Critical Commentary
“Ńchéfù Road, an encyclopedic debut by Uche Ogbuji, reflects the polymath pursuits of its author, an Ìgbò-NaijAmerican poet, engineer, entrepreneur, DJ, and self-identified Third Culture Kid. In these poems, Ogbuji draws on his experiences living in Egypt, London, and Colorado; incorporates African, Nigerian, and his own family history; invokes Ìgbò, Greek, and Roman myths; and references contemporary musicians, such as Ice Cube and Kool & the Gang. The result is an eclectic assortment of long poems filling more than 100 pages, as well as an appendix of Ìgbò translations, enough material to fill several books.”
—Diego Báez, Review of Ńchéfù Road in Poetry Foundation’s, Harriet Books
“Uche Ogbuji’s collection Ńchéfù Road caught my attention on first reading and didn’t disappoint on further readings. “Run your languages this way; I want all your words/ And their secrets, pick locks to your treasure chest;” sings the poem “Run it!” and this desire for “words” and “their secrets” brings to mind Pablo Neruda: You can say anything you want, alright, but it’s the words that sing, they soar and descend…I bow to them…I cling to them, I run them down…I love words so much…The unexpected ones…The ones I wait for greedily or stalk until, suddenly, they drop…Vowels I love…They glitter like coloured stones, they leap like silver fish…Everything exists in the word.”
—Mel Pryor, Judge’s statement on selecting Ńchéfù Road as the winner of the Christopher Smart Poetry Prize, by Black Spring Press Group
