'Southern Stories and Songs' is a collection of fifty-two poems written during the month of Ramadan, reflecting on the various shades of poverty. The south in the title refers to the global south or the southern hemisphere, which is currently replete with poverty; the book, however, presents the south in two ways; on the one hand, it echoes the songs and stories of fatality, hopelessness, marginalisation, vulnerability and failed dreams; while on the other hand, it sings and narrate stories of hope; particularly of the galvanisation of the human family in their resilience and triumph over the adverse conditions of penury. There can be no better time that necessitates the discussion of the greatest blighter of lives in the south than now, when the millennium goals or targets of reducing poverty has catastrophically failed; at a time when all attempts of 'making poverty history' has proved glaringly disappointing; at a time when the global south continues to grovel in abject poverty; clearly there is a need for people to make sense of their lives and this book provides that fresh angle, which will, hopefully, teach the north a thing or two about poverty and its impact on: nature, the psyche of the poor and its implications for the sustainable future. To provide a friendlier reading experience, this collection has been divided into seven sections or clusters. Cluster one: contains eighteen narrative poems or stories based on the theme of poverty and its impact on human lives, cult ure, politics, religion and nature; cluster two: contains sonnets on the theme of penury; cluster three: contains poems that explore the biases in power and how certain conflicts can make the situation of the poor worst; cluster four: looks at the assertiveness of the poor in the face of abject poverty; cluster five: looks at the education of the soul through suffering in order to attain enlightenment; cluster six: looks at the ability of man, animals and nature to motivate others in their trying needs and, finally, cluster seven: looks at the human conditions of hunger, crime etc and its impact on the marginalised in society. If only not to pre-empt reader's conclusions on each poem and spoil their enjoyment, a poem-by-poem summary has been provided at the back of the book, to indicate the intended breath of themes to be covered and provide a starting point for students and teachers who might want to use these poems for their poetry lessons.
About the Author: Njanguma S Momodu was Born in 1968, at Bumii (Tongo - Air fields) in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone - West Africa. Njanguma, or big, sleek and smart cat with forty-seven lives, was truly sleek in his blue uniform in 1976 when he enrolled at the Roman Catholic Primary School. From there, he entered KSS (Koidu Secondary School) in 1983 and showed that he was truly smart when he completed his secondary school in 1988. In July of that same year, he transformed himself from a domestic cat into a big cat by flying to London. From 1988-1995, he studied Business, Law and Economics at the Kilburn Polytechnic and, in 2000, he entered the University of Westminster and graduated four years later with an honours degree in Business Studies. Shortly afterwards, he undertook a post-graduate degree at the Institute of Education - University of London. It was while studying at these various institutions that he discovered the elixir to prolong his life, and what better way to earn himself these forty-seven lives than to write poems and stories. So, as a true leopard with writing all over him, Njanguma published some poems in 'M'frique' in 'On the Threshold of a Dream' next there was 'Roots' in 'The Best Poems of 1995' (both published by the North American Library). Five poems were also published in the Feather Books Publication and 'Bless You O Tireless Hand' was published by 'Still life.' Other publications include: a collection of fables and myths for children called 'The five Fingers' 2012 and his gothic collection of short stories called 'Daughter of Albino' was published in 2015. Njanguma S Momodu is a Founder, Manager of 'Tailored Tuition' a tuition centre which prepares learners for 11 and 13+ English exams for both private and grammar schools. The centre also prepares secondary school learners for their GCSE English, Business and Economics exams. Njanguma lives in London. He is married and have four children.