Scoundrels of Deferral
Poems to Redeem Reflection
by Toyin Falola, Vik Bahl
2006
Tags: African Studies, Literature
220 pp $65.00
ISBN 978-1-59460-338-9
When new worlds are unfamiliar, when the terrain appears treacherous, when choices and their consequences are daunting, is it better to trust instinct and act or to sit down and think everything through?
Scoundrels of Deferral is a collection of poems penned by two writers who seek to discover and animate what may be urgent in reflection itself. The poetry of Toyin Falola and Vik Bahl emerges from the experiences of dislocation, the unpredictability of good intentions and grand ambitions, the unrelenting longing for connection and community, and the determination to reinvent traditions and foundations to recreate the wholeness of fractured worlds.
Theirs is an honest witnessing of loss, perplexity and violence, but also a commemoration of desire, hope and joy. Here is a poetry where acknowledgment, gratitude and mischief may serve as the basis for purposeful labor, emergent leadership, and fulfilled social being.