selfish interests and aspirations. Judges are intimidated as the nation's laws continue to be transgressed. The police and military continue to abuse the trust invested in them by civilians and misdirect their patriotism while virtually the entire nation continues to live shaky lives with a punctured integrity. Vakunta does this in popular lingos commonly used by musicians, business folks, and the common man under several labels-pidgin English, Camfranglais, Cam-tok, Camspeak, Majunga tok ...' Dr. Fidelis Achenjang, Union College, USA
On perusing Stream of Consciousness: Poetics of the Universal by Peter Wuteh Vakunta, one is struck by the eclectic and englobing nature of themes broached. Vakunta's poetry is both a transversal and longitudinal dissection of our world. The poet assumes the posture of a divinity casting interrogative glances at the deeds of humans. Not a single terrestrial creature evades his prying eyes. Even the most subtle creatures on Planet Earth are scathed by the poet's effusion of vitriolic emotions. The poet pursues evil-doers right into their graves. Even in their death throes, he continues to deal them fatal blows. Armed with a caustic pen, this chronicler does not sit on the fence and watch events transpire. Instead, he speaks for the downtrodden of all races and social strata: black, white, yellow, Papuan, Andalusian, wretched, opulent. This adds grist to the title of the book. The poet distances himself from the rigor of Kant and the moralism of La Rochefoucauld. Weary of hearing the voices of humans in distress, he paints the portrait of another kind of Humanity. Vakunta's poetry celebrates the harmonious cohabitation of verbal sophistry with the power of the word.
Tori Shweet for Cameroon Pidgin English is a compendium of short stories written in Cameroon's most widely spoken lingua franca commonly called Cameroon Pidgin English (CPE). The grassfields of Cameroon serves as the nursery where these culturally enriched stories are nurtured. The collection comprises animal trickster tales, bird survival tales and human-interest stories. In conformity with the philosophy of French novelist, Stendhal, this anthology of short stories is a mirror that reflects the folklore and mores of the ethnic groups that constitute the grassland region of Cameroon. It serves as a window to the worldview, mindset and value systems of the grafi.
Using linguistic stylings as subversive as the messages nestled between the lines, Vakunta s Requiem for Ongola in Camfranglais: Cameroonian poetics presents a scathing critique of the corruption of democracy into democraziness running rampant in the Sick Man of Africa . Written in Camfranglais, this is resistance poetry at its best: tokking through the mouth of the voiceless , the author pulls no punches in condemning the country s roi fain ant, the perverted acceptance of feymania, the reduction of the national Constitution into toilet paper, and the general climate of impunity that has created an atmosphere of frustration and hopelessness. Calling upon the redeeming power of the Word Speak truth! these verses deftly navigate through the multilingual lexicon of a new, African hybrid language, providing an insider s account of the real stakes at hand in Ongola, the Ewondo word for Yaound .
Takumbeng and Other Poems from Abakwa is a tribute to the Takumbeng in Cameroon. This collection of poems celebrates the prowess of the Takembeng, a militant female secret society in the Northwest Region of Cameroon. The poems address human rights violations, rape of democracy, misgovernment, and other forms of societal ills that plague post-colonial Cameroon. It is written in impeccable Standard English. The strength of the book resides in the vastness of the thematic terrain broached.