A peep into a poet’s inner mind

A review of Mallami Adekunle’s poetry collection, But Why All This Grammar by Tade Makinde
I believe so much should be read into the title of a book, it is usually the first peep into what to expect inside the covers of a book. Some book titles are synopsis on their own although you should never judge a book by its cover. When I first heard about this book ‘But Why All This Grammar’ I was very sceptical about it. The title was catchy and the book cover was minimalist but I’m not a poetry or prose person. I have only ever read only a few of the works of greats like Wole Soyinka and William Shakespeare. Such is my distaste of poetry works.

My issue with poetry hasn’t always been the content but the need for poets to write in a very complex way. To me, this marginalised people, who chose to read with a simple mind, people like me, this is what so many 21st century poets like Rupi Kaur, Koleka Putuma and Warsan Shire have gotten right. Mallami Adekunle also brilliantly achieved this feat with his book, which I believe is very in-tune with the title ‘But Why All This Grammar’.

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This book by Mallami Adekunle has three chapters; Subject, Predicate, and Limerence. He opened up the book with the first chapter which he named Subject.

One of my favourite prose from this chapter is ‘wife or housewife’, Adekunle writes:

“Ladies! Girls! Women!

All your lives you’ve been the symbol of weakness

And men have always been the S.I unit of strength

For so long I believe you saw yourselves

Through the mirror of this cock and bull…”

This prose speaks directly to women asking them to value their worth and be whoever they want to be.

In another poem Adekunle writes:

“Perhaps we may never know world peace

because we are divided into three beliefs

Muslims

Christians

and money

And each of these beliefs are fuelled

by ethnic and political sentiments”

Adekunle’s words have a way of being thought-provoking as well as have us question what we think we know about certain subjects.

The second chapter, which is titled: Predicate also continues the trend of questioning misconceptions as well as provoking your thoughts except this time, Adekunle writes from a predicative point of view. The remarkable achievement of this book is the way it makes you search deeply into your soul. In the first poem of this chapter Adekunle writes:

“Admit it, the world has gone mad and there is no hope because we are being ruled by mad people. The world now is nothing more than an asylum with reversed leadership.”

In another poem that really hit home he writes:

“Life is a market place

And the best shoppers are those who go to the market with a clear idea of what they want”

The last chapter, Limerence, takes a different pace from the first two chapters as it is dedicated entirely to love. This chapter addresses both the beauty and flaws of love as well as supposed misconceptions about love. In a poem titled ‘Ice Castle’ Adekunle writes,

“We have been formatted

to imagine picture perfect weddings

to imagine beautiful family dinners

or well-rehearsed couple social or political appearances

as the real deal

oblivious to the reality of their internal struggles”

In another one of my favorite in this chapter, he writes

“We make love seem like a chore

Then we wonder

why we always end up

washing our dirty linens outside.”

But Why All This Grammar by Mallami Adekunle’s a book of self-reflection and is very masterfully written. What I like most about the book, apart from its brilliant content, is the way both subject and predicate chapters were written from a subjective and predicative angle. Another take from the book is the style with which it was written, whether you are a lover of poetry or not, you will have a great read. My thought after reading this book is, but why all this life grammar really, maybe simplicity of thought is really what we need.