“An exciting collection of new voices. I Zig and I Zag weaves together varying styles and stories – there is truly something for everyone here!”

Hanan Issa: National Poet of Wales

I Zig and I Zag is a beautifully produced A4 multi-community poetry anthology that revels in the shared human experience of journeying – of seeking, finding, and understanding.

A collection of poems traversing diverse voices, landscapes, and experiences; bringing together an extraordinary chorus of poets, each offering a unique lens through which to explore themes of memory, identity, culture, and belonging. A collection that invites us to embrace the zigzagging pathways of life, finding value and meaning in the margins we encounter.

The beating heart of the anthology is Masaka Madeda’s I Zig and I Zag! – a lyrical and visually stunning odyssey, ranging over 100 A4 pages, that perfectly captures the eternal human quest for meaning amidst the zigzagging tracks of our lives. An African epic that unfolds as a magnificent tapestry, woven in word and form with threads of observation, reflection, and unwavering connections to both the natural world and the rhythms of our communities.

Ultimately, a collection of contemporary poetry that celebrates the remarkable creativity persisting in every corner of human society.

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The anthology includes; Eric Ngalle Charles odes to loved ones no longer with us – moving reminders that ‘memories can be burdensome’. Rosamund McCullain’s layered poetry that combines myth, union, destruction and rebirth as acts of resistance against both social decline and otherness. Ciel Saludes and Mohammed Abdoel’s memoir steeped in generational and cultural reckoning. Luke A. Blaidd’s longing, recognition, and transformation, told through a fleeting moment from a perspective discovering the courage to overcome. Brân Denning’s disturbing confrontation with the maternal as an absent devouring need. Rakyah Assam’s eloquent memory weaved in postcolonial grief, creating a dense textural language steeped in chemical compounds and dislocation. Gareth Alun Roberts’ thematically interwoven triad, bound by a bardic register of love for land and language, and a deep concern with loss, transformation, and time. GI James’ solitary and challenging pathway through self-determination in realisation of the beauty in life’s individual struggles.

Masaka Madeda’s epic poem, I Zig and I Zag!, is a fluid celebration of movement, perception, and presence, rendered through the lens of a walker, a listener, and a dreamer. The narrator is a quintessentially pan-African version of Baudelaire’s flâneur, sweeping across landscapes and interior spaces in a manner both meditative and exuberant. It is at once a travelogue, a personal diary, a social observation, and a spiritual reflection, an unrelenting celebration of the mundane and the majestic. Fishermen, children, crabs, lovers, tourists, and even grasshoppers are offered up as essential components of a grand interconnected reality as Madeda, with rich Afro-centric imagery, weaves a powerful meditation on Kenyan identity through the lived and loved experiences of everyday life. A masterpiece in form and meaning.

You can order I Zig and I Zag from your preferred book retailer.

ISBN: 978-1-0681765-1-7

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-0681765-3-1

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