Affection \u0026 Other Accidents by Dami Ajayi


Affection \u0026 Other Accidents
Title : Affection \u0026 Other Accidents
Author :
Rating :
ISBN : -
Format Type : Paperback
Number of Pages : -
Publication : Published June 3, 2022

Award-winning poet Dami Ajayi's latest volume, Affection & Other Accidents, a bold sequel to his critically acclaimed A Woman’s Body is a Country, audits the end of a romantic relationship in a world ravaged by a contagious disease. These poems—particularly the devastatingly beautiful title prose poem and masterful lyrical “The Anatomy of Silence”— explore the poet's thoughts on unrequited love and grief as much as they bear witness to the five cities and three continents across which the relationship unravels. Inadvertently, politics, both local and global, including George Floyd's murder, Me Too movement and the Covid-19 pandemic, seeps into these lyrical poems styled like a 90s R&B LP record and punctuated with poetic interlogues.

Affection \u0026 Other Accidents Reviews

  • Ehi

    “Affection & other accidents” was beautiful to read. It was an intimate collection of poems about love, loss, grief, and in some places, hope. It started powerfully with non-traditional pieces that explained the context of the poet’s struggle, and this was woven through with interlogues, which made the book feel like an ongoing conversation. The poems showed such skill, playing with form, language; using description, medicine, memories, music.
    Most of all, they showed the love in all its stages. It was a powerful collection, and I really enjoyed exploring the poet’s words and his world.

  • Beverly

    Affectations is breathtaking and oscillates from heartache to nostalgia to sensual joy and everything in between. Ajayi's poetic voice continues to mature in this reflective collection that draws from a variety of influences, including his love for the blues. There's also something cathartic about some of the poems that reflect on death (Untitled, Funeral Dressings), loss (the various interlogues), anxiety (The Exorcism) and uncertainty (Fall, The Body Knows). Affectations is a celebration of arriving at one's own voice and depth of expression.

  • Albert Kofi

    I had to take a break to catch my breath after the first few pages. To say it starts out intense is an understatement. Our favourite poet is heartbroken and lays everything bare, rather uncharacteristic of the Yoruba man that he is. But beyond this tale of a love turning stale across 5 cities, Dami explores loss in its other forms. The words are heavy but beautifully strung together!