Purgatorius Ignis

Description

Purgatorius Ignis is an English-French poetry collection covering the entire human experience: birth, love, marriage, and death. The poetry is rhythmic, and the register is fast.

Catherine Carls (who translated the work into French) notes that “this poetry travels between the loftiest realms and the deepest abysses from which rises the clamour of an entire continent.” Beyond continental reach, the poems carry a universal message! Prof. Sukrita Paul Kumar observes that the poems, although carrying a distinct African voice, succeed in reaching out to the world to command its attention.

Some of the poems appeared in Christopher Okemwa’s collection The Gong (Nsemia Inc. 2009).

Christopher Okemwa is a widely published playwright, poet, and novelist. His novella, Sabina and the Mystery of the Ogre (Nsemia Inc.), won the 2015 Burt Award for African Literature (Kenya). Otenyo (Nsemia Inc., 2016), a dramatization of the Gusii resistance to colonialism, is one of his most recent publications. Okemwa, who teaches literature at Kisii University, has a number of other publications, including short story collections and works on indigenous knowledge (proverbs, riddles, and songs) of the Gusii.

Okemwa runs Kistretch International Poetry Festival. He holds a Bachelor of Education degree (English & Literature) and a Master of Arts degree (Literature) from the University of Nairobi. His doctoral study at Moi University in Kenya focuses on Performance of Poetry in Kenya.