KUNLE APANTAKU (Some comments on this book)

Here are some comments on this new work (taken randomly from kagablog great art daily)

“Patently this is the most significant detailed essay about Mr Kunle
Apantaku and Mr Seye. I knew about the exhilarating young Kunle
Apantaku from the book My life and literature written by O. bolaji.
their youthful life in particular with literature was remarkable. The
two at their young age were optimistic and married to literature.
haplessly Kunle’s outstanding desire and ambition for literature was
lamented by O Bolaji himself. Nevertheless is only few days
since Kunle Apantaku passed away and a new book about him has come out.
Credit must be given to the author Bolaji a very extraordinary and
prolific African writer. Once again Bolaji with his literary
magic writing a book within few days is remarkable and magical.
moreover the review is profoundly wonderful. Suke.

-     - Soqaga (literary critic)

“Why is it that relatively few books or studies chronicle outstanding black individuals in the continent? it appears we wait for our personalities to give up the ghost before contemplating documenting their lives, and then rarely do so. Why is it for example that a woman of substance like mama Winkie Direko died at an advanced age without anybody bothering to write a book on her? I am worried that at his old age now, nobody has published just one book on ntate Whitehead Molemela despite all his achievements in SA sport. It is good that a book has already been written about Mr Kunle Apantaku. Mr Bolaji has led the way over the years by writing and publishing books on personalities like international dancer, Collins mokhotho, on the colourful Gilbert modise, and on female writer, Molebogeng mokhuoa. Now he has released a book on Kunle. It is reassuring that this book, and its later translations will be available in many libraries. And with the internet now, scholars and readers around the world can learn more and more about the life and times of Kunle Apantaku,”

-      - Aaron

“We have learnt a lot of things from ntate Bolaji over the years, and from everything he writes and publishes one learns even more. it is interesting. I remember over the years Bolaji used to talk about how certain literary scholars promoted pertinent African writers. Bolaji particularly loved referring to both Flora Wild Veit, and Adele King. Veit of course published many works on Dambudzo Marechera. as for king she published two great books on Camara Laye. Now it is interesting that it is the turn of bolaji to be promoting his late friend, Kunle Apantaku and what could have been. this new book has already been published in record time, and as we speak, translations of this book into other languages have already started. This is exciting and what makes literature worthwhile,”

-      - Pule (critic)

“Congrats ntate Bolaji on giving ntate Kunle a well deserved send-off, though I can’t put mind to paper on how you wrote this book so fast ? when ntate magic is still busy with the tribute? However we are blessed and honoured to witness such incredible chunks of literature of our time. thank you ntate for showing us that we need to keep on growing as writers, to produce works of quality not quantity.”

-      - Skietreker (author and poet)

“This is one of the best articles to come from you malume. you know, when one writes, the reader can detect or gauge the place from which the piece came. there are times when we write because we can, and then there are times when we write as if a pen was a sceptor in our hands. this came across as the latter. beautiful and heartfelt.

Though, i’d like to point out, i’m concerned with what those in the know term as “timbre”: our writing, superb as it is, can be rigged with authorial signature to the extend of blurring (or worse, dissolving) delinearity – distinction between the narrator and characters.

Nonetheless, we’re here to celebrate…let’s leave that for another time. from the tidbits I’ve read, it’s easy to tell that bolaji’s ode to the long time colleague is suffused with that tongue-in-cheek brand of banter reminiscent of the milestones that paved the now difficult to travel memory lane. brilliant. as is de rigueur of bolaji’s pen.

Yet, i still yearn for that colloquial narrative whose cadence borders on the cusp of your average Joe and the academia (if we’re to draw people to literature) – our papers reads like an exclusive private party, from fiction to other.”

-      Phinithi (Designer; author; aficionado of arts and culture)

"Fantastic review. I am dazed. How did bros Seye achieve this marvellous book, just 3 weeks after my brother`s demise. Can’t wait to read it, boss..."

-         Abiodun (younger brother of the late Kunle)