“This important book finally presents us with a translation of the poetry anthology by the Swahili poet Abdilatif Abdalla, the first political prisoner of independent Kenya. Through the fine translations by Ken Walibora Waliaula and Annmarie Drury we can hear the ever-changing voices of his poetry. With rare expertise, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o and Alamin Mazrui, Ann Biersteker, Meg Arenberg and Kai Kresse offer a global readership a prism through which to explore the many ‘imaginative visions’, in which the sociopolitical and the lyrical are so deeply intertwined.”
— Clarissa Vierke, Universität Bayreuth
“The publication of an English translation of Abdilatif Abdalla’s Sauti ya Dhiki (Voice of Agony) will revolutionize our conception of African literature and its cultural politics. This book puts Swahili poetry at the center of debates about world literature and displays the capacity of translation to expand the boundaries of writing in African languages.”
— Simon Gikandi, Class of 1943 University Professor of English, Princeton University
“‘Listen’ – begins the first poem in this collection, and imperatives keep tolling throughout: ‘look’, ‘be tough’, ‘be fully alert’, ‘feel sorrow’, ‘be merciful’ and, above all, ‘speak up’. Writing from his prison cell, Abdilatif Abdalla conjures into being a community of readers – of listeners – where speech is free, critical, cunning, wry, and finally transformative. Thanks to this exemplary book of translation, anglophone readers can now hear his voice, and feel its challenge.”
— Matthew Reynolds, University of Oxford