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From celebrated Montreal poet, N Oji Mzilikazi comes a revealing collection of poetry titled, Shards of Glass: Poetry for the Adventurous.
This daring collection explores an array of societal issues such as love, relationships, spirituality, and social constructs.
“I want my poems to not only be thought-provoking, but to ignite meaningful dialogue,” N Oji said in an interview with the CONTACT.
True to form the different pieces take the reader on an adventure, keenly investigating and examining the various threads of our societal, moral and even spiritual fabric. Mzilikazi uses his voice to pose questions, answer them and goes ahead to offer apologies; for instance, where he feels society has wronged one of its members.
For example, his poem #Metoo; An Apology to Woman, offers a moving apology to women for the instances where men didn’t step – up and they had to suffer as a result of those inadequacies.
An excerpt reads:
For the honor killings,
Acid thrown onto women’s
faces,
Females soaked with
gasoline
then set ablaze,
Males who prefer to
victimize,
rather than cherish, respect
women,
….
The policing of women
bodies,
Toxic masculinity,
I hereby apologize.
N Oji Mzilikazi is the president of The Council For Black Aging Community Montreal Inc. and draws his experience not only from others, but also from his wealth of experiences.
He has worked as a schoolteacher and a Hatha Yoga instructor for over 10 years. He is also recognized as a social critic, astute observer, public speaker and spoken word poet.
He has also worked for CKUT 90.3 FM for several years, and served as a Juno Awards Judge for the Canadian Academy Of Recording Arts And Sciences, or member of its Music Advisory Committees.
He has written for various publications including the Montreal CommunityCONTACT.
For more information about his book or his work, call 514-886-1916.
