Rap to Mars

About the Book

Rap to Mars, a book of poetry, satire, and prose, attempts by words and art to dissect and sift through diverse aspects of the life of man in his quest to assert himself as the king or queen of the universe. This is even in spite of man’s obvious lapses, frailties, and entrapment. During the course of various attempts, sometimes, success smiles on man. But when failures present themselves, arrogant and deceitful man refuses to accept his obvious limitations. Often, in his ever-willing efforts to deceive the more gullible, man in his cowardice plays the monkey that uses the cat’s paws to extract nuts from the fi re. From a safe distance, the minion, man, details his more gullible fellow men to sacrifi ce themselves and others in silly and assumed defense of the Almighty Maker. The “martyr” and suicide bomber along with their victims become the willing and unwilling by-products But even in spite of his sometimes comical shenanigans, man, who unsuccessfully plays the angel on Earth, remains man and suffers or causes others to suffer the pains arising from a perpetual struggle between the good and the bad as represented in Rap to Mars by Earth’s angels, suicide bombers, and whores. At the end of the day, man, mere mortal man, still fi nds himself trapped in his self-imposed cocoon of a shanty or a mansion. In the latter, man again plays the elitist parent of a lone child while the downtrodden fi nd their pleasure by doggedly obeying the injunction of “increase and multiply.” Rap to Mars is a mixed grill of fun, challenges, and what the evolving society was, what it is, and what it should fi ght hard not to be.

About the Author

Oliver Akamnonu is a physician, with specialization in anesthesiology. An author and poet, Dr. Akamnonu had his early education at St. Brigid’s School Enugu, Nigeria, and Government Secondary School Afikpo, where he was the School Captain . He finished his education at the University of Ibadan medical and postgraduate schools. A former state chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association, former member of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria MDCN, member of the Board of Federal Medical Center Owerri, recipient of the Distinguished Medical Practitioner (DMP 2005) award, chairman of the Akamnonu Foundation for the Poor, he became an author after he immigrated to the United States and has over eighteen published books to his credit. Dr. Akamnonu’s published books include Suppers of Many Dishes Part I; Suppers of Many Dishes Part II; The Gods Have Not Yet Spoken; Taste of the West; Nation of Dead Patriots; Bature; The Honorable; Coming Late to America; Earth’s Man of Color: Genes, Agenda, or Jeans; Soldier Ants of War; The Trial of Monogamy; the award-winning book Rap to Mars; A Spot to Perch; Comedy of Naked Vampires; Konganoga: Mauling the Polity; and the widely read book Arranged Marriage and the Vanishing Roots. He is also the author of several short stories and literary contributions in several blogs and newspapers. A Nigerian-born citizen of the United States, Dr. Akamnonu lives in Massachusetts, USA, with his wife, Dr. Chika Agnes Akamnonu; and they have four children.