Dead Lion’s Don’t Roar is a collection of inspiring and motivating modern-day verses. Addressing many issues close to home and also many taboo subjects, the poetry is reflective of today’s struggles, and lights the way to a positive future. The uplifting book will appeal to all age groups and anyone going through change, building or enjoying a career, and facing day to day struggles. Many of the short verses will resonate with readers, leaving a sense of peace and wellbeing.

Dead Dogs Don’t Bark is the second poetry collection from the acclaimed author Tolu’ A. Akinyemi. With a similar tone and style to Dead Lions Don’t Roar (Tolu’s first poetry collection), this follow-up masterpiece is nothing short of pure motivation. The poems cover a range of topics that many in life are aware of, that the author himself has experienced, and that we all, whatever our age, need support in. Beautifully written, the poems speak volumes to all age groups as they encourage finding your inner talent and celebrating your individuality and distinct voice. The poetry collection contains didactic elements for negating the effects of peer pressure and criminality, along with many other forces. Also covering mental health, relationships, career focus, and general life issues, the poetry is, in turn, bittersweet, amusing and thought-provoking.

Dead Cats Don’t Meow urges its readers not to waste their ninth life…the author of the collection of poetic wisdom for the discerning adds his third compendium of poems to the bookshelves alongside Dead Lions Don’t Roar and Dead Dogs Don’t Bark. Tolu A. Akinyemi, renowned poet, author and performer, brings to us Dead Cats Don’t Meow, a metrical masterpiece which invokes love and respect for life with every word. Each poem examines a part of life, a sensation, a reaction, or an emotion. Beautifully written…individually, the verses breathe their own beat, whilst the collection knits together perfectly to present an idyllic collection to attain innate potential. “Don’t waste the ninth life! Don’t miss the chance to add this rare compendium of poetic wisdom to your bookshelf today!"

OH, THE WEBS WE WEAVE... For his seventh poetry collection, Tolu' has turned his attention to that old adage - no one in a writer's life may have secrets. A vibrant, human exploration of the way in which words and deeds connect all of us, and the tiniest movements which span out across continents. Tolu' writes powerfully on family, love, loss, and with a scorching curiosity for the world around us. His readers will be familiar with his inimitable style, and this latest collection does not disappoint.

The first collection of short stories by this multitalented author entwines everyday events that are articulated in excellent storytelling. The title story “Inferno of Silence” portrays men’s societal challenges and the unspoken truths and burdens that men bear, while “Black lives Matter” shows the first hand trauma of a man facing racism as a footballer plying his trade in Europe. Stories range from “Return Journey” where we encounter a techpreneur/ Poet/Serial Womanizer confronting consequences of his past actions, to “Blinded by Silence,” where a couple united by love must face a political upheaval changing their fortune. These are completed with stories of relationships: “Trouble in Umudike” – about family wealth and marriage; “Everybody don Kolomental” where the main character deals with mental health issues; and “In the Trap of Seers” when one’s life is on auto-reverse with the death of her confidante, her mother, as she takes us through her ordeal and journey to redemption. This is a broad and very inclusive collection.

Hear the poet as, in a succinct moment of self-adulation, he writes: “My brain thinks faster than my words can convey. My mind works magic. Can I live this life forever?” Divided into three sections, Never Play Games with the Devil showcases a poet at the height of his powers, exploring several themes in different voices. In the first section, the poet is the charismatic preacher encouraging people to Hustle, Find their Feet and Grow. He writes about the lot of Broken Men crashing under the weight of expectations; he talks about boys like Eddie and Edmund, bullied for the shape of their heads. He humorously addresses the consequence of choices in the title poem, 'Never Play Games with the Devil.' The second section secures him a seat as an activist. We see the poet tackle, in verse, despotic and undemocratic governments, marauding killer herdsmen, and the pastor who lost his voice. The poet mourns the hapless souls in the crossfire between society’s rot and the State’s insouciance. The final poems explore the basis of human relationships. The poems here deal with love, commitment, and trust. Never Play Games with the Devil is a didactic collection of poems on pertinent life issues. These poems draw their appeal from the poet’s ability to sustain a figment of thought through the entire span of each poem.

Poets have always had the capability to travel inward – to create something out of the chaos of their inner world. It is why poetry is said to be cathartic, for through it, the poet eases himself of his burdens. But beyond that, poetry is also a tool for reflection. Oh, poetry cannot be stuffed into a single purpose for it is the expression of human emotions in line and verse, in styles and forms, rhymes and metres. And so, it acts has a way for the poet to transmit what he sees, thinks and feels in his inner world, those abstractions, into something tangible. Stuck at home in the loud silence inflicted by a lockdown, where does the poet turn to? What does he turn to? His inner world? Tolu’ Akinyemi’s Born in Lockdown is a collection of poetry birthed in such a traverse. The poems explore the pandemic and lockdown, and the myriad feelings, effects and reactions it birthed. The collection begins with a declaration of the poet’s utter despair: There is a pandemic in my head, raging like boiling water. There is a war in my mind, tugging at the deepest part of my soul. There is a thunderstorm in my heart, wreaking havoc like it is doomsday. At each flip of the page, you come across poems that are either personal or reflective, or poems that are querying in tone. On how the pandemic disrupts intimacy, Tolu’ wrote: Your love in my heart was innocent and untainted until COVID crept in and the veil of deceit was lifted. What’s appealing about this collection is the simplicity of Tolu’s style and the softness of his metaphors. His similes and imagery are like the vivid strokes of an artist on canvas; they’re not ambiguous. You read lines like: The silence in this house is eating me up like termites ravaging wood. This is poetry – minimalist, yet pronounced in what the poet was able to use simple words to achieve. In this collection, Tolu’ has proven himself a master of language, using words to weave moods and emotions. You oscillate between the heaviness of loneliness to the grief of a wrecked relationship to the hope of vaccines that will save the world. This collection promises you a titillating experience.