The Transitional Phase The second phase, which we have chosen to call transitional, is represented by the poetry of writers like Abioseh Nicol, Gabriel Okara, Kwesi Brew, Dennis Brutus, Lenrie Peters and Joseph Kariuki. This is poetry which is written by people we normally refer to as modem and who may be thought of as belonging to the third phase. The characteristics of this poetry are its competent and articulate use of the received European language, its unforced grasp of Africa’s physical, cultural and socio-political environment and often its lyricism. To distinguish this type of poetry we have to refer back to the concept of appropriation we introduced earlier. At the simplest and basic level, the cultural mandate of possessing a people’s piece of the earth involves a mental and emotional homecoming within the physical environment. Poems like Brew’s ‘‘Dry season”, Okara’s “Call of the River Nun”, Nicol’s “The meaning of Africa” and Soyinka’s “Season”, to give a few examples,
Comments
Post a Comment