Growing up with poetry: David Rubadiri

This new and challenging anthology is designed for the enjoyment and instruction of students from Junior Secondary level upwards. The selection of mainly African poems aims actively to involve and encourage pupils in the exploration of feelings and personal responses and seeks to show the scope and variety that poetry can offer.

The poems are divided thematically and focus on aspects central to African life and culture: love, identity, death, village life, separation, power and freedom. Each of them is exploited by thought-provoking questions which are divided into three types:

• Before reading questions draw students into the subject area by stimulating ideas and arousing interest in the topics

. After reading questions demand a more direct response to the poems and introduce and explain useful technical terminology and expressions

• A closer look questions call for a more detailed, exam-style analysis of selected poems.

An introduction gives valuable guidance to teachers on how to use the anthology and question material and also offers help and encouragement to the student. There is a glossary of technical terms at the back of the book.

David Rubadiri, the well-known Malawian poet, is a

Professor in the faculty of Education at the University of Botswana,

Heinemann publishers