AWOONOR, Kofi.

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Night of My Blood. First edition, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "For Michael [S. Harper], brother and fellow singer of our animal songs, Kofi". Both poets were inspired by music: Night of My Blood "uses the medium of traditional Ewe song to lament the neglect of [Awoonor's] ancestral shrines and gods" (jacket), while Harper's poetry integrated jazz and blues.Awoonor's writing was inspired by his grandmother's practice as a Ewe dirge singer. Harper was similarly known for his integration of cultural history and folk traditions into his poems: "Through syncopation, rhyme, and rhythm, Harper alluded to musical forms that were born out of the African-American experience. In doing so, he often managed to destabilize or blur time and historical awareness" (Poetry Foundation).The collection is introduced by Es'kia Mphahlele, the father of African humanism and one of the most important writers of 20th-century African literature.

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