Review of A Tributary to Servitude By Servio Gbadamosi

​The second time I read the book, I interpreted the title, then I searched for other comments that had been written on the book and I picked a pencil with a dictionary to read again. I hardly ever write on books but I wrote on this one because it forced a new consciousness out of me. I was not just scrolling past the words with perception, this time, I understood most part of it! It made me so happy to be able to unlock simple messages in the way that he sowed words and ideas together.

TITLE: A tributary in servitude
AUTHOR: Servio Gbadamosi
GENRE: Poetry
NUMBER OF PAGES: 86
PUBLISHER: WriteHouse
DATE OF PUBLICATION: March 9, 2015
ISBN: 978-9785283839

A tributary in servitude is a book that you have to read carefully or else, you will miss the point. This poet is a person that I will call a “poetic god” because he literally put the key to the doors of unlocking and understanding his poems right in the title of the book. Before you read this book, interpret the title. I read this book twice.

The second time I read the book, I interpreted the title, then I searched for other comments that had been written on the book and I picked a pencil with a dictionary to read again. I hardly ever write on books but I wrote on this one because it forced a new consciousness out of me. I was not just scrolling past the words with perception, this time, I understood most part of it! It made me so happy to be able to unlock simple messages in the way that he sowed words and ideas together. After this process, it dawned on me that it is not the poems which he wrote that are difficult unlike some comments that I read about the book but the ability to read it differently, patiently and curiously.
For example, in page 9 of the book, there is a part where he said;
 
"saved from the alley by knives
And septic gloves which 
still laugh at the strewn path on mother's womb"
 
This excerpt is the most brilliant and intelligent poetry to describe C-section surgery. I fell in love with his words over and over again at each new meaning they produced. The best part of Servio Gbadamosi's book is his reference to culture and folklore. 
​
He also wrote about love. His perception and depiction of what it means to love someone was well portrayed and I enjoyed it. This collection carries life in it and it bears a poet’s description of struggles, finding one’s self, reference to the old times, culture, tragedy, slavery, and colonialism. This book successfully engaged me and improved my attitude towards perceiving poetry in a knowledgeable way.

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