Etwebi compactly renders experience in a hauntingly classical way. His work is rooted in the landscapes of his country, and in inventing forms in his literary traditions that will capture his engagement with his place and culture. His poetry is intimate but grand, innovative but traditional, influenced by Modernist poetry . . . yet populist and accessible. His phrasing and syntax are often very unpredictable, risk-taking, experimenting with neologisms, inventing language. In his work, there is often a strongly elegiac note; his irony reminds one of Eliot, his imagistic purity reminds one of Pound. Yet he has an intimate knowledge of his fellow creatures that brings to mind William Carlos Williams. Ashur Etwebi enters the mysterious places of the land and sea through the experiences of the human beings he encounters, never engaging in sentimental homage but putting forward a powerful and delicious reverie and a poetic vision.
