Teardrops on the Weser

Teardrops on the Weser navigates a geographical river that runs through northwestern Germany, but also an autobiographical river that’s sourced in the Niger River Delta of Amatoritsero Ede’s native Nigeria. Thus, his river of letters-of type versus stereotype, which is sectioned alphabetically, echoes African-American poet Langston Hughes’ “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” but also shouts out to German poet Rainer Maria Rilke and the martyred, Nigerian poet Ken Saro-Wiwa.

But one might also think of Canadian poet Judith Fitzgerald’s River (1995) and Brit bard Ted Hughes’ River (1983). But the echoes are extras-just glintings upon the poet’s original scintillance: “a sharp drawn breath / and I swallow sea water / just as a swallow swoops /across my view and up / to claim the roof / above my head.” No mater what: Never can you read the same poem the same way twice. You lunge forward on these rapids; you don’t lounge.