Gray Latitudes

“Gray Latitudes is a body of poems that stretches language to its limit…” These are the opening words by Patricia Jabbeh Wesley to Gray Latitudes, a poetry chapbook written by Michelle K. Angwenyi. 

On first sight, the book’s size deceives you. You may think it is a read to get through in one sitting, or at most, one day; but Michelle has a way with words, and each of the 15 poems in the chapbook needs concentration, needs you to understand the depth of each word.  

The titles of the poems vary; they seem separate, yet tie in well to the book. Most of these titles are sentences, and as a lover of beautiful sentences, I started with those that sounded inviting: ‘How Swiftly Everything Fell into Place after That’, and ‘I Hope You Can Dance Now’.  

There is a certain power in poetry, a beautiful sadness in these particular poems, one that makes you want to sit with Angwenyi and have her read to you – not to then explain them, but to simply allow you to hear the words from her voice.  

She has been deliberate in poems like ‘In the Space of What’s Ended’, choosing to ‘disobey’ the grammar principle that dictates the use of uppercase letters at the start of sentences – something I find unique, exceptional, in line with the saying: “Learn the rules of grammar so that you know which ones to break.” 

Gray Latitudes is one of eight chapbooks under the ‘New Generation African Poets: A Chapbook Box Set co-edited by Kwame Dawes and Chris Abani. I purchased the book directly from Michelle (Twitter – @mkangwenyi) for KES 650, and it came with a beautiful handwritten note. 

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Natalie Sifuma is a Kenyan researcher-storyteller and writing tutor. She loves beautiful sentences, travelling, and helping people write better through an online writing workshop. Find out about the workshop here – https://linktr.ee/iwsworkshop