The Journal of a Pengician (Review)
By Uthman Samad o.
The Journal of a Pengician by Jodekss Gloatkenf can be considered as that which projects and revolves around the day to day activities of the writer. The life and span of its documentation is one good and rough year; it ranges from Nov. 24th, 2015 – 2016.
The writer uses the prosaic of 208 pages, embellishing different topics and themes which balances majorly on the purview of the life of Nigerian students, their encounter in the world of learning, the state of the nation, appreciation of the creator, love, amongst numerous topics of huge motif as background. This poem can be perceived as a thought-provoking piece of literary work that sounds like an anthem of the modern generation of seekers.
"Literary artists or several authors have published diaries before but trust me, not this kind of diary or journal. The Journal of a Pengician is the first of its kind yes, in the sense that it has never happened before in this author’s own way exactly, in the use of linguistic outpour to pass across messages to the reader(s) through the real life happenings with the author and those around him in every ramification that long and that simplex…"(Jodekss, 2017)
The title of this poem is rather not shocking, but encompassing and cultivates a sense of enthusiasm in the reader to search for the understanding. It has connotational entailment and what essentially the author is talking about. Jodekss’ creativity in this piece of work remains outstanding, as it leaves the reader anxious to understand who exactly the ‘Pengicians’ are. The poet employs a wide usage of biblical allusions, metaphors, similes, personifications, hyperboles, and other poetic devices including alliteration which make this work colourful and engaging.
According to the author of the book, our greatest fear is not based on our inadequacies but rather on our powerfulness beyond measure as human mind is a lump which can be truncated easily to either negative of positive path of life. He describes evilness in human as a Chameleon that acclimatise to any environment easily.
“The minds of the evil are said to be so very dark for a reason
The heart of some man is so black that you will see it so white
See at night everything is faked up leaving us be shite
We wobble dazed up like a mad woman chasing nothing, shrieking it nut…”
The piece is a reflection of the human nature in the sense that it reflects the weaknesses of people of failing to explore their potentials. As shown, people are able to overcome this fear by maximizing their potentials. By so doing, they are not only able to liberate themselves, but also liberate others.
The context gives an incredible depth of wisdom which may be unavailable elsewhere. The text is powerful and insightful in its totality. The figurative mediums utilised in verses are powerful as they provoke people to think and act big for the service of the world and others as in that lies the projection of love which conquers all. The poet does not obviate the theme of 'love' which didactically and amorously give picturesque imagery.
“Be for some purpose I would lie less
So I swear, I love god godly girls.
Love to lie on one to play chess.
With n' Mary her till my rhymes rot to run
Till the sun n' moon n' the star stop to turn
Till to tell you I have long lost my lying part
Thus I wrote one Belle one amorous lines that
"Give me all of you've got lie on this lying mat
Muji, these idle parts-breast KS bulbous but you resist my hands to feel they waste.
Let's love lest death walks in then they all waste
Let's love lest death walks in then they all waste and that is dearth.
We vanish as time does his thing, keeping on pushing forwards not caring let's do it
You know love is wicked, it is killing, am dying, death is choking, keep me living, putting off your tight clothing…”
Addressing the state of the nation, the personae categorised the citizen into the upper, middle and lower classes. The poet’s Nigerian society is not egalitarian. We have the rich and the poor. In such a society, there is always a chasm between the poor and the rich. On a universal scale, the privileged and the underprivileged have no meeting point where the upper class enjoy basic amenities and all the mesmerizing goodies in life and the lower beings (the poor) live at the expense and dictate of the rich. The young prolific writer also associates the exacerbating nature of the Nigerian economy at the detriment of the poor to the obnoxious take of the elected representatives at the Senate. He surfaces with it is reel of thoughtful lines to make the reader(s) figure how epileptic the amenities provided is, he writes thus,
“N’ this is has the conundrum common with our state
Petroleum we claim we have was hiked during the house debate
All the refineries run in a rotten state
Electricity has fallen N' no oil to light our date we hide under the veil there would be enough to bail
So our big brothers loot billions in bags with their fat tummies
Within their whitish regalia with lists of lies to reel us dummies…”
Being a diary, much should not be expected of the author than the use of first person singular narrative (technique) view on every of the events. This use of first-person narrative to show that the real author -speaker is a direct participant in the events highlighted in the poem and makes it touching with the effective use of figurative expressions especially metaphors, alliteration and pun. The poet for example many pages of the diary to play on words.
"There wouldn't even be nothing but nothing that could only be called nothing or that could be said to be some something
N' those arouse with kempt quiet voice past the Eiffel Tower in this path' Paris, past the peak skies this path's could pay her young's toward n' make pun with such path.
We know not what we need to know n' that we know that we know is not known to be known where all knowledge being formed to get known n' not to get known are not get known…".
