Literature Review from the year 2008 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: none, , language: English, abstract: Though a powerful and celebrated critic and by now a good and fine creative writer, Shadrach A. Ambanasom has a characteristic tendency of inviting his critics to the dialogue table to tell them that he knows where the weakness in his work is and is therefore ready to accommodate whatever criticism this may attract. In the preface to Homage and Courtship, he comes out apologetically to give reason for his choice of subject matter and his consciousness of the criticism that is likely to follow: Of course I am well aware that the poems may not find favour with some critics because they do not carry a ready perceptible ‘political punch’, the criterion fashionable these days in some Anglophone quarters for the confinement of the seal of relevance to literature. (v-vi) Then, he goes on to self defence by expressing his “humble opinion”: Important and central as politics is in our corporate existence, it should not be the one and only subjected matter of our literature. In any case, it is not given to just any writer to produce genuinely good political literature. May those capable of pursuing more vigorous committed writing do so; may our our radical visionaries bloom. But let there be room for liberal humanist too. (vi)

Evelyn Ndangeh, a pretty Cameroonian teenager brought up in a strict Christian home, vows to preserve her maidenhood until she gets married to a man she truly loves. While in Our Lady of Lourdes College Mankon, she is approached by Lesley Njapa a student of Cameroon Protestant College Bali, after a student of CCAST Bambili. Evelyn turns him down only to find later that she cant stay alone without a man who must be none other than Lesley. Evelyn begins frantic moves to entice Lesley but on meeting him it seems too late though she gets close to his heart. Tragedy strikes when Lesley is involved in a motor accident. Evelyn arrives Bamenda general hospital wailing and settles beside Lesley to console and comfort him in his agony. Anxiety builds up to a crescendo and a medical team is mobilised to save Lesleys life.

A study which shows that sexual abuse of children has an extensive history and has been - and still is - condoned by society. The author is on the board of New York Women Against Rape and works with Women Against Pornography. Her commentary is coupled with the testimonies of victims.

_______________ 'Full of fun, longing and wit ... a debut of spirit and imagination, loaded with intelligent charm' - Ali Smith 'A touching and engrossing story ... an assured debut' - The Times 'A colourful and peripatetic view of politics in Pakistan ... an interesting and promising novel' - Guardian _______________ BY THE ACCLAIMED WINNER OF THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION SHORTLISTED FOR THE JOHN LLEWELLYN RHYS PRIZE _______________ Hasan is eleven years old. He loves cricket, pomegranates, the night sky, his clever, vibrant artistic mother and his etymologically obsessed lawyer father, and he adores his next-door neighbour Zehra. One early summer morning, while lazing happily on the roof, Hasan watches a young boy flying a yellow kite fall to his death. Soon after, Hasan's idyllic, sheltered family life is shattered when his beloved uncle Salman, a dissenting politician, is arrested and charged with treason... Set in a land ruled by an oppressive military regime, this eloquent, charming and quietly political novel vividly recreates the confusing world of a young boy on the edge of adulthood, and beautifully illustrates the transformative power of the imagination.

In this carefully thought-through anthology, Bole Butake brings Cameroonian poets of different generations, gender, regions, backgrounds and interests into conversation not only among themselves but more especially with poets from other parts of Africa and the world. This is a testament on the universality of poetry. It is an invitation for those in tune with poetry to reaffirm its magic and to spread the warmth of its embrace in celebration of a common and boundless humanity.