© Wendy Vogt & Alan James
We must
say, at the outset, that we were immediately impressed by the poet's depth of
feeling and his honesty, which come across very powerfully and are
met and matched by the simple, unpretentiousness of the poems. This impact would not occur, we think, were
it not for the clearness and openness of the lines which, although simple,
leave room for questioning. They seem to
say: This is the way it is, but where to next?
The Time of Our
Lives begins (what irony!) with a poem called The Knock, which opens a door to a
world of captivity and longing to be free.
The first line
I
am left with a sigh that kneels to heaven
is so
full of the recognition of pain that, whether or not one has been physically
confined, one may recognise some of that wearing down of the same area in the
trapped space of one's own self or one's colour, or the locked cell / room,
ghetto, township, suburb. Yet, even in
captivity it is possible to hold together love and loneliness and to
communicate them across or through the barriers - an achievement of great
personal importance. Thus Farouk Asvat,
in his poem entitled The Poet sees himself as a
prisoner
of the cubicle
who slowly and painfully develops an image:
a painting of ashes, roses
love and loneliness
There are 54 poems in this slim but solid
volume. They are divided into seven
sections associated with different places which the poet has experienced. The sections have starkly revealing titles
(in line with the poetry) such as Withering Under the Azaleas, and Bluegums and
Minedumps, and the poems are arranged in more or less chronological
order, having been written between 1970 and 1982, during which period Asvat
served a five year term under a banning order.
Twelve years is a long time in the life of a poet, but Asvat's poems do
not show signs of any special thematic or stylistic development; he has
evidently found his voice and is happy with it.
It is a voice of simple and strong statements:
I gaze into aquamarine eyes
Seas rushing forward
playfully
withdrawing
(Songs of Love Songs of Pain);
of stark and potent images:
My love, you took everything
Sapped my soul
Sucked my mind with your
kisses
Left dust in the marrow
Acacia-thorn in the heart
(To Azania);
and of
frank moral perceptions:
Now
that we live in the age of lies
Truth shies from its chosen
course
Prefers to sleep with
courtesans
(It
Is the Season of Dying).
It is also
a voice that speaks (amazingly, without rancour) of an ordinary life being
lived in the middle of a frighteningly violent South African society where
repression, rape and murder are one's constant neighbours and companions:
But
still we danced the Pata Pata
Talked poetry into the night
Coffee and biscuits to keep
us company
While distant rape screams
Mingled quietly into the
night
(Wanderers Street).
There is no
rancour. But the poems do bite.
If poetry
is essentially about anything, it is about how morality and immorality are
experienced, deep within, and not through dogma but through love and struggle. That is what is to be found in these poems;
they are full of existential angst, with an uncompromising awareness of the
paradox of life:
Geared
for pleasure
down the highways
you diced with
death speeding
pass the
fleeting
hours
of
life
(Death Lives).
Included in
the collection are a number of patois poems which readers might find
difficult. They have an authentic ring
and speak street wisdom:
Siezah!
life is sweet like a lêhmon.
(Suite).
But there
are a number of words that are not clear.
Perhaps there should be more extensive notes.
Asvat's
poems, though not worked intricately or subtly with many depths and clever
twists and juxtapositions, are exciting, are true and are
thought-provoking. And they show up
South Africa's deep malaise - our enforced separation from each other. These are good reasons why the collection is
worth attention, and there is much more that can be dug out with concentrated
reading.
© Wendy Vogt & Alan
James
published in: Upstream, Cape Town, p18-20, v1 n3, Winter 1983.
___________________________________________________________________________
<> blog link: https://faroukasvat-reviews.blogspot.com
<> direct
post link: https://faroukasvat-reviews.blogspot.com/2019/11/depth-of-feeling.html
<> blog archive: 14
november 2019
___________________________________________________________________________
[§] Books by Farouk
Asvat:
● Sadness In The House Of Love (novel)
● The Gathering Of The Storm (novel)
● I Dream In Long Sentences (poetry)
● The Wind Still Sings Sad
Songs
(poetry)
● A Celebration Of Flames (poetry)
● The Time Of Our Lives (poetry)
● This Masquerade (short stories)
● Bra Frooks … (poetry)*
● The Paanies Are Coming (short stories)*
● In The House Of Love (novel)*
● Weapons Of Words (comparative
literature & literary criticism)
¨ all my books are now available
on amazon: in paperback & kindle
___________________________________________________________________________
[] please check out my blogs @:
weapons of words: https://faroukasvat-viewpoint.blogspot.com
piquante: https://faroukasvat-piquant.blogspot.com
quran lectures: https://faroukasvat-quran.blogspot.com
streetwise: https://faroukasvat-lingo.blogspot.com
biography: https://faroukasvat-bio.blogspot.com
books by farouk asvat: https://faroukasvat-books.blogspot.com
[] please join me on:
facebook: https://www.facebook.com/faroukasvat
twitter: https://twitter.com/faroukasvat
___________________________________________________________________________
© farouk asvat. All
rights reserved.
Farouk Asvat
asserts his moral right to be
identified as the author of this work.
No part of this publication may be
reproduced by any means whatsoever, or transmitted in any form or any means
whatsoever, mechanical or electronic, including recording, printing,
photocopying, or via any computerised means or media, including the internet. This publication shall also not be stored in
a retrieval system. And the writing
shall not be sold, lent, hired, resold or circulated in any form or binding or
cover other than that in which it is published,
without
the prior permission of the author in writing.
Permission to
publish or reproduce the writings in any format can be obtained from the
author.
Reproduction of
this work without permission, except for scholarly & nonprofit purposes,
is liable to a
payment of 10, 000 ren men bi or US$ 1,500.
farouk asvat can be contacted at: farouk.asvat@gmail.com
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]
the NOVEL Sadness In The House Of
Love by Farouk
Asvat
is now available on amazon: in paperback @ $15 & kindle @ only $5
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]
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#faroukasvat #weapons #of #words #comparative #literature
#literary #criticism
#reviews #wendy #vogt & #alan
#james #depth
#of #feeling
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