Softlie
[Poetry]
ORDINARILY, THE UNION OF THE SEXES, whether in affection or hostility, is a vast pool from which creative artists from ancient times to the present have drawn inspirations for their thematic concerns and style. Thus, a new work in this direction stands the risk of treading the familiar path without making much impression.
What subtly but eloquently stands out in Kayode Taiwo Olla’s Softlie, however, is its uncommon blend of the poetic with the narrative, and the melodic with the dramatic.
The reader’s attention is firmly held and sustained from the beginning to the end of the collection through irony, pun, suspense and ellipsis.
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Praise for Softlie
Softlie is a richly endowed collection of poems that I find enticing with every reading and it is self-recommending.
—Gbemisola Adeoti
Professor of Dramatic Literature at Obafemi Awolowo University
Every one of us wishes to read a book that allows us to find ourselves. This is such a collection—filled with our voices conversing with our lovers, filled with the sort of experiences we have on our way to love. Olla is certainly a voice we have to listen to, henceforth.
—Emmanuel Iduma
Author, Farad
Olla has been able to break through the conventional barriers restricting love poems to a dramatic monologue… [exploring] the themes of love, deceit, passion, betrayal and lust via a technique similar to that of prose and drama genres of literature.
—Carolyn Banks
Writer, poet & songwriter
There is no disputing the fact that the collection of poetry turns words into music, owing to its employment of rhythm… [which] evokes emotion.
—RABTOB Blog