The Song of Our Father: History into Poetry

The Song of Our Father (cf. The Song of Hiawatha) is the story of a patriarch of the Niger Delta in West Africa, told in poetry like its homophonic cousin, and rhymed in 29 of 30 chapters. The Prologue flashes back to 1834 when the British explorer Richard Lander made his second expedition to the area and was killed while passing through the protagonist’s home town, Angiama. Interestingly, the forebears of John Lander, Richard’s brother and co-explorer – Megan and Emily – made an anniversar...