Beyond the Bounds of Historiography: Reconstructing the Transitory Phases of Africa in African Poetry
Beyond the Bounds of Historiography: Reconstructing the Transitory Phases of Africa in African Poetry
By
Akwu Sunday Victor
Holds a BA (Hons) in English Language and Literature from the Department of English and Literary Studies, Kogi State University, PMB 1008, Anyigba, Nigeria. He is the author of Breaking the Cycle of Silence [play] and editor: New Voices from the Confluence: An Anthology of Creative Writing [Anthology] and a private researcher.
Abstract
Poetry as an art form is not only an overflow of feelings, emotions and thoughts but also a means through which history is recreated. The history of a people is transmitted either through the oral or the written forms. The histories of mythical and legendary figures are also translated through the aforementioned medium. Poetry, as mentioned earlier can also express the history of a people, but often, of great men and movers of nations in the form of epic. However, poetry that reconstructs a continent’s history and its metamorphosis over space and time is what one hardly finds. Poetry, nevertheless, has the power to transmit history in such a way that the poetically transmogrified historical reality ceases to be seen as a history in historiography but a charged work of art that in itself is complete and beautiful. This paper studies Jarinatu Disu’s African Reminiscence and points that poetry is a form of art that can also capture and translate the transient phases of Africa. This kind of representation of history transmutes history into a form called historical poetry. It is thus concluded that the poet underscore has captured the historical phases of Africa giving poetic spirit to the historical forces that shaped the African world.
Introduction
Poets are seen as makers. Thus, the poetic process, or the process of poetry construction is comparable with masonry. There are objects used by the mason in construction and these include cement, blocks, stones and other implements used in
By
Akwu Sunday Victor
Holds a BA (Hons) in English Language and Literature from the Department of English and Literary Studies, Kogi State University, PMB 1008, Anyigba, Nigeria. He is the author of Breaking the Cycle of Silence [play] and editor: New Voices from the Confluence: An Anthology of Creative Writing [Anthology] and a private researcher.
Abstract
Poetry as an art form is not only an overflow of feelings, emotions and thoughts but also a means through which history is recreated. The history of a people is transmitted either through the oral or the written forms. The histories of mythical and legendary figures are also translated through the aforementioned medium. Poetry, as mentioned earlier can also express the history of a people, but often, of great men and movers of nations in the form of epic. However, poetry that reconstructs a continent’s history and its metamorphosis over space and time is what one hardly finds. Poetry, nevertheless, has the power to transmit history in such a way that the poetically transmogrified historical reality ceases to be seen as a history in historiography but a charged work of art that in itself is complete and beautiful. This paper studies Jarinatu Disu’s African Reminiscence and points that poetry is a form of art that can also capture and translate the transient phases of Africa. This kind of representation of history transmutes history into a form called historical poetry. It is thus concluded that the poet underscore has captured the historical phases of Africa giving poetic spirit to the historical forces that shaped the African world.
Introduction
Poets are seen as makers. Thus, the poetic process, or the process of poetry construction is comparable with masonry. There are objects used by the mason in construction and these include cement, blocks, stones and other implements used in