A special book reading by Patron Henekou
Language barriers have been a hindrance to the appreciation of African literature from neighboring sub-Saharan countries. Patron is the first writer to be invited by the Writers Project Ghana from neighboring Togo to read an except of his play, 'Dovlo or A worthless Sweat' to an audience. Ironically, Togo is closest to Ghana but since the inception of Writers Project Ghana in 2009, Patron has now had his chance owing to the fact that his works are bilingual. Instinctively that was the first question Patron had to answer:
Q: “In your mind, what kind of barrier does the English-French divide poses to exchange of literature in these two countries?”
Patron: “Thank you very much, Martin. It is a great pleasure for me to be invited to do a reading of my works and to reconnect again with Ghana. I have ties with Ghana and it's always a smooth contact with between myself and this country. I don't think there should be a language barrier between Ghana and Togo. Sometimes we listen to songs that we don't even understand but we enjoy and like it. So normally with literature, especially in this case poetry, you don't need to understand the language before you enjoy it. Sometimes emotions are created by the sounds of the words that you hear. I also believe that there are a lot of writers in Togo who can manage French and English. So let's take this as a beginning of a long collaboration to come. So thank you very much for inviting me.”
Dr. Patron Henekou is a Togolese poet and playwright. Patron's play Dovlo or A Worthless Sweat (Les Editions Awoudy, Lomé) was published in October 2015, and his anthology of poems, Souffles d'outre-coeur, is in the process of publication.
He had his book reading in an amphitheater adjacent the Museum of Science and Technology in an art exhibition entitled “Corn fields in Accra”.
Patron's first poem The Solo Guitarist was inspired by Ama Atta Aidoo book Changes and Not without flowers was also inspired by a book written by another Ghanaian writer, Ama Darko. In these poems the feeling were of a melancholic longing; like an invitation to the audience to search within to look for emotions to associate with their experience with Henekou's poetry. His poetic devices invoke passionate imageries that left you starring into the void, daydreaming, only interrupted by the applauds from the audience's appreciation.
Then he read, The commissioner's report, with a musical prelude followed by the narrative poetry of sadness, humor and satiric irony of African elections.
Q: “Give us the context in which you are presenting this poem and what made you write it.”
“Well, I am a bit concern about what happens on the political scenes all around Africa; not just in my country. Togo is not spared. Very often after elections, you have demonstrations and complaints and all those things, then we have several other African countries experiencing the same. If there is no cause for demonstrations, I don't think the opposition political parties would go on demonstration.
But it is the innocent citizens who always pay the price when are raids after elections. Sometimes even those who demonstrate run away and the army, the military, the policemen, they rather take the opportunity of the weakness of some other citizens, in their homes, and to brutalize and to show you should not protest you should, not talk when you are not satisfy with what comes out of the ballots. So I am, sort of, with those who lose their lives, those who cry, those who feel pains in their body and their minds. After elections, we should pave way for progress because this is what elections are meant for.”
Q Audience: “I had a question with the music part because you sang before you started your poem. What is the reason for that? How do you understand music and words and how do you put them together to get another meaning? I guess we did not understand the song so what is the meaning of the song?”
“There is a direct connection between poetry and song. In my language (Ewe) for example, it is difficult to separate poetry from song. And we have the same word for both, 'Ha'. So when somebody sings, and reads his poem, it's the similar.
Now the song that I sang to introduce the poem says, if you have 'somebody', some things will not happen to you. It is those who don't have any support that suffer in their flesh and body. Take the politicians, whatever happens after the elections, they are always safe in their houses. It is the innocent who always pay the price.”
He read a poem in French from his up coming collection entitled Souffles d'outre-coeur. The first part these poems is a letter a deceased relative wrote from the depths of the Mediterranean to persona's loved onces about his perilous journey across the Sahara and the Mediterranean in search for greener pastures with hopes of giving shape to his dreams.
Again he introduced the poem with a dirge (in Ewe), typical of African story telling. The melancholy could be felt in the burden his literary devices were made to bear. The struggle of a traveler. Then an interlude with a song in Ga.
Q“I wanted to ask how many languages you speak?"
I can speak a little Ga, some Twi and my own language apart from English and French.
Q "Do you write in your native language?"
I am trying to do so. I have begun writing a poem in Ewe (you begun just one?) I haven't even finished that one. I have started. I think I will write a couple of things anyway.
Q: "As a writer, what makes you switch from one language to another?What make you feel like, this one I need to write it in French, in English in Ewe or sing in Ga?"
"When the inspiration comes and the first word that comes in mind is English then you know this poem is English when it comes in French, you know it is French. I have tried to translate some of my poems into French, because I predominately write in English, but I find it difficult. I translate other peoples work. They are independent. It is always interesting to spice these works with my native language. Because it show that I am not French or English but this is the part of me that is true; apart from the content and the style. I bring in some Ewe words. Our songs also well express our feelings and I don't think we can express that in any other language apart from our own. If it[the feeling] is more than you can bear, you give it to songs."
Patron Henekou attended St Peter Claver School in Mataheko before returning to Togo to continue his Education. Patron Holds a doctorate in English literature. He has been a member of Staff of the department of English at the University of Lome since 2013.
Dovlo Or A Worthless Sweat illustrates an age old African family conflict that occurs whenever appropriation of inheritance is concern. Dr. Henekou's characterizations has been summed up in the various traditional Ewe names he assigned to his characters. As it has been, African names have symbolic meanings and he carefully chose his characters based on these names. Kulekpator means death is in the house; Dovlo means worthless toil, Fo Gator means 'rich man'.
Kulekpator has been the caretaker of their fathers wealths while his siblings went away in search for greener pastures, He feels cheated when his siblings returned after their father death and demanded an equal sharing of the property their father left behind.
“'Kulekpator: Hid my words [he points to each and everyone of the group] if any of you wishes to see you grand children then he should keep off the land or if you are old enough to join Fo Gator then I advise you to venture there. But you [turning to Fo Ga] you will hear from me before tomorrow'”
An extract from the play were there was a physical altercation over the sharing of the lands.
In all it Dovlo speaks to the conflict that we seem to overlook because of intestate succession laws and legal Wills; but in some indigenous African communities, division of properties and resources has always been marred with conflict.
P. S. Please report errors and typos. Thank you.
 |
| Dr Henekou (middle), Martin (right) & Bernard (host) |
Q: “In your mind, what kind of barrier does the English-French divide poses to exchange of literature in these two countries?”
Patron: “Thank you very much, Martin. It is a great pleasure for me to be invited to do a reading of my works and to reconnect again with Ghana. I have ties with Ghana and it's always a smooth contact with between myself and this country. I don't think there should be a language barrier between Ghana and Togo. Sometimes we listen to songs that we don't even understand but we enjoy and like it. So normally with literature, especially in this case poetry, you don't need to understand the language before you enjoy it. Sometimes emotions are created by the sounds of the words that you hear. I also believe that there are a lot of writers in Togo who can manage French and English. So let's take this as a beginning of a long collaboration to come. So thank you very much for inviting me.”
Dr. Patron Henekou is a Togolese poet and playwright. Patron's play Dovlo or A Worthless Sweat (Les Editions Awoudy, Lomé) was published in October 2015, and his anthology of poems, Souffles d'outre-coeur, is in the process of publication.
He had his book reading in an amphitheater adjacent the Museum of Science and Technology in an art exhibition entitled “Corn fields in Accra”.
Patron's first poem The Solo Guitarist was inspired by Ama Atta Aidoo book Changes and Not without flowers was also inspired by a book written by another Ghanaian writer, Ama Darko. In these poems the feeling were of a melancholic longing; like an invitation to the audience to search within to look for emotions to associate with their experience with Henekou's poetry. His poetic devices invoke passionate imageries that left you starring into the void, daydreaming, only interrupted by the applauds from the audience's appreciation.
Then he read, The commissioner's report, with a musical prelude followed by the narrative poetry of sadness, humor and satiric irony of African elections.
“...What a tragedy. We have always advised the opposition against post electoral violence what ever the result. But, they like demonstration too much...”
“...This year the election has been fair and free. That's what everybody wanted; fair and free election Well, even if the results are surprising, no one cares about that. No one should. The winner has won again. That is fine by me...”
Q: “Give us the context in which you are presenting this poem and what made you write it.”
“Well, I am a bit concern about what happens on the political scenes all around Africa; not just in my country. Togo is not spared. Very often after elections, you have demonstrations and complaints and all those things, then we have several other African countries experiencing the same. If there is no cause for demonstrations, I don't think the opposition political parties would go on demonstration.
But it is the innocent citizens who always pay the price when are raids after elections. Sometimes even those who demonstrate run away and the army, the military, the policemen, they rather take the opportunity of the weakness of some other citizens, in their homes, and to brutalize and to show you should not protest you should, not talk when you are not satisfy with what comes out of the ballots. So I am, sort of, with those who lose their lives, those who cry, those who feel pains in their body and their minds. After elections, we should pave way for progress because this is what elections are meant for.”
 |
| A section of the audience |
Q Audience: “I had a question with the music part because you sang before you started your poem. What is the reason for that? How do you understand music and words and how do you put them together to get another meaning? I guess we did not understand the song so what is the meaning of the song?”
“There is a direct connection between poetry and song. In my language (Ewe) for example, it is difficult to separate poetry from song. And we have the same word for both, 'Ha'. So when somebody sings, and reads his poem, it's the similar.
Now the song that I sang to introduce the poem says, if you have 'somebody', some things will not happen to you. It is those who don't have any support that suffer in their flesh and body. Take the politicians, whatever happens after the elections, they are always safe in their houses. It is the innocent who always pay the price.”
He read a poem in French from his up coming collection entitled Souffles d'outre-coeur. The first part these poems is a letter a deceased relative wrote from the depths of the Mediterranean to persona's loved onces about his perilous journey across the Sahara and the Mediterranean in search for greener pastures with hopes of giving shape to his dreams.
Again he introduced the poem with a dirge (in Ewe), typical of African story telling. The melancholy could be felt in the burden his literary devices were made to bear. The struggle of a traveler. Then an interlude with a song in Ga.
Q“I wanted to ask how many languages you speak?"
I can speak a little Ga, some Twi and my own language apart from English and French.
Q "Do you write in your native language?"
I am trying to do so. I have begun writing a poem in Ewe (you begun just one?) I haven't even finished that one. I have started. I think I will write a couple of things anyway.
Q: "As a writer, what makes you switch from one language to another?What make you feel like, this one I need to write it in French, in English in Ewe or sing in Ga?"
"When the inspiration comes and the first word that comes in mind is English then you know this poem is English when it comes in French, you know it is French. I have tried to translate some of my poems into French, because I predominately write in English, but I find it difficult. I translate other peoples work. They are independent. It is always interesting to spice these works with my native language. Because it show that I am not French or English but this is the part of me that is true; apart from the content and the style. I bring in some Ewe words. Our songs also well express our feelings and I don't think we can express that in any other language apart from our own. If it[the feeling] is more than you can bear, you give it to songs."
Patron Henekou attended St Peter Claver School in Mataheko before returning to Togo to continue his Education. Patron Holds a doctorate in English literature. He has been a member of Staff of the department of English at the University of Lome since 2013.
Dovlo Or A Worthless Sweat illustrates an age old African family conflict that occurs whenever appropriation of inheritance is concern. Dr. Henekou's characterizations has been summed up in the various traditional Ewe names he assigned to his characters. As it has been, African names have symbolic meanings and he carefully chose his characters based on these names. Kulekpator means death is in the house; Dovlo means worthless toil, Fo Gator means 'rich man'.
Kulekpator has been the caretaker of their fathers wealths while his siblings went away in search for greener pastures, He feels cheated when his siblings returned after their father death and demanded an equal sharing of the property their father left behind.
“'Kulekpator: Hid my words [he points to each and everyone of the group] if any of you wishes to see you grand children then he should keep off the land or if you are old enough to join Fo Gator then I advise you to venture there. But you [turning to Fo Ga] you will hear from me before tomorrow'”
An extract from the play were there was a physical altercation over the sharing of the lands.
In all it Dovlo speaks to the conflict that we seem to overlook because of intestate succession laws and legal Wills; but in some indigenous African communities, division of properties and resources has always been marred with conflict.
P. S. Please report errors and typos. Thank you.
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