{"product_id":"a-fire-in-my-head-isbn-9781635423082","title":"A Fire in My Head","description":"\u003cb\u003eFrom the renowned Booker Prize–winning author, a powerful collection of poems covering topics of the day, such as the refugee crisis, Black Lives Matter protests, and COVID-19. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eIn our times of crisis \u003cbr\u003e The mind has its powers\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eThis book brings together many of Ben Okri’s most acclaimed and politically charged poems.\u003cbr\u003e    “Grenfell Tower, June 2017” was published in the \u003ci\u003eFinancial Times\u003c\/i\u003e less than ten days after the fire, and Okri’s reading of it was played more than six million times on Facebook.\u003cbr\u003e    “Notre-Dame Is Telling Us Something” was first read on BBC Radio 4, in the aftermath of the cathedral’s near destruction. It speaks eloquently of the despair that was felt around the world.\u003cbr\u003e    In “shaved head poem,” Okri writes of the confusion and anxiety felt as the world grappled with a health crisis unprecedented in our times.\u003cbr\u003e    “Breathing the Light” is his response to the events of summer 2020, when a Black man died beneath the knee of a white policeman, a tragedy sparking a movement for change.\u003cbr\u003e    These poems and others, including poems for Ken Saro-Wiwa, Barack Obama, Amnesty International, and more, make this a uniquely powerful collection that blends anger and tenderness with Okri’s inimitable vision.“Amid outrage and protest, the collection insists on the possibility of change and on a fundamental unity…Globally engaged, accessible, and relevant.” —\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“The fire in Ben Okri’s head, and thus his poems, is one of both indignation and illumination, casting light on the injustices of contemporary life, particularly Black life the world over, yet never abandoning the importance of beauty, art, nature, and the human connections we forge. Whether written for an occasion, in tribute, or addressed to inspirations or intimates, these poems strike notes of international importance and personal significance. Okri witnesses and reminds us of the important lesson that ‘Tyranny rises where vigilance sleeps,’ all the while holding space for each of us to ‘Walk in a Moonlight Wonder’ and remember the promises of dawn.” —Amanda Moore, author of \u003ci\u003eRequeening: Poems\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePraise for Ben Okri:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“I love the mythical, fablelike quality of his stories. There is something very comforting and ancient about them.” —Alan Cumming\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Ben Okri is that rare thing, a literary and social visionary, a writer for whom all three—literature, culture, and vision—are profoundly interwoven.” —Ali Smith\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e“Fiction’s master of enchantments stares down a real horror, and without blinking or flinching, produces a work of beauty, grace, and uncommon power.” —Marlon James\u003cb\u003eBen Okri \u003c\/b\u003eis a playwright, poet, novelist, essayist, short-story writer, anthologist, and aphorist. He has also written film scripts. His works have won numerous national and international prizes, including the Booker Prize for Fiction. His books include the eco-fable \u003ci\u003eEvery Leaf a Hallelujah\u003c\/i\u003e, the play \u003ci\u003eChanging Destiny\u003c\/i\u003e, the genre-bending climate fiction \u003ci\u003eTiger Work\u003c\/i\u003e, the poetry collections \u003ci\u003eA Fire in My Head \u003c\/i\u003eand\u003ci\u003e Mental Fight\u003c\/i\u003e, and the novels \u003ci\u003eAstonishing the Gods\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Last Gift of the Master Artists\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eDangerous Love\u003c\/i\u003e. In 2023 he received a knighthood for services to literature.\u003cb\u003eAFRICA IS A REALITY NOT SEEN   \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eafrica is a reality not seen \u003cbr\u003ea dream not understood\u003cbr\u003e its wars are the scab of a wound \u003cbr\u003eits famine the cracking of seeds \u003cbr\u003eits dictatorships a child torturing \u003cbr\u003ebeetles in a field.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e its soul’s older than atlantis \u003cbr\u003eand like all things old,\u003cbr\u003e it’s being reborn, \u003cbr\u003eand doesn’t know it.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ecountless cycles of civilisation\u003cbr\u003e and destruction are lost in its memory \u003cbr\u003ebut not in its myths.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eafrica is a living enigma\u003cbr\u003e an old woman taken for a child \u003cbr\u003ea wise man taken for a fool\u003cbr\u003e a beggar who is also a great king.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eON RACE\u003c\/b\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eignorance thinks there’s black and white \u003cbr\u003eignorance thinks there’s them and us \u003cbr\u003eignorance thinks of outsiders and insiders \u003cbr\u003eignorance thinks about skin and not heart\u003cbr\u003e ignorance thinks one race is better than another \u003cbr\u003eignorance thinks people should be kept apart \u003cbr\u003eignorance thinks nothing unites us all \u003cbr\u003eignorance fears the foreign and unknown \u003cbr\u003eignorance is the soul of cowardice and fear \u003cbr\u003eignorance speaks and darkness forms in the air \u003cbr\u003eignorance will destroy this world with hate \u003cbr\u003ewisdom with light will change that fate","brand":"Other Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46305535557861,"sku":"NP9781635423082","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9781635423082.jpg?v=1767720465","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/a-fire-in-my-head-isbn-9781635423082","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}