Song of Lawino & Song of Ocol

I first read this book as a twelve year old being introduced into poetry by my Australian English teacher. Needless to say, I found most of the poetry books prior to this one, to be a torturous exercise for a twelve year old. Okot p'Bitek spoke to the reality that was so real and I could identify some of the characters in my personal life. The choice of words and how they are put together is what I took away from the book. I found the main character, Lawino, to be very funny. I am a Kenyan and on any market day I would go to the market and be surrounded by a lot of Lawinos who are very open and unique in the way they interact within their environment. Very self assured and full of confidence. And self confidence with the written word is the best gift I ever received from this book.

Okot P'Bitek did what most writers dream of doing when he completed this book. Song of Lawino and Song of Ocol is a fulfiling work of art. It is poetry in the best sense of the word and is based in Africa in the advent of the revolution to mordernize the continent, it shows the stuggles between the overlaping cultures;tradition(African)and the western(European). He makes sense of what people dismiss as minute details, and empasis' on the importance of change while still empasising on the the role of tradition in the Afircan society. The book is most humorous and at the same time gives a different point of view on the effects of the european presence in Africa. I have recomeded this book to a lot of my friends