Encyclopedia of Dolour

For those who've experienced suffering and loss, Encyclopedia of Dolour understands. With this poetry collection, Abduljalal Musa Aliyu takes us on a journey through the landscape of grief in its undiluted form. He paints vivid images with his words that depict the displacement of lives and properties, losses, and trauma that victims have gone through almost with precision. He uses the sensual, in some places the erotic, to show us how banditry and terrorism ravage the lives of Nigerians and how they deal with the realities of their lives and the various escape routes they take to avoid confronting these unfortunate realities. He also leaves trails of divine seeking and search for salvation through the course of the collection. He thoroughly explores the theme of insecurity not just from the state's perspective but from a deeply personal viewpoint. This is an encyclopedia of loss, of grief, of the art of loving a country that is hell-bent on not loving you back. This collection shows us the beauty of suffering in words that are capable of hunting us. This collection turns our heads and shoves the reality we try to escape down our throats.

Praise for Encyclopedia of Dolour

Abduljalal lays bare an enthralling poetic voice, one that invites readers to not just listen to its gripping narratives about the myriad facets of atrocities faced by humanity, but to bear witness to the testimonies of their consequences. In assertive strides, he navigates the intricate framework of family dynamics, displacement, personal and geographical violence, loss and estrangement from the self, love, lineage, benevolence and even, existence. Encyclopedia of Dolour is a lighthouse ushering us all to the feet of a poet whose voice will echo through many generations to come.

-Abu Bakr Sadiq, author of Leaked Footages

In Encyclopedia of Dolour, Aliyu pulls out profound emotions and personal experiences that express deeply the human condition. Through a chain of verses, the chapbook explores love, loss, family, and the underbelly of faith. His words testify to the function of poetry to capture the gloom of life, drawing readers into a brave world where difficult and sensitive motifs are painted, with each poem a vessel for shared empathy and understanding. The collection holds the poet's quest for death to his agony, as he navigates the chaos of his mind, moving inside the circle of it all.

-Samuel A. Adeyemi, author of Rose Ash

Chapbooks are supposed to be interim selections to present new or uncollected work, but Abduljalal's chapbook has the real feel and thrill of a full collection by an established poet. I am quite sure a full collection (which, given his talent, is just a matter of time) would prove that unmistakable promise and underline the fact that Abduljalal is destined to go to those fabled places where great poets go.

-Ismail Bala, author of Line of Sight

With a voice that is both urgent and laser-sharp, this poet is calling on us to take a step back, wear our goggles of compassion and take a cursory glance at the disintegrating ethos that are fast eroding the earth upon which we stand as a society. Impressively, he speaks with the power of a hurricane that will force open the all hidden crevices of our closed conscience. This poet roars, yet he is tender, compassionate and reassuring.

-Umar Abubakar Sidi, author of The Poet of Dust and Like Butterflies Scattered About by Art Rascals