Kofi Awoonor

An experimental novel which the author has described as a "prose poem." In it, Awoonor tells a story on two levels, each representing a distinct reality. The first level is a standard narrative which details a day in the life an attorney named Amamu. On another level, it is a symbol-laden mystical journey filled with biblical and literary allusions. These portions of the text deal with the new nation of Ghana, which is represented by a baby on a dunghill. The dunghill is a source of both rot and renewal, and in this way represents the foundations upon which Ghana was built, according to Awoonor.

Kofi Awoonor, one of Ghana's most accomplished poets, had for almost half a century committed himself to teaching, political engagement and the literary arts. The one constant that guided and shaped his many occupations and roles in life was 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Anyidoho, himself a prominent poet and academic in Ghana, The Promise of Hope contains much of Awoonor's most recent unpublished poetry, along with many of his anthologised and classic poems. This engaging volume serves as a fitting contribution to the inaugural cohort of books in the African Poetry Book Series .