A new poetic work by one of Nigeria's foremost contemporary poets, I Want to Dance is an extended song cycle, divided into three parts. In the song, the poetic voice undergoes a journey of experience from west to east and night to day and reflects upon moving away from and returning to home.

The Nobel Laureate's reputation as a dramatist tends to cloud his poetic achievement, and in modern African literature, poetry lives in the shadow of fiction. The criticism of Soyinka's poetry has so far centred on his themes of individuality and death, his imagery, and on the controversy over his authenticity, obscurity and difficulty. Here, in a new approach, an academic himself and one of the leading younger generation of African poets, discusses critically the voice and viewpoint of the poet with the object of establishing Soyinka's persona. The book covers the personality and world view...

These ten short stories, of varying length, intensity and focus, are the first by Ojaide, published in the genre. The title story concerns the spiritual and sexual illusions, confusions and realities to which a young Nigerian girl, the daughter of a pastor, and the people in her milieu, are subjected. In a story entitled 'I Used to Drive a Mercedes', the author satirises the life of a military general, Alfred, and his materialistic and glamour-seeking wife. He juxtaposes the wealth and position of Alfred's youth and the pinnacle of his achievements: the purchase of a Mercedes, with the...

In his new collection, Nigeria's leading poet and literary scholar reflects on social and political themes, popular culture and the impact of technology on tradition, religious evangelism in the indigenous culture, environmental degradation, home, migration and return.

This is a pioneering work on Urhobo language, and since language is not the restricted domain of only scholars of linguistics, other aspects of the language or issues that impinge on language use are also discussed in this collection of essays by a eleven experts drawn from research institutes and universities. Since literature is a vehicle of language, the proverbs and axioms of the language as well as the oratorical and performance traditions in Urhobo are also covered competently. Other cultural aspects, especially music, are also seen as enhancers of the language. To underscore the...

This work takes in two collections of poetry. The poems of Delta Blues protests against the environmental degradation of the Niger Delta, and the devastation unleashed upon local populations, victims, and caught up in the race for oil. The younger poet dedicates his work to Ken Saro Wiwa, and other civil-rights activists. He writes about the irony of their mortality, which was, their last resort and only threat; their death was the final protest. The poet contrasts the natural heritage of the river, a vital food and water source, with barrels of oil, which bring little benefit to the people...

Nigeria's acclaimed poet Ojaide brings his sharp sensibilities and writing skills to prose storytelling. He weaves a compelling narrative that illuminates the contradictions of state and society in contemporary Africa.

The Beauty I Have Seen. A Trilogy comprises three phases in a poetic journey, ranging from the poet (here called a minstrel) as a public figure, a traveller and observer of humanity, to one grounded in the landscape and fate of his native land. In the various sections of "The Beauty I have Seen," "Doors of the Forest" and "Flow and other Poems," Tanure Ojaide expresses multifarious experiences, private and public, that capture the poet's sensitive life in sensuous images. In these poems that flow like a narrative, form and content fuse into a mature poetic voice at once passionate and...

The Old Man in a State House and Other Stories is a literary canvas which captures the restless matrix that is todays Africa: the corruptive influence of a corrosive oil economy, environmental degradation, wealth and hubris, love and more. Tanure Ojaide has published sixteen collections of poetry, a memoir, three novels, two short story collections and scholarly works. He has numerous literary prizes and is currently the Frank Porter Graham Professor of Africana Studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.