Beyond the Boeing of Judgement: A Journey Through Time and Themes

Francis Nyamnjoh's 'Beyond the Boeing' is a poignant and evocative poem that transports readers to a celestial courtroom, where 64 souls from all walks of life await their final reckoning. Imagine a black baby, a South African white supremacist, Shakespeare, a female victim of exploitation, Pope John Paul I, Bob Marley, a Fon, Mandela, and Martin Luther King Jr. standing together in this dreamlike space, each with a story to tell. Their voices, etched with experiences of oppression, resistance, love, loss, and the relentless pursuit of justice, form a chorus that speaks to the complexities of the human condition. From the marginalised to the mighty, their testimonies weave a tapestry of existence, capturing both the triumphs and the struggles that define us. Nyamnjoh invites us to witness these souls baring their lives, seeking redemption or facing damnation. Through their diverse experiences, we are drawn into a profound exploration of our shared humanity, grappling with social injustice, abuse of power, and the clash between modernity and tradition. 'Beyond the Boeing' ultimately challenges us to contemplate the complexities of life, the search for meaning, and the pursuit of justice in a world often fractured by conflict and division. "In 'Beyond the Boeing' Francis Nyamnjoh enters into a poetics of mischief, conviviality and curiosity in satirical and dramaturgical production curating his use of AI as a dialogue partner. Read this text as a thick description, and anthropological entreprise in what it means to post-human, cyborg, made of human histories which escape, evaporate and then reform as a strong cloud of unknowing. Nothing is what it seems in these dialogues." Alison Phipps, University of Glasgow "Nyamnjoh's 'Beyond the Boeing' is an intricately woven poetic art form in which imagery and themes imbricate in an exploration of humanity's moral journey, social dualities, and existential purpose." Bill F. Ndi, University of Tuskegee "'Beyond the Boeing' transcends its textual bounds to invite us, the readers, into the courtroom alongside its 64 souls, to be interrogated too - on our beliefs, our complicity, our understanding of justice. We are asked to witness, to listen, and to accept the impossibility of absolutes. We are brought into a philosophical and poetic masterpiece, where morality, responsibility, and redemption are not endpoints but questions to be carried and contemplated, endlessly and collectively." Moshumee T. Dewoo, University of Helsinki