1. African poetry
African Poetry as an art form has undergone several phases of evolution from pre-colonial to
colonial and then to post-colonial eras in most African countries. As an example, in the pre-colonial
era in Nigeria — the most populated country in Africa and a multi-ethnic, multi-lingual nation —
poetry was unwritten there .
Africa by David Diop:
David Mandessi Diop (1927-1960) was a revolutionary African poet born in France to
parents of West African descent, and an active member of the Negritude movement.
Diop’s poems highlight African problems brought about by colonialism and give a
message of hope and resistance to people of the continent.
He emphasizes his sense of belonging through his poem ‘Africa’ as he describes the
“black blood” which flows in his veins as a descendant of the continent. Diop goes on
to urge the black African people to stand up to the humiliation and pain that they
suffered in their own motherland, reminding them of the strength and pride they have
in them.
He stresses the need to say no to the whips of the colonial masters who make them
work under the hot midday sun leaving ugly scars on their backs. Despite this
suffering the narrator urges Africans to be strong and resist being broken by the heavy
weight which colonialism symbolizes.
Thus David Diop’s poem continues to be relevant to Africa in the 21st century despite
having been penned during the height of colonialism in Africa.
2. You laughed & laughed & laughed by Gabriel Okara:
Gabriel Okara was conceived in 1921 in Nigeria. During his life, Okara has held various
employments, at first functioning as a book cover, columnist, radio supporter and paper editorial
manager. He has likewise made a trip to the USA where he helped fund-raise for Nigeria by
giving verse presentations. Okara's poems tend mirror the issues that African countries face as
they are conflicted between the way of life of their European colonizers and their conventional
African legacy.
Nigerian poet Gabriel Okara's poem 'You laughed & laughed & laughed' draws out a feeling and
torment looked by dark individuals. He was a poet and writer. He drew out the issues of African
individuals in the two his poem and writing. His remarkable works incorporate The Voice.
A Far Cry from Africa by Derek Walcott
A Far Cry from Africa by Derek Walcott deals with the theme of split identity and anxiety caused by it
in the face of the struggle in which the poet could side with neither party. It is, in short, about the
poet’s ambivalent feelings towards the Kenyan terrorists and the counter-terrorist white colonial
government, both of which were 'inhuman', during the independence struggle of the country in the
1950s. The persona, probably the poet himself, can take favor of none of them since both bloods
circulate along his veins.
3. poetry encompasses the wide variety of traditions arising from Africa's 55 countries and from
evolving trends within different literary genres. It is a large and complex subject, partly because of
Africa's original linguistic diversity but primarily because of the devastating effect
of slavery and colonization, which resulted in English
