He(art) of the metre: Poetry in the “vernacular”

Abstract

The historical rise of African literature in Europhone languages, particularly English and French, as a social and disciplinary practice directed at the recuperation of the fractured African persona and world view following centuries of (mis)representation in Western-authored texts, has conferred on it an adversarial tone that is generally viewed as the archetypal character of African literature that is productive of other categories of ethnic/national literatures including those in the indigenous languages of Africa. Protest (commitment) or agit(ation) prop(aganda) as this category of literature is variously called is more often than not seen as the hallmark of African literature irrespective of its linguistic orientation. Framed against the broad backdrop of the counter-hegemonic claims of postcolonial theorisation, this article discusses theme in Ironu Akewi [Thoughts of a Poet] and Emi in mi Emi in re [My Love Your Love] respectively by Olanrewaju Adepoju and Olatunbosun Oladapo, arguably two of the most prominent of contemporary Yoruba poets. Implicit in the article's explorative concerns is the repudiation of the displacement (marginalisation) of Africanlanguage literatures, their denigration in the academy and consignment to a secondorder cadre vis-à-vis African literature in European languages. Such writing "back to the Empire", such reinscription of the indigenous and questioning of a master discourse conforms with the postmodernist blurring of the space between the "high" and the "low", the global and the local -indeed the written and the oral. The article makes the point that the overtly political preoccupation of African literature -English and French -is neither a given of contemporary African literature nor was it the originary character of the literatures, particularly poetry, of pre-colonial Africa. OpsommingDie historiese opkoms van Afrikaliteratuur in die Eurofoniese tale, veral Engels en Frans, as ƌ sosiale en dissiplinêre praktyk wat gerig is op die herstel van die gebroke Afrikapersona en -wêreldbeskouing wat eeue se wanvoorstelling in Westersgeouteerde tekste volg, het 'n antagonistiese klank daaraan toegeken wat oor die algemeen as die argetipekarakter van Afrikaliteratuur beskou word wat produktief van ander kategorieë van etniese/nasionale literature is, insluitende dié wat in die inheemse tale van Afrika geskryf is. Protes (toewyding) of agi(tasie) prop(aganda), soos wat hierdie kategorie dikwels genoem word, word as die waarmerk van Afrikaliteratuur gesien, ongeag sy linguistiese oriëntasie. Teen die breë agtergrond van die kontrahegemoniese aansprake op postkoloniale teoretisering, bespreek hierdie Downloaded by [Umeå University Library] at 16:59 19 November 2014 JLS/TLW 22 artikel dié tema in Ironu Akewi [Gedagtes van 'n digter] en mi in mi Emi in re [My liefde jou liefde] deur onderskeidelik Olanrewaju Adepoju en Olatunbosun Oladapo,wat stellig twee van die mees prominente kontemporêre Yoruba-digters is. Implisiet in die artikel se ontdekkende aard is die ontkenning van die ontheemd...