Blooming Under Bradford Skies is a masterful assemblage of rich works by Nigerian and British writers who have made Bradford their home. Under the literary and curatorial expertise of its editor, David Ben Eke, this literary anthology boasts a tapestry of rich, compelling, and vivid short stories, poems, and essays, each graciously offering the reader nuanced perspectives on Bradford.
The short stories mostly excel in their emotional and psychological depth. In “Holding Back,” Ayesha, a retired art teacher who volunteers at an art gallery, finds herself unnecessarily chaperoning the visitors. She continues like this until she meets Jamila, who is unable to move on after losing her husband and daughter in war-torn Syria, and who is obsessed with Armand Point’s 1886 painting, Arab Weaver. Unlike Jamila, Ayesha, who has lost her husband, has found the freedom to move on and tries to bring Jamila forth to the present. With this short story, Matt Hill explores the weight of memories that echo grief.
“The Fare from Egypt” by Bruce Barnes tells the story of Abdul, an airport taxi driver working near Christmas. He picks up three passengers dressed in a manner that easily brings to mind the biblical three wise men who travelled to present gifts to the newborn Jesus. One can easily see that this story is a retelling of the aforementioned biblical narrative. Bruce Barnes invites the readers to reflect on hospitality, which is observed when Abdul refuses payment from the passengers.
“The Postcard City,” also written by Bruce Barnes, starts with a thoughtful excerpt from Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities, and goes further to present before the reader the old and new Bradford, through black and white photographs hung on the wall in a dentist’s waiting room. The narrator embarks on what he calls ‘…a distracting walk-about to the places that sustain the other Bradford,’ taking us along through these photographs.
In “Signs,” the curator, David Ben Eke, renders quite an emotional tale centring around two lovers, Sola and Israel, who are just ending their two-year and six-month-old relationship because Sola, in her words, ‘no longer has the security she desires.’ The story, aside from its impressively fluid language, is littered with strong poetic infusions that embellish the narrative and leave the reader awed at David’s writing prowess. On page 23, we encounter a poignant moment when Israel suddenly realises that his lover had forgotten how to hold his hands, not only in flesh, but also in soul.
In “The Tower,” Gerald Panesu paints an evocative and psychologically intense tale that immediately ushers the reader into a fantastical realm whose centre is occupied by Dave, a lone wanderer taking a surreal descent into self. “The Whirlwind,” written by Michael Olobadola, is a succinct tale of love and loss. We meet an unnamed narrator who surprisingly catches the interest and attention of a beautiful woman.
The essays are heartfelt and speak of the wonders of Bradford city and what impact it has had on the people who have found themselves in its embrace. In “From Barcelona to Bradford: A Journey of Resilience and Removal,” Hawa Kandeh Kandeh chronicles her journey of resilience and determination from Barcelona, Spain, to Bradford in Northern England. She shares with the reader her experiences upon her arrival and eulogises Bradford for providing her with opportunities that transformed her life tremendously. One can tell from her narration that what Kandeh feels for Bradford is almost akin to what a child feels for its mother: that immeasurable love, that bond, that inseparability. Kandeh also tasks the reader to reflect deeply on resilience and commitment in the pursuit of set goals, even in new environments.
The immigrant experience is also not left out in this worthwhile anthology. In her essay “A Day in the Life: Bradford, City of Migrants,” Barbara Howerska tells of her father’s experience in Poland before migrating to Bradford, at the same time letting the reader in on the experiences of Bradford immigrants, especially those from war-torn regions. In “This is Bradford,” Aaron Wright delivers a short tribute to not just his old family house but to Bradford, which he describes as home to ‘…otherworldly creatures, inter-dimensional terrors whose physiology many cannot comprehend.’
The poems boast of lyrical excellence and rhythm. Melissa Dennison rendered three poems, all of which apprise the reader of a Bradford she fondly personalises, hence the title of her first poem, ‘My Bradford.’ In her third poem, ‘Bradford Beck,’ Melissa takes us down history lane where she offers depictions of Bradford Beck, a river that flows through Bradford before it ‘…gently kisses the Aire.’
Other salutations of Bradford appear in poems like ‘My Bragging Bradford,’ where Oyetunbi Oluwaseyi prides in the city whose grass is greener: ‘…the grass is greener everywhere, but for Bradford, a bit greener.’ In ‘Mucky Beck,’ Trevor Alexander contemplates, in a tone that hints at dissatisfaction, the muckiness of the Bradford Beck and ends his poem with the hopes that one day, ‘…the plucky Beck will arise, cast off her veil, and once more, flow in pride.’
More fascinating is the observation that some of the contributing poets gave us lucid ideas of what Bradford looked like before any tangible civilisation got to its shores. Yvonne Ugarte does this so well in her poem, ‘Bradford Past and Present.’ For Gillian Harrison, Bradford, which she refers to as her ‘Bratfud family,’ is not just a city but an atmosphere that pushes one to question and find oneself.
Blooming Under Bradford Skies shines so well in its rendering of Bradford city through languages that feel intimate. Every creative work in this anthology shares this one thing in common: effortlessly bringing Bradford to the pages. One can feel the contributors’ intimacy with this city. In every page, every paragraph, and every sentence, the essence of Bradford is felt, and if you have not visited this city, this anthology does a good job in whetting a yearning to behold the North England city.
By carefully marshalling unique and talented voices, David Ben Eke has undoubtedly curated a timeless anthology, one that testifies to the vastness of Bradford skies such that it can accommodate as many dreams as possible, giving them the space to bloom.
