CUTV News Radio Spotlights Poet Dr. Felix Bongjoh

West Roxbury, MA – Felix Bongjoh is the author of 19 books on poetry, including Chorus on a Bridge, The Ineluctable Spin, Weeds of Jewelry, Season of Flowers, Quiet Shadows Scream, and Angle of Angels. His twentieth book is set to be published later this year.

“To initiative a poem, the poem must speak itself out in my imagination, and quite often it does so when I'm in bed, early in the morning,” says Bongjoh. “Lines run through my mind and I have to get up in a flash and put them down.”

Originally from Cameroon, Bongjoh served for over 30 years in the international finance arena at an International finance Organization, where he was primarily involved in the design, implementation and management of human capital development projects across some twenty countries.

“’I’ve always had the instinct of poetry in me,” says Bongjoh. “I spent 30 years working in the field of human capital development, but because of my job, I traveled all over the world meeting people from various cultures. My professional career honed my poetry.”

Bongjoh returned to poetry following the loss of his daughter in 2011.

Inspired by T.S. Eliot, Walt Whitman, W.H. Auden and W.B.,Yeats. Bongjoh’s poems reflect the everyday experiences that make life worth living, lauding courage and perseverance for the trials and tribulations that must be overcome and the bridges that must be crossed.

While certain themes run through Bongjoh’s poetry, he says the most important element is what the reader associates with the poem.

“I attach more importance to imagery and metaphor,” says Bongjoh. “You must have that powerful imagery that makes the reader feel like they are reading another language. The words are in English, but when you read it, it’s more like dreaming.”