Joseph Ushie

About the Book

We came here as to a marketplace
And arrived at different times…
We leave at different times;
But at the end of the day
We all must leave
Whether we sold at a profit or loss

Like the shrub in this volume, the poet watches the “arid arena, where our Aristotles, their pockets yoked to a pillory, bleed for an ebbing world”.
Popular Stand…is the poet’s observatory beaming its light onto a homeland of highly cerebral giants, clement weather, rich vegetation, wondrous birds, aquatic splendour but decimated and ravaged by gossips, myopic leaders, liars, sots and thieves.

Welcome to a metaphoric journey of verses into our country; beautified with grandstanding, oddities, sharp contrasts and tough roads.

Joe Ushie lectures at the University of Uyo, Nigeria. His other poetry volumes include Lambs at the Shrine (Kraft, 1995), Eclipse in Rwanda (Kraft, 1998), Hill Songs (Kraft 2000) and A Reign of Locusts (Kraft, 2004).