ALT 42: Oral and Written African Poetry and Poetics
Contributions by Iquo Diana Abasi, Dr Mawuli Adjei, Oluwafumilayo Akinpelu, Professor Adetayo Alabi, Professor Kofi Anyidoho, Adewuyi Aremu, Kadija George (Sessay), Edafe Mukoro, Professor Ogaga Okuyade, Alexander Opicho, Paramita Routh Roy, Dr Rose A Sackeyfio, Milena Vladi Jovanov, Jerome Masamaka, Matrida Phiri, Ademola Adesola, Rachel Oluwafisayo, Marinus Yong, Ifeoma Okoye, Victor Alabi Edited by Ernest N Emenyonu General editor Ernest N Emenyonu
Publication date:
19 November 2024Length of book:
224 pagesPublisher
James CurreyDimensions:
216x140mmISBN-13: 9781805434757
Examines the state of African poetry today, the continuing influence of Africa's pioneer poets, today's new generation of poets, and their work in written poetry and in the spoken word, continuing oral indigenous traditions.
Almost half a century after ALT 6 and thirty-three years after ALT 16, what is the state of poetry and poetics in Africa? This volume of ALT highlights major developments and continuities in the practice of the art of poetry in the continent. Contributions analyse new frontiers in the traditional African epic and the Yoruba oríkì genre and innovations in form and theme, such as 'spoken word poetry' shared on digital media and pandemic poetry in the wake of COVID-19. They compare and contrast the work of Romeo Oriogun, Christopher Okigbo, and Gabriel Okara and of T.S. Eliot and Kofi Anyidoho. Other essays examine the complexities of translation from Ewe into English and the development of oral African poetry, underscoring its dynamism and the centrality of performance. The volume also includes interviews with poets Kofi Anyidoho, Kwame Dawes, and Kehinde Akano and tributes to Ama Ata Aidoo. Altogether, it highlights the richness and vibrancy of contemporary praxis and points to future directions in the field.
Almost half a century after ALT 6 and thirty-three years after ALT 16, what is the state of poetry and poetics in Africa? This volume of ALT highlights major developments and continuities in the practice of the art of poetry in the continent. Contributions analyse new frontiers in the traditional African epic and the Yoruba oríkì genre and innovations in form and theme, such as 'spoken word poetry' shared on digital media and pandemic poetry in the wake of COVID-19. They compare and contrast the work of Romeo Oriogun, Christopher Okigbo, and Gabriel Okara and of T.S. Eliot and Kofi Anyidoho. Other essays examine the complexities of translation from Ewe into English and the development of oral African poetry, underscoring its dynamism and the centrality of performance. The volume also includes interviews with poets Kofi Anyidoho, Kwame Dawes, and Kehinde Akano and tributes to Ama Ata Aidoo. Altogether, it highlights the richness and vibrancy of contemporary praxis and points to future directions in the field.