As Long As Trees Take Root in the Earth
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A01=Alain Mabanckou
AfricanLiterature
AfricanPoetry
AfricanStorytelling
Author_Alain Mabanckou
Category=DC
Category=DCF
Category=DS
Category=JBSL
Category=JPW
CongoVoices
CulturalHeritage
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eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
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eq_society-politics
ExileAndMemory
ExiledVoices
FrancophoneLiterature
GlobalLiterature
HopeThroughPoetry
LiteraryResistance
LiteratureinTranslation
NatureAndIdentity
PoetryAndMusic
PoetryInTranslation
PoliticalPoetry
RedEarthPoetry
ResistanceAndRenewal
RootedInHistory
TheAfricaList
VerseAndResilience
VoicesOfAfrica
Product details
- ISBN 9781803095936
- Weight: 200g
- Dimensions: 159 x 235mm
- Publication Date: 21 Oct 2025
- Publisher: Seagull Books London Ltd
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Paperback
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A hopeful, music-infused poetry collection from Congolese poet Alain Mabanckou.
These compelling poems by novelist and essayist Alain Mabanckou conjure nostalgia for an African childhood where the fauna, flora, sounds, and smells evoke snapshots of a life forever gone. Mabanckou’s poetry is frank and forthright, urging his compatriots to no longer be held hostage by the civil wars and political upheavals that have ravaged their country and to embrace a new era of self-determination where the village roosters can sing again.
These music-infused texts, beautifully translated by Nancy Naomi Carlson and supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, appear together in English for the first time. In these pages, Mabanckou pays tribute to his beloved mother, as well as to the regenerative power of nature, especially of trees, whose roots are a metaphor for the poet’s roots, anchored in the red earth of his birthplace. Mabanckou’s yearning for the land of his ancestors is even more poignant because he has been declared persona non grata in his homeland, now called Congo-Brazzaville, due to his biting criticism of the country’s regime. Despite these barriers, his poetry exudes hope that nature’s resilience will lead humankind on the path to redemption and reconciliation.
These compelling poems by novelist and essayist Alain Mabanckou conjure nostalgia for an African childhood where the fauna, flora, sounds, and smells evoke snapshots of a life forever gone. Mabanckou’s poetry is frank and forthright, urging his compatriots to no longer be held hostage by the civil wars and political upheavals that have ravaged their country and to embrace a new era of self-determination where the village roosters can sing again.
These music-infused texts, beautifully translated by Nancy Naomi Carlson and supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, appear together in English for the first time. In these pages, Mabanckou pays tribute to his beloved mother, as well as to the regenerative power of nature, especially of trees, whose roots are a metaphor for the poet’s roots, anchored in the red earth of his birthplace. Mabanckou’s yearning for the land of his ancestors is even more poignant because he has been declared persona non grata in his homeland, now called Congo-Brazzaville, due to his biting criticism of the country’s regime. Despite these barriers, his poetry exudes hope that nature’s resilience will lead humankind on the path to redemption and reconciliation.
Alain Mabanckou is one of francophone Africa’s most prolific contemporary writers. Twice, he has been a finalist for the Man Booker International Prize. Born in the Republic of Congo, he is now professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. Nancy Naomi Carlson is a writer and translator who has published eleven books, most recently An Infusion of Violets, also published by Seagull Books. She is professor of counseling at Walden University.
