{"product_id":"a-kiss-that-never-was-rudolf-ogoo-okonkwo-9781639808281","title":"A Kiss That Never Was: Poems of Heartbreak \u0026 Almost-Love","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn A Kiss That Never Was, Rudolf Ogoo Okonkwo achieves something uncommon in modern poetry out of the West: he converts private longing into historical inquiry with civilizational implications. He does so without losing emotional intimacy with his readers or authenticity with his muse. What begins as a meditation on a love revered but unfulfilled, embodied in the haunting figure of Zp, develops into a profound reckoning with fractured memory, stolen nationhood, and the inherited pain of diaspora.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn Okonkwo's mind, the titular \"kiss\" exists as more than a romantic mirage. It strolls across the pages and underneath sentences as a metaphor for muddled histories, like that of the Biafran War, and interrupted destinies. Okonkwo's invocation of Agwu, the Igbo spirit of creativity and madness, provides the collection with a philosophical foundation to stand and shout.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIts achievement is in reframing suffering as both an uninvited burden and an undeserved calling. The result is a piece of work steeped in restrained lyricism and moral sturdiness. It is at once a dirge, a revelation, and a rebirth that insists heartbreak goes beyond the private to the public, and that the most intimate wounds often traverse across generations.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor fourteen years, he has hosted the satirical show Dr. Damages Show on IrokopostTV online, which has been featured in \u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times, \u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eBBC, \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Guardian\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e (London). He is also the host of 90MinutesAfrica and HaveYourSay247, as well as a panelist on The Diaspora Perspective on Voice of the People TV in Nigeria. Additionally, he writes a weekly column for \u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003ePeople's Gazette.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHis most recent self-published books include \u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003eThis American Life Sef, The Secret Letters of President Donald J. Trump, Age 73, \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003eWhen Trump Met Kamala.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e He is also the author of a book of essays, \u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003eChildren of a Retired God.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA chapter of his memoir, \u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003eBecause I Am My Grandfather, \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003ewas a finalist in the 2010 John Guyon Literary Nonfiction Prize Competition. His short story, \"The Butcher, the Surgeon \u0026amp; Me,\" was a finalist in \u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003eGlimmer Train\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e's 2009 Open Fiction Competition. He has been interviewed on NPR and the BBC Africa Service, and his work appears in \u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003eQuartz, This Is Africa, \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003eLa Repubblica.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOkonkwo holds a Bachelor's degree in Engineering from the Federal University of Technology, Akure, in Ondo State, Nigeria, and an MFA in Professional and Creative Writing from Western Connecticut State University, USA.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Rudolf Ogoo Okonkwo\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1639808280\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781639808281\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Kelsay Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 12\/05\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 92\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.30lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.22d","brand":"Rudolf Ogoo Okonkwo","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48437602648319,"sku":"9781639808281","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_b5adef3a-af53-4b7b-a086-faeb0c164d96.jpg?v=1777162852","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/a-kiss-that-never-was-rudolf-ogoo-okonkwo-9781639808281","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}