Book Review: Black Coffee & Steamy Nights by Eudiah Kamonjo

This book is about a black woman celebrating the joys of love, relationships and sex in a poetic way.

In Black Coffee & Steamy Nights, Ms Kamonjo celebrates the single woman, the lonely woman, the hyper and free woman.

She captures her confidence, her hesitations and sometimes her confusion in relationships.

In How Do I Want it? the poet lays bare that confusing signals that a woman often brings out; wanting to be led and also lead.

I found the girl on girl sex scenes more expressive.

I also deduced that the girl on boy relationships as cumbersome and hurtful.

There’s only one mention of girl on girl sex being ‘forbiden’

There’s hope, there’s hurt, there’s the pain of being cheated on, there’s picking up from bad experience but above all, there’s exaltation of hedonism and sexual freedom.

She captures all these in different poems in the book.

Nairobi, mnakulananga kwa mathree?

That poem about sex in a matatu got me.

Being a sexguide and journalist, her words are relatable.

Illustrations

No, it is not a porn book.

However, the illustrations accompanying the poems are spot on. They create a powerful imagery transporting the reader into her fancy and carefree world of sex and relationship.

Within these pages, I found some poems quite telling.

I asked myself, is this her life?

She teaches that there’s no shame in love and in sex.

“No nights are dark enough to hide or stop us,

We are unforgettable and know this, we do!

-        The nakedness of tales, Eudiah Kamonjo

Some poems create sexual tension in the reader.

The poem Diani actually transported me.

There are also other favorites such as Forbidden Sweetness, In the Night of Your Rain, Stagy Drama, My world (a two stanza poem that explains much about relationships, phew! She’s a master), Strumming myself and Rasta Dance.

We see you, sisters, celebrates the beauty and prime role women play in society

A good accompaniment for any poetry lover.

However, as with all poetry books, there are some great poems and there are the not so great poems.

I don’t know about the hurt or pain in her life but she sure celebrates sex life.