Chant of the Firefly by Natty Mark Samuels
In December 2021, we launched an exciting new poetry exhibition by writer and African School founder Natty Mark Samuels. The exhibition, entitled Chant of the Firefly, presents nine unique poems penned by Natty, each in celebration of African and Caribbean folklore. The poems introduced #WindowGalleries visitors to some of the smaller and larger characters of African and Caribbean folklore (literally), including the Nunu, who are the little people of Zulu folklore with the largest of hearts, and Dodo, the bogeyman monster of Hausa folklore.
The work took readers on a spectacular journey, transported to different regions through the introduction of characters created by the ancient peoples of sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean. The exhibition title piece, Chant of the Firefly, remembers the African and Caribbean ancestors who first introduced these figures. In the Dominican Republic, ancestors are represented by these brightly lit beetles; “watching over us; firefly, firefly, whether we laugh or cry”.
Read a press article on the exhibition here.
'Chant of the Firefly' was on display in the #WindowGalleries from 05th January 2022 to the 31st January 2022.
