Background of the poet Mazisi Kunene, one of the most important and influential voices in modern African literature, was born in Durban, South Africa in 1930. He studied at the University of Natal where he took an M. A. He was head of the Department of African Studies in the University College at Roma in…
BACKGROUND OF THE POET Jean – Joseph Rabearivelo was born in 1901 in Antananarivo, Madagascar. He was the only child of his mother. He was educated at Catholic mission school, and his desire to study more earned him an improvement in French language. After graduating from college, he worked as a proof – reader for…
Background of the poet Wole Soyinka was born in 1934 at Abeokuta, Western Nigeria. Educated in Nigeria in University College, Ibadan, and at Leeds University in England, he graduated in English Language and Literature in 1958. Wole Soyinka is a versatile person who sings, and acts and produces plays. In addition he is a creative…
Oswald Mbuyiseni Mtshali, (born 1940, Vryheid, Natal, South Africa), South African poet who wrote in English and Zulu and whose work drew deeply upon the immediate experience of life in the Johannesburg township of Soweto. Mtshali worked as a messenger before his first collection of poems, Sounds of a Cowhide Drum (1971), won the Olive Schreiner Prize…
Background of the poet Oswald Mbuyiseni Mtshali, (born 1940, Vryheid, Natal, South Africa), South African poet who wrote in English and Zulu and whose work drew deeply upon the immediate experience of life in the Johannesburg township of Soweto. Mtshali worked as a messenger before his first collection of poems, Sounds of a Cowhide Drum (1971), won the Olive…
The Sun Rising by John Donne Busy old fool, unruly Sun, Why dost thou thus,Through windows, and through curtains, call on us?Must to thy motions lovers’ seasons run? Saucy pedantic wretch, go chide Late school-boys and sour prentices, Go tell court-huntsmen that the king will ride, Call country ants to harvest offices;Love, all alike, no…
Background of the poet John Pepper Clark was born Kiagbodo in Ijaw, 1935. He was educated at Government College, Ughelli and has an English degree from University College, Ibadan. He was the founding editor of The Horn, Student poetry magazines which played a crucial role in the history of literary development in Nigeria. He worked for…
Ambassadors of poverty areThe corrupt masters of the economyWith their head abroadAnd anus at homePatriots in reverse orderDetermined merchants of lootsWho boost the economy of their colonial orderTo impoverish brothers and sisters at home Ambassadors of poverty areThe saviours of the peopleOffice loafers in the guise of workersBarons of incompetenceWith kleptomaniac fingersAnd suckling filamentsPosition occupants…
‘The Cathedral by Kofi Awoonor‘, a powerful proclamation of cultural identity and a critique on the incursion of foreign religion, is a poem that throws open the dialogue of deep-rooted African traditions clashing with Western religious influences. Residing in Africa and breathing its rich literature for over a decade, I have been privy to the…
The Fulani Creation Story At the beginning there was a huge drop of milk.Then Doondari came and he created the stone:Then the stone created iron,And iron created fire,And fire created water,And water created air.Then Doondari descended the second time,And he took the five elementsAnd he shaped them into man.But man was proud:Then Doondari created blindness, and blindness defeated man.But…