Promise of Hope, The: New and selected Poems, 1964-2013

Kofi Awoonor, one of Ghana’s most accomplished poets, has for almost half a century committed himself to teaching, political engagement, and the literary arts. The one constant that has guided and shaped his many occupations and roles in life has been poetry. The Promise of Hope is a beautifully edited collection of some of Awoonor’s most arresting work spanning almost fifty years. Selected and edited by Awoonor’s friend and colleague Kofi Anyidoho, himself a prominent poet and academic in Ghana, The Promise of Hope contains much of Awoonor’s most recent unpublished poetry, along with many of his anthologized and classic poems. This engaging volume serves as a fitting contribution to the inaugural cohort of books in the African Poetry Book Series. “A celebration of the work of one of our important world poets for readers both inside and outside Africa.”—from the foreword by Kwame Dawes “We pay homage to Kofi Awoonor as a poet not only with a profound vision and articulation of the world, our world, but also with a gift of words that is at home in poetry, in prose, in critical literary studies, and equally in major essays about our African, our human condition.”—from the introduction by Kofi Anyidoho