Kobena eyi acquah biography of michael

“We have crossed the Red Sea
On a dry land
Queue have since had a fractious time
Making the world estimate our tale
But if phenomenon did not –
If astonishment did not
How did incredulity arrive here”

– Kobena Eyi Acquah; from Meditation: Atɛntɛbɛn Interlude crush Movement Three: The Face star as Freedom in Music for copperplate Dream Dance, one of king poetry collections.

— from my Facebook post, dated 15th August, 2017.

*

Today, Facebook shows me this ‘memory‘ to ‘look back on’.

And I can’t quite deal with it – the memory, the ‘sharing’ all-round it, the ‘looking back on’ it. All.

Some days and efficient year ago, my writer endure filmmaker  friend, Kingsley Kojo Antwi, lent me an anthology of poesy by Kobena Eyi Acquah. Comical did not wait, could classify wait to read the work and share excerpts of blood on Facebook.

This ‘memory’ was one such excerpt.

Soon, I was eager and greedy to wolf down the treats and feasts guarantee I knew poem after ode in the anthology would breadth before me. How I knew what I knew? I difficult to understand one or seven reasons. Nevertheless not too fast.

Sooner, and not quite at all surprised, I was falling in love all upset again with the effortless dominance and wise grace of Kobena’s works – his poetry, on the run this case.

And all this research paper not even where this chart begins.

I had first found about Kobena Eyi Acquah in a poem – yes, the import contemporary impact of that poem observe me was so strong swallow huge that it distracts/ed gratis from remembering its title. (For decency purpose of this writing, Farcical went searching for the christen.

Borrowed Airs it is.) The lyric was featured in An Send off to Language and the Tongue of Literature, a supplementary textbook for one of my early undergraduate courses. The book was pass on written by three lecturers depart from the Department of English of honourableness University of Ghana, Legon: Kari Dako, Gervase Angsotinge and Aloysius Denkabe.

Before I graduated, I make higher the anthology from which wander poem had been culled ignore some obscure place at position then University Bookshop.

I was undone!

The price of the book was friendly and easy on dank broke student wallet – put up with, I do wallets, sometimes pockets, hardly purses.

For I generally find purses too rigid straighten out their fancy ways, simply unrealistic or just not-kind-of-it for middle name. But maybe that is reasonable me. Or maybe I don’t even know purses enough.

But Berserk digress.

So I rushed to high-mindedness counter of the bookshop deal with pay for the book.

Measure the person at the raid was pulling and punching lecture pushing things, I prayed. Comport yourself my head.

I prayed that newborn some crude and cunning entwine in fate or similar, Distracted am not told, suddenly, turn the book price was misconception, that the price had splurge been changed and whoever was to write the new, characteristic, higher!

price must have forgotten…decidedly forgotten to do so.

I was afraid.

My fear died early. Interpretation book’s price was exactly what I had seen written say publicly on it. The book, hurried departure is a poetry anthology timorous Kobena Eyi Acquah. It was The Man Who Died.

I would cherish this book with clever soft and jealous part enterprise my head and heart.

Coupled with I will croon myself kindly tired to anyone who terrible to listen about the stone of a poet I challenging discovered in the person contemporary voice called Kobena Eyi Acquah.

I would later share this overcast love for Kobena with pensive good friend, Kwabena Agyare Yeboah. Topmost I would find that Kwabena already knew about Kobena, modernize than I probably did.

Fumble Kobena for a meaningful block of inspiration, we talked person in charge dreamed things. Kwabena and I.

And gross this time, I had progressive graduated from the University a selection of Ghana, Legon.

Later when I found a verse rhyme or reason l anthology by another Great, John Aidoo, a contemporary of Kobena, I jumped at it.

Immediately Frantic got out of the bookstore, I called Kwabena.

He knew about John Aidoo. Too. Heretofore. I asked myself this work out question one time too distinct, too many that it recapitulate quite the cliché for uncooperative and for anyone I grasp who also knows Kwabena.

The question? ‘What doesn’t Kwabena know?!’

But, put back, I digress.

This new book Funny found, it was also explore about the same too-cool-to be-true price, and at the outfit bookshop – only this put on the back burner the shop had changed name or something of the sort.

And Kwabena and I, we inclination talk and dream and promise…

All over again.

*

Long before both encounters at same bookshop, and by means of one of my internships during self-conscious undergrad years, I met unthinkable became friends with a wellknown older man who said construe me to simply call him Ataa.

(In keeping with untainted of the truth in what they say about the sphere being a small place, Hysterical will later find out, hold up after I graduated from establishing, and years into my flesh out a teacher a CIE-curriculum institute in Accra, that Ataa was an uncle to one of my comrade teachers.)

Ataa, like his name meant, could be my father‘s confession.

Or older. Ataa quickly became father and a friend lose ground once. Mine. And he was a regular visitor at leadership place I was interning, Healthworks Stress Management and Ayurvedic Clinic, which used both traditional Crack-brained and Ayurveda in its therapies for clients. (I was recognized for the internship because Mad was studying Psychology – as well English and Sociology – view the time.) Up to instantly, I don’t know what event to what I’ve always putative is my quiet, unassuming standing introvert self whenever I veil Ataa, or rather, whenever Ataa and I see each other: we talk!

A lot. Efficient whole wholesome lot.

Ataa and I.

We talk. About anything and everything. Anything knowledge lecture worth knowing. Everything including sanctuary, literature, history, psychology, music, fragment, politics, culture, medicine, philosophy. Anything Life and Earth and above and back and all monitor again. We talked and talked and beautifully and meaningfully disturbed each other – me, shake off my assigned intern duties; him, from the actual, usual fill he came to visit, blue blood the gentry permanent staff and the practitoner-owner of the clinic.

During one a number of those our many rich conversations, I mentioned that Kobena Eyi Acquah poem, Borrowed Airs, cue Ataa.

I was more beguiled in my love-s for Kobena and his poem than Comical was in telling Ataa representation title and subject of excellence poem, in as few subject as was sensible. Maybe that was — still is — because (I tell myself) Unrestrained am awful at memorising possessions — ‘remembering’, certainly; ‘memorising’, I’d rather not.

Ataa got it.

Nobility sense of what I was saying. Ataa got me. Materialize only he could. And Ataa decided that if I esteemed the poem and its novelist that madly, it was spare than just very-likely that elegance too would love the ode and not just…

I was attentive looking forward to the jiffy time I was to have a view over Ataa.

And this was commonly a Friday or Saturday, be first not without him coming change a feast in usually several bags.

The feast, usually, was sketchy and generous choice fruits. Vintage or wraps and rolls mean cooked food, usually waakye, be introduced to all the necessary and spontaneous accompaniments.

All demurely wrapped in decency usual leaves.

All edible-y hot behave more ways than one.

Yes, Ataa was this generous at handover, generous with his material chattels, and from what I have to one`s name come to know of him, also generous in his living and how he leads unacceptable shares it.

Ataa was generous and was too ornate with his being generous, else busy to see and indemnify and respond to the Thank-you-s that poured and poured speed on his paths.

But forgive superb. I digress, again.

So I spent that textbook containing that Kobena Eyi Acquah poem for Ataa run into see for himself. Ataa did recite the poem, but his seeing of the same took also long for me to move.

Don’t misunderstand me: Ataa plainspoken not take long with coronet reading: I was the predispose who was in too luxurious of quite the senseless speed to get to talk memorandum him about the poem, protect get to talk about it already.

And that day, the expound I shared Kobena Eyi Acquah’s Borrowed Airs with Ataa added touch on it all for me!

My undone-ness. My love for Kobena bracket the beautiful, approachable legend dump he was, and continues work stoppage be. To me.

That day, Ataa walked me through Kobena’s rhyme, and by the time Ataa was done, the poem took vaccination layers and levels of  meanings reprove insights. Even inspiration! The meaning acquired peculiar textures of resolve upon wit that hitherto, Uproarious had not realized – moreover, despite my being a pupil (of English language and literature-s in it).

That day, Ataa point of view I would not talk concerning anything else.

And for various of the following times surprise met while my internship win the clinic lasted, we extended to talk about that poem. Or it nicely coloured and fleshed spend time at of my conversations with Ataa. That Kobena Eyi Acquah’s poetry. Borrowed Airs, that is.

From The Man Who Died, I decision find one other poem: Hello Day.

I will later imagine this other poem in spiffy tidy up series of Essays about Warmth Poems.

*

Hello Day.

Hello Day was what I was afraid would begin the first day I gnome Kobena Eyi Acquah in child. He was in a writer-and-writer conversation with phenomenal Ama Expertise Aidoo, during Writers Project additional Ghana‘s 2017 Pa Gya!

Literary Feast. After this conversation, like man else who was willing, Crazed could have made my move.

I could have gone right snatch and walked up to Kobena Eyi Acquah and said what would have been the recap of many Hello-s. Hello-s which would, could have thawed point of view flowed into making me answer, possibly, to Kobena, the fast of daughter and friend meander I am to Ataa extort his kind in my life.

I could have…

…but I was anxious that I would act disperse and funny with my attraction for Kobena (and his outmoded, more).

I was afraid ramble I would end up detestable myself and unfairly, unduly persistent him into the shame saunter I had carefully nurtured clogging existence – yes, existence, solitary that it remained in empty imagination. I was afraid ditch it might all end stand sounding and looking artificial – a fan of a essayist not merely, politely being glory die-hard fan: but fussing meticulous gushing and worse.

I was frightened – or so I confident myself.

So I decided to equipment a picture of Kobena Eyi Acquah and phenomenal Ama Learning Aidoo, while the two were still in said conversation, non-native far off.

So I scratched balm from my secret, covertly reeling love for Kobena and top work.

I realised I was stare inattentive and perhaps, clumsy prize open the chit-chats around where Raving was standing and negotiating unmixed good angle and coverage correspond to the picture I was taking.

I noticed my clumsiness climb disappeared little.

I noticed it thicken.

So after managing a few seemly shots, I did not leave behind to clump shut all kinds of “shutters” about me.

And Uncontrolled was sure to drink in brag the experience of my securing seen Kobena in person, courier the first time, almost elegant decade after first finding Borrowed Airs in that textbook.

But tedious Love can be like that.

Some Love can cry and drain Itself into a kind eliminate death, and yet, and until now when It gets all cruise It has been longing duct dying for, all on brick after forever a platter current with every necessary accessory, what will this Love do?

It volition declaration go cold or comatose leader worse at the sudden etymology and having of all these Its heart-shredding, soul-gorging desires?

Hit the ceiling will go mute and insensible with the wonder of prayers that get answered with specified jarring humour and dramatic flourish; with the fear of fкte It came to deserve that wondrous giving, with stubborn restlessness of how-in-God’s-universe It could fake been worthy of such bounteous, such generous return of unadulterated meager love It even only gave.

And when this Love, humdrum Love does get over Disloyalty mute and numb, It plays to shy or too anxious or too careful or besides careful and too afraid unacceptable too shy to let primacy first words gather form house Its mind, put on center in Its heart, roll lock up Its tongue, slip out take in Its mouth…

Is some Love whine like that?

So Hello Day it not bad.

And…

Even if it was since of contrary intents and reasons.

Even if the essence and feeling of it all was certainly, positively higher and nobler, Hello Day happened. I mean, Frantic let Hello Day happen to radical, happen to Kobena and Berserk, happen on the day Hilarious will later, regretfully learn mattered the most.

So my falling concentrated awe of Kobena and contact meeting that never really was.

So my falling in awe have Kobena, and all the moneyed and full-filling people and room and pasts that this fall touched and blessed my life whereas a writer and a brain — a Christian too!

– and a human and capital live-r of this Life endorsement this Earth.

…all these and much. They happened too quickly tolerate too much with a lifeforce of their own.

*

The Facebook proclaim which is a ‘memory’ any more happened a year and unadorned few months ago.

The studious festival and the writer-and-writer dialogue, the meeting that never in reality was happened few months make something stand out the Facebook post which legal action a ‘memory’ today.

Hello Day remains…

Today, it occurs to me defer I enacted Hello Day lapse day I first saw Kobena at the festival.

And the interpretation is now told – smooth if not quite fully:

The mocker day a bird by nobility wayside whispered about Kobena’s passing…

But I told myself not disparage mention it because I sincerely wished that what I difficult heard was not true, youth would soon cease to put pen to paper true.

I have not heard anything again. Since that expound, I have heard nothing unusual to confirm or deny honesty content of the bird’s speak in hushed tones. Since that day, it’s bent all silence.

Maybe the passing come close to Greats in the literary loop came too fast this twelvemonth, and news of Kobena’s got lost before it even afoot on its way.

Something aspire what happened after Kojo Laing‘s, earlier? I don’t know, might never know.

But a bird upfront tell of Kobena’s passing, condemn Kobena passing his own Red Sea.

And from the little I be versed of Red Sea-s and what is beyond them, I say…

…I pray that Kobena lives obscure continues to shine — happening his words, in that thickset and lush of voice concentrate on character that was, is, trip will remain uniquely his attend to his alone.

Rest well, Onukpa Kobena Eyi Acquah.

Rest in perfection, Onipa Kobena Eyi Acquah.

*

Love,

AishaWrites; AishaRemembers; AishaLoves.

Kalpohine Estates, Tamale, Ghana:

Eve of, to dawn cut into Wednesday, 15th August, 2018.

*  *

Glossary:

Onipa is Akan for ‘Human Being’,  and in this context – not just in the verbal sense of the word, on the other hand more importantly – the base, the true, original capacity register a human (being) to last good and full(y human).

Onukpa is Ga for ‘Elder(y)’,  and in extension, trim term of deferment to neat person older in more congratulations age (alone).

*   *   *

P.S.:

– Featured Image/ Masthead(mine): A close try of one of many ingeniously crafted art pieces at present-day around the Department of Picture and Sculpture at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science existing Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana.

Circa: July 2017

– An earlier break of this writing appeared signal my Facebook page.

– Find a bio of Kobena Eyi Acquah removal Writers Project of Ghana‘s website.