African rain is special, Jeremy. It is special. It is of Africa. The sound it makes and the smell of it capture whatever is around it where it falls. It is soft but loud and drums as if to disappear the lines between the earth and air. I came here today to see if I could send Ben Okri a poem I wrote about Grenfell, on this Memorial Day, having heard him read part of his own poem this morning. When I saw your comment and your interest, I thought I would just pause and share my own impression of African rain ..... I have to say that these days, I find London rain is getting more like African rain .....
This channel has some of the most flat out inspiring writing content. This may be one of the best things I’ve heard anyone say *ever*. I think if on the worst days ever since I heard it not long after a relative passed. This kind of understanding and empathy is what being human is.
Rain made me writer too ...... and being alone in the room while I was reading .... I couldn’t resist the moment .... i couldn’t even take a paper..... I wrote and wrote all around the corners of the books .... that was the moment for me .... the next day I was at school and the literature teacher asked students has any of you written something new. Nobody had ... I raised my hand. I read and then When I finished I looked up and I saw students were moved and had tears .... they said again read ... I read again and they loved it .... that was the first time I wrote something and that people liked .... and this became part of me since then ...
I think he meant it may sound and smells different when its falling and hitting the different architectures , trees, rocks or whatever in Africa. Will probably sound different from rain hitting a 5 story apartment building in Boston or Chicago.
Its mainly because of how the houses are built, the building material. I suppose the western kind of building material is such that it does not allow too much outside noise, the buildings are to some extent noise proof. Now in Africa, especially in the time that Ben Okri is referring to, roofs were made of asbestos or corrugated iron. When rain falls on that, it makes a distinct sound. You cant mistake thats its raining in Africa, you will know. In London, for example, you will just wake up to a wet outside. Another thing that makes african rain unique is when it hits the earth, it produces a sweet aroma. It smells sweet. You will almost want to eat the earth. When it rains, it rains heavily, and then it stops and the sun is out. Also for Africa, rain means life, literally. If the rivers are drying up, ( a source of water for people) if the crops are drying in the sun, rain can turn that around in an instant. People are generally excited because of the rain. It is common talk towards the rainy season, the expectancy for it to rain, the timing to plant crops are all very important subjects in conversations. In Africa, rain is a source of life. Very different from everywhere else
African rain is special, Jeremy. It is special. It is of Africa. The sound it makes and the smell of it capture whatever is around it where it falls. It is soft but loud and drums as if to disappear the lines between the earth and air. I came here today to see if I could send Ben Okri a poem I wrote about Grenfell, on this Memorial Day, having heard him read part of his own poem this morning. When I saw your comment and your interest, I thought I would just pause and share my own impression of African rain ..... I have to say that these days, I find London rain is getting more like African rain .....
This channel has some of the most flat out inspiring writing content. This may be one of the best things I’ve heard anyone say *ever*. I think if on the worst days ever since I heard it not long after a relative passed. This kind of understanding and empathy is what being human is.
Great storyteller (obviously). I pictured it all
Rain made me writer too ...... and being alone in the room while I was reading .... I couldn’t resist the moment .... i couldn’t even take a paper..... I wrote and wrote all around the corners of the books .... that was the moment for me .... the next day I was at school and the literature teacher asked students has any of you written something new. Nobody had ... I raised my hand. I read and then When I finished I looked up and I saw students were moved and had tears .... they said again read ... I read again and they loved it .... that was the first time I wrote something and that people liked .... and this became part of me since then ...
Yep. That def happened totally not fake
Thank you for sharing that beautiful moment
The sound of the African rain is unique, very true
I would honestly love to know how African rain is different than other rain. This is a very interesting notion to me.
stfu
It really is different; it’s heavy but soothing, and because of the way homes are built there it hits the roof different. It’s really unique.
@@layla_yasmin no need to be rude. lets all be educated here.
I think he meant it may sound and smells different when its falling and hitting the different architectures , trees, rocks or whatever in Africa. Will probably sound different from rain hitting a 5 story apartment building in Boston or Chicago.
Its mainly because of how the houses are built, the building material. I suppose the western kind of building material is such that it does not allow too much outside noise, the buildings are to some extent noise proof. Now in Africa, especially in the time that Ben Okri is referring to, roofs were made of asbestos or corrugated iron. When rain falls on that, it makes a distinct sound. You cant mistake thats its raining in Africa, you will know. In London, for example, you will just wake up to a wet outside. Another thing that makes african rain unique is when it hits the earth, it produces a sweet aroma. It smells sweet. You will almost want to eat the earth. When it rains, it rains heavily, and then it stops and the sun is out. Also for Africa, rain means life, literally. If the rivers are drying up, ( a source of water for people) if the crops are drying in the sun, rain can turn that around in an instant. People are generally excited because of the rain. It is common talk towards the rainy season, the expectancy for it to rain, the timing to plant crops are all very important subjects in conversations. In Africa, rain is a source of life. Very different from everywhere else
A little melodramatic with that Frost reference at the end lol