Ghana Poetry Project

Featured Poet: Nii Lantey Lamptey

Watch Nii Lantey Lamptey recite "Obunkutu" and discuss the poem at this YouTube link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qd0iHifYeZ0

When Nii Lantey recited his poem “Obunkutu” last fall at the University of Legon , the entire audience cheered. Nii explains that “Obunkutu is a sacred appellation to warriors about to embark on a war expedition. It is enigmatic of a warrior charge. It is an invocation of unity among warriors for victory in battle, an incantation for uncountable warrior soldiers from the land of the dead to join the living in battle. It is a vibration of deadly resolution to fight.

“Obunkutu is no joke and must not be mentioned in peaceful times. It is bloody and deadly if mentioned in rage.” Nii explains this further at the end of his recitation. As you’ll see, Nii recites his poem in Ga, the local tribal language of the region around the capitol Accra.

A multi-genre artist, Nii is a singer-poet, a creative writer, visual artist, social commentator, a culture activist and a dramatist. He calls his performances EHALAKASA meaning talk singing or songs of talk. He also is a visual artist who creates symbols influenced by Akan icons that he calls PANOPTIC ARTLOSOPHY- it is an art of drawing symbols that tell a philosophical message. PANOPTIC ARTLOSOPHY. He plays traditional music, which he plays on unconventional wood instruments. He has recorded three albums, two of poetry and one of music.

Here is a translation of his poem “Obunkutu,” which is in the Ga oracular language.

OBUNKUTU!-BRAVERY OVER BRAVERY
LEKPE MA-GHANA-
THERE IS POWER IN GHANA
UPON THE SAVANA WE BARGAIN FOR POWER
FLAMES ENSUE
CRAFTMEN OF BOLDNESS
AND WARRIORS OF BRAVERY
WE HAVE COME FROM AFAR
WITH OUR GARMENTS DIPPED IN BLOOD
THROUGH QUICKSAND AND FORESTS
ON THE MOVE IN FURY

THOUSANDS SLAUGHTERED
HUNDREDS SLAUGHTERED
WE HAVE WALKED OVER THEM TO COME THIS FAR
DOUBTED AND DOUBTED
WE CONQUERED THEM ALL
WE CONQUERED FROM THE NORTH
WE CONQUERED TO THE SOUTH
WAILING FOR MOTHERS
WAILING FOR FATHERS
WE HAVE CROSSED THE DAY
WE HAVE CROSSED THE NIGHT
WE ROUTED CITY SQUARES
TO ROUND UP VILLAINS
WE ARE NOT MENTIONED WITH A COMPROMISE
DAMNED! LETS GO!!!

The Ghana Poetry Project is a new effort to promote the poetry of Ghana and its poets in Ghana and around the world.

You can find previous postings of poets in the archives.

Selected Works

1. Nonfiction

DJ Kool Herc
The first picturebook biography of the founder of rap and hip hop, DJ Kool Herc!

America Dreaming: How Youth Changed America in the 60s
"Phenomenal."–Howard Zinn "Excellent."–New York Times Book Review

Harlem Stomp! A Cultural History of the Harlem Renaissance
“Harlem Stomp! is a wonderous new book: it celebrates a time, a place, an energy, and a people who refused to be held back and so they created a culture the entire world is still reeling from.”

--George C. Wolfe, writer, director, and producer of the Public Theater, NYC

3. Poetry

Dave the Potter
A picturebook poem describing the life of the slave potter Dave. Illustrated by Bryan Collier.

Contemporary Poetry of New England
“Contemporary Poetry of New England offers a vivid portrait of a region, its colors and smells, its physical and emotional textures, and the people…. It presents a range of poets, few of whom would call themselves a “region poet,” although each has taken to heart in a private way Frost’s haunting dictum: ‘Locality gives art.’”

--from the Introduction

2. Fiction

A Brush with Napoleon
A seventeen-year-old is plucked out of the Grande Armee to sit in place of Napoleon for a portrait of the Emperor by the artist David.

Casa Azul
"I felt like a kid reading every word on the page! I liked the strains of "magic realism" coming through in Frida's house! Children will relate to this very much! The story is charming and reads like a thriller." –Margarita Aguilar, Assisant Curator, El Museo del Barrio

4. Middle Grade Series

Xtreme Mysteries
These kids love extreme sports--snowboarding, skateboarding, rock climbing, wake boarding--and are ready to fight when the right to do their sport is threatened.