Ecocriticism: Locating the Animist Figurings in Remi Raji’s Sea of My Mind

Abstract

This article is an ecocritical reading of Remi Raji’s Sea of My Mind (2013). We argue that the collection is a fine illustration of the animist turn in ecocriticism. By engaging with the import of the natural elements that incarnate with the imagination of the sea, we discuss the various ways in which Raji’s poetic oeuvres address the environmental exigencies of the times. We also show how the centrality of natural elements in the work pinpoints the limits of human agency. We further argue that the concern of the collection serves to amplify, from the Nigerian perspective, the necessity of maintaining the delicate balance of relations between humans and the nonhuman others, while not losing sight of the imperative of mitigation to forestall catastrophes of the apocalyptic scale.

“Their Color is a Diabolic Die,” Colonialism and the State of Environmental Justice in Africa

“…They argue that the conception of traditional animism as paganistic and primitive is a disarticulation of the concept. They further claimed that animism is closely tied to nature (Oluwaseye, Olaloluwa, & Ogbulogo, 2020). Colonialism brought a disruption to the perception of nature in Africa.…”