A frisson of
excitement is currently sweeping the African literary circuit following the
publication of Pule Lechesa’s landmark literary study titled BOLAJI IN HIS
POMP.
This is the
latest book-length study published on the inspirational writer, O. Bolaji.
Literary pundits are already stating that this remarkable work is reminiscent
of memorable cardinal studies churned out by exalted scholars in the mould of Robert
Fraser, Flora Veit-Wild, Gerald Moore, Adele King, Eustace Palmer etc – all of
whom published extensive studies on key African writers.
The
introduction to the book is written by the illustrious, avant-garde, prolific
South African writer, Dr Mongane Wally Serote.
Dr Serote
remarks in his Introduction: “The beauty of such books is that they introduce
in breathtaking manner the literary works and the persona of tantalizing
writers to the teeming world of literature,”
Also
praiseworthy is the Foreword to the work penned by Pule Lechesa himself. Critic
Raphael Mokoena has described the Foreword as “awe-inspiring, majestic,
magisterial, and brimming with fecundity”
Chapters of
the book include the following: Recognition given where it is due, Living a
dream against all odds, Bolaji and Literary Criticism, Celebrating our own
people, Bolaji’s short stories, the book Bolaji never wanted to write,
Interview with an icon, the Critical reception - among many others.
Earlier, the
author Pule Lechesa had published works like The Evolution of FS Black
Literature (2006), Four Free State Authors (2005), and Essays on FS Black
Literature (2012)
This new book is sponsored by the
National Arts Council of South Africa
