MARTYRDOM AND OTHER FREEDOM POEMS

About the Book

This poetry collection, appropriately dedicated “in derision of all the cloned dictators in Africa,” is marked by the acerbic irony of the “macabre poet” on various themes emphasizing Africa’s dilemma past and present. The titles tell the whole story, from the confusion and contradictions of “The Rabble,” idiots called leaders claiming to liberate the people from mental slavery when they, pseudoleaders, are begging for a re-colonization, to “Predators” and “Dogs of War” with people being their own worst enemies. In the midst of such tragedy, the poet finds consolation in the action of a few “Unsung Heroes” standing up to the messengers of national deconstruction and destruction. Such “Martyrdom,” avers the poet, will need to be replicated many times over if Cameroon, his besieged country, and its macrocosmic representation, Africa, are to stand a chance of escaping from “Apocalypse”. The style here is innovative, as the poet weaves languages, colonial and national, into historical analysis in mocking “patriotic” robbers hailing the superstitious and omnipresent père de la nation.

—Femi Ojo-Ade, Professor Emeritus, St. Mary’s College of Maryland, USA

About the Author

Dr. Peter Wuteh Vakunta hails from the Republic of Cameroon. He relocated to the United States in 2001 has been a teacher to date. Peter has a track record of teaching excellence (K-16). He has taught African languages and Literatures in English and French from 2004 to date. Peter has great passion for teaching and deep love for the students he teaches. At present, he is an Assistant Professor and chair of the Department of Modern Languages at the University of Indianapolis. Dr. Vakunta is an accomplished scholar with several publications to his credit. He is novelist, poet, essayist, and short-story writer. His research interests are inter-disciplinary and straddle the Francophonie and Commonwealth divide. Peter’s research teases out the nexus between theory and practice in the field of second language acquisition and literary criticism. His seminal publications include: The Life and Times of a Cameroonian Icon: Tribute to Lapiro de Mbanga Ngata Man (2014); Speak Camfranglais pour un renouveau ongolais. (2013); Nation at Risk: A Personal Narrative of the Cameroonian Crisis (2012); Nouvelles du Cameroun, (2011), Les douleurs de la plume noire. (2010), Martyrdom and Other Freedom Poems (2009), Indigenization of Language in the African Francophone Novel: A New Literary Canon. (2008); Nul n’a le monopole du français: deux poètes du Cameroon Anglophone (2007) and No Love Lost (2008). Dr. Vakunta has contributed chapters to four books; short stories to ten anthologies and poems to seventy-two poetic anthologies in North America, African and Europe. Twenty –one of Peter’s instructional videos on second language acquisition are available on YouTube. These products bear testimony to the fact that Dr. Vakunta’s mind is eclectic. Dr. Vakunta loves to share his knowledge. This explains why he belongs to a myriad of professional organizations, including ALA. He has chaired panels at ALA, ASA, MLA and MMLA. His scholarly articles have appeared in peer-reviewed journals worldwide. His most recently published article in JALA is titled “Camfranglais, a glossary of Common Words and Usages by Jean-Paul Kouega” (JALA 8.1(2013).