DEATHMASK

“Bursting at the seams” is an inescapable conclusion even after a cursory reading of this collection of poems. The poet is pushing the boundaries of poetic technique to its limit. There is so much to savour that the critic is left breathless as he goes on—long before the end. This is vintage Hallowell and if he had anything to prove in order to enhance his reputation as a leading contemporary young poet before this publication, there is now no need for him to go any further. Little wonder “The Dining Table” from his collection Manscape in the Sierra was selected from among thousands of African poems for study and testing at the school leaving certificate level of the primary examination body in West Africa, West African Examinations Council (WAEC).

Permit the cliché: Hallowell breathes, eats and drinks poetry. Even casual conversations with him end up with his breaking into a verse of poetry which people have sometimes found intriguing and for the non-literary..