Gabriel Okara si afferma come una delle figure letterarie più significative della Nigeria, celebrato per la sua poesia evocativa e i suoi romanzi avvincenti. Le sue opere poetiche, ampiamente diffuse attraverso l'eminente rivista africana The Black Orpheus, hanno profondamente colpito i lettori. Oltre ai suoi contributi letterari, Okara fondò anche The Nigerian Tide, stabilendo una voce importante nei media. La sua scrittura ha consolidato la sua eredità come forza centrale sia nel panorama letterario nigeriano che in quello africano.
Focusing on rural life in Rivers State, Nigeria, this adventure tale features two young protagonists on Juju Island who uncover the nefarious activities of Indian hemp smugglers. Their courageous decision to report the criminals leads to a dramatic confrontation with the law. Through their journey, the narrative imparts a moral lesson, highlighting themes of bravery and justice in the face of wrongdoing.
Arranged in six sections, Gabriel Okara: Collected Poems includes the poet's earliest lyric verse along with poems written in response to Nigeria's war years; literary tributes and elegies to fellow poets, activists, and loved ones long dead; and recent dramatic and narrative poems. The introduction by Brenda Marie Osbey contextualizes Okara's work in the history of Nigerian, African, and English language literatures