Universal Gratitude to African Literature with its Diaspora Authors

The traumatic after-math of Transatlantic Slave Trade during the age of 16^th to 19^th century has established the historical art of African Diaspora. With the help of which, the literary domain of this region got diversified and globally renowned. The colonial rule in this region has hurtfully transferred the so called slaves to various regions in Europe, Asia and America. These series of humans who were shipped beyond boundaries were the dominating reason for the establishment of Diaspora literature in Africa.  Rather, they are considered as the founder of this genre of literary work, most precisely, the “founding myth”.

The African habitants who were transported beyond their geographical boundaries before 1960s were the actual discoverer of Diaspora literature in Africa. Cultural, social, political, philosophical or even the humanitarian aspects of the then Africa were best expressed by these series of African Diaspora authors. Generation of effective and corrective traditional information about this region has been eased with their paramount literary works. As Africa is known to be related with the Oral form of literature only, Diaspora made the entire platform even more fertile and at the same time diversified. No wonder, they are of total blessing for the entire society and the continent as a whole.

Such is the significance of this literary format that the connection of this genre can also be found at an artistic work of gem like Nigerian writer. Not only the negative consequences of colonization even the difficult course of decolonization in Africa are finely depicted in their indigenous creative work. However, by the end of 1980s, the social and political and various other essential segments in Africa got drastically changed. Those were the time when the continent was victimized with the awful condition of poverty, unemployment, political persecution and many more. Even then, the importance of this Diaspora literature didn’t got reduced. Appreciative attributes of which is directly associated with the contemporary writers, poets and authors of Africa too. 

Intensifying Reasons That Made Nigerian Literature Popularized

Nigeria is one of the most influencing countries in Africa, for which, the region got impressive attention in the global literary domain. As the history narrates, oral folklore was the only way to convey the unspoken thoughts of human mind in the form of poems and stories. However, with the implementation of printed literature, it received maximum appreciation from all around the world. Today, even the academic syllabus seems to have placed such literary genres at a dominating facade.

To hold by the hands of a proficient and skillful Nigerian writer means, fetching a perfect picturesque detail of this region. With their corrective usage of words, phrases, lyrics and many more, one can well relate with the past and present social, political and humanitarian attributes of Africa. As there are no scripted details about the historical facts and facets of Africa, this range of writers is a guiding aid to take them all the way to the corrective past. Torturing consequences that the habitants of this place have gone through during the colonial ruling can also be collected from their writings.

All the famous West African poets are amply able to portray every minute facts and facets of pre and post colonial after-math. Mostly written in the English, French and Portuguese dialects, their writings can also be reasoned for introducing Nigeria in the world literary graph. As words and phrases are the only weapon for uplifting the social awareness and also the traits of humanitarian philosophies, these series of writers has engineered them in a best possible way. Productive outcome of which, has overtly dignified the literature and its forms in Africa. Fiction, poetry, drama, novel and no matter what the form is, Nigerian literary masters of the past and in this contemporary time seems to be ably garlanded with all. Significant emphasis still remains on the influential poets, poetries and poems though.

African Diaspora Literature Rising in Popularity

The African Diaspora is a commonly used jargon these days and was coined around 1990s. It refers to the communities all over the globe those have descended from the historic movement of African people in the past. The African Diaspora community exists across all the continents, including the Americas, Asia – including the Middle East and Europe. Thanks to the flourishing slave trade during the Middle Ages, African community has been subjected to forced migration since the historic times.

Thankfully, this Diaspora community strived hard to retain its indigenous culture. The old tradition of story-telling existed in Africa since a very long time. The dispersed community maintained this age-old practice of oral storytelling even in their new homes across the foreign lands. The themes of these stories invariably revolved around their native land, inherited culture and traditional way of life.

This tradition sustained across time, denying towering adversities. This tradition eventually gifted the world a unique genre of literature from African Diaspora authors. This category of literature, especially at its initial phase, consisted of slave narratives. It is remarkable to note, in a society which was dominated by whites, this genre of books and stories became unbelievably popular almost in no time.

The firsthand descriptions about life under slavery not only exposed the brutality that slaves faced in the hands of so-called civilized society. It also exposed the severe vulnerability in which these people had to lead their lives. In fact, this genre of books and accounts definitely contributed in abolishment of the curse of slavery from the surface of the earth.

However, the struggle for freedom and equality in the adopted nations for these folks was neither easy nor short-lived. In accordance to the striking popularity of African Diaspora writers, famous West African poets are creating huge impact among the fraternity of global booklovers. 

Resolving Niger Delta Crisis for Greater Benefits

Man’s greed for gold and material wealth is eternal. This vice existed even in the prehistoric days and there is yet no indication that it will vanish into thin air pretty soon. The continent of Africa, precisely the Niger Delta region has been experiencing such a bitter struggle since the early 1990s. The cause of this barbaric conflict is not hard to decipher. The region has vast deposits of natural oil and gas. The ethnic tribes of the region are accusing the oil companies – most of which if not all are of foreign origin – of plundering the natural wealth of the zone. The severe economic exploitation has left hundreds and thousands dead. Even a greater number of the ethnic population has been compelled to abandon their ancestral homeland. The traditional vocation of farming is not practiced any more amid such organized brutality going over incessantly, almost every moment.

On the other hand, the local community is being categorically deprived from enjoying the economic benefits. In this situation, an assortment of Niger Delta conflict books is steadily gaining prominence across the educated masses all over the globe. The variety of literature depicts the crude circumstance the region and its people are facing. Had these books not existed, the barbaric activities resulting from greed and avarice would have never been known to the outside world.

In this context, it is relevant mentioning about the fraternity of authors and poets of the region. These literary geniuses are leaving no stone unturned to bring the barbaric act of abusing humanity under the notice of the global community. These creative geniuses are also dedicated sociopolitical observers. Collective works of the dedicated Niger Delta writers have proved to be effective to touch and appeal to zillions of hearts and uplift humanity. It is firmly expected their combined effort will initiate the process of resolution of the conflict just anytime now

Poetries from Niger Delta Announcing Triumph of Humanity over Butchering War

“Blood diamonds” is a popular terminology these days. Mother Nature has gifted Africa with significant volume of natural wealth. However, mostly because of the incompetent sociopolitical leadership ruling over the continent, the region has remained one of the most underdeveloped zones across the planet. The continent experiences high level of poverty, illiteracy is high among the young folks; malnutrition is somewhat like epidemic among children. In short, the region and the indigenous community are subjected to severe economic exploitation occurring across ages.

The “blood diamonds” or “conflict diamonds” along with the ever raging Niger Delta Conflict is making life hell for the region’s entire civilian society. There is a huge deposit of mineral oil across Western Africa and since the early 1990s a severely blood-spilling conflict is going over the region to gain control of this flourishing fuel trade. Till date, the conflict has claimed countless number of lives and hundreds and thousands of folks have been forced to evacuate their homes. In the midst of this spine-chilling reality, NigerDelta poetry is flourishing like never before. The wise believe there is an inherent yet subtle connection between creativity and adversity.

A bunch of profusely talented poets and writers from the region is steadily captivating lovers of poetry and literature through their dedicated work overcoming all difficulties that life has gifted them with.  These literary geniuses are keen sociopolitical observers and thus, they portray the reality of the contemporary society through their works. The fraternity of famous West African poet is busy revealing a different Africa to their reader base, spread across all the four corners of the world. Thanks to the dedicated works of these geniuses, severe economic exploitation going across the region is revealed to the global community.

Prior to the rise to stardom of these African literary geniuses, the world knew only about the unbelievable wilderness and primitive way of life existing in the continent. Now, the topic of African culture and literature is equally relevant among the global intellectual community.

African Diaspora Literature & the Shifting Social, Political, Cultural Norms

African community has been subjected to migration, thanks to flourishing slave trade, since the historic ages. During their forced migration, the Diaspora community maintained its age-old tradition of oral storytelling in their new homes across the foreign lands. The themes of the stories naturally revolved around their native land, abandoned homes and indigenous cultures. This tradition kept itself alive in spite of unbelievable adversities.

 At a later stage, this culture exhibited itself in form of slave narratives. This genre of literature became exceptionally popular across the society dominated by whites. In fact, these slave narratives were the first batch of literature that was ever published by the African Diaspora authors. The range of literature provided firsthand accounts of life under slavery and exposed the brutality and vulnerability that slaves used to face in the hands of so-called civilized society.

However, the range of literature also exhibits the indomitable dignity that at least some of the men and women of black community possessed even in that unbelievably oppressive situation. It is this sense of dignity that enabled those folks to scribe their life’s experiences in words for the future generations to know. In course of time, life changed somewhat for better for these people living in foreign lands. Gradually, the Diaspora community had to wage incessant struggle to gain freedom and equality in their adopted countries. As such, the age of conflict for this people to gain recognition and respect continued for long, stretching across centuries.

This entire period of struggle actually facilitated the growth and maturity of the Diaspora literature of Africa. The genre of literature obviously reflects the changing social norms and the shifting cultural and political realities with the advent of the new age. Interestingly, the fraternity of authors did not lose its inherent bonding with the unique cultural heritage that was inherited from Africa by sheer birthright.

The Association of Nigerian Authors & Its Contributions to the Society

The date 27 June of the year 1981 stands ever memorable in the world of Nigerian as well as contemporary African literature. On this day, some of the most distinct personalities across the domain of Nigerian literature met at Nsukku – the scenic academic haven of the University of Nigeria. The urge for this meeting was actually because of an invitation sent out by Prof. Chinua Achebe. The band of literary geniuses who were present at the meeting debated over the need to form a writers’ association in the country. It was this meeting on the fateful day that paved the way to create the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA).

The Nsukku Conference, as the meeting is referred to as, is a momentous event across the entire world of African literature. The ANA, since its inception, has contributed handsomely to the causes of Nigerian authors. The organization stands at the forefront in promoting Nigerian literature. Rather, it is the incessant effort and dedication of this guild that African literature has gained prominence at the international level in the contemporary times.

There were specific objectives behind setting up of the ANA. The primary goal was to encourage and promote the literature of the country. Significant volume of literature of the region remained scattered in oral format. The authors’ guild planned to encourage the collection, recording and transcription of all oral forms of the region’s literature. The association also fought for securing the interest and the rights of authors in the society.

As such, the ANA has significant contributions in popularizing the genre of modern African literature to the larger world outside. Prior to this the larger world knew Africa only because of its unbelievable wilderness and exotic species of wild birds and animals. Hardly anything was known about the indigenous art and literature of the continent. In fact, the ANA has contributed heavily in bridging the cultural gap of the region with the larger world outside.

African Authors Opening Up Cultural Doors to the Continent

Huge misconception exists about Africa and her people before the arrival of European colonists. According to this misconception, Africans were nothing more than savages at that point of time. The savages were gradually converted into civilized creatures by the inhuman effort of those colonists. However, these misconceptions could not have been more distorted from the truth. The history and the culture of ancient Africa are as interesting as sophisticated. Ages before the advent of European traders, kingdoms had come into existence in the continent.

Oral literature flourished and existed for several centuries. It has taken various forms including folk tales, myths, heroic exploits of the past, funeral dirges and many more. However, there are some serious obstacles for popularity of written or printed literature across the country. More than 50 per cent of African population is still illiterate. There is scarcity of publishing houses as well as scarcity of books across the continent. At top of these impediments, costing of books is high and thus, those are affordable only to a handful of people. In spite of these challenges, a number of West African authors have gained insurmountable prominence these days.

The fraternity of authors has gifted some timeless classics in African languages as well as in English. The majority of these literary geniuses are now based in the US and engaged with different renowned North American universities. However, what a foreigner will recognize as an African novel in English may be totally different from the popular novels written in indigenous languages by local authors based in Africa.

The fraternity of authors from West Africa writes extensively on socio-political conditions of the continent. As human individuals, these gifted geniuses seem to be sensitive as well as dedicated. Their works are proving helpful to represent Africa before the global community under a different light. The literary geniuses are dedicated to introduce the rich culture and the history of their land and people to the larger world outside the continent.

Dr. Tanure Ojaide & Modern African Literature Steadily Gaining Global Prominence

African literature has gained global popularity only in the recent times. Prominence of the genre of literature has obviously been possible because of some ideal classics that have been penned. Actually, the tradition of written literature is comparatively new to the continent. However, the art of oral account of literature has been well preserved in this society across the ages. It was only in 1986 that the continent received its first Noble Prize for Literature.

In the recent times, a number of talented as well as dedicated poets and authors have emerged across the continent. Thanks to their spirited effort, the genre of modern African literature seems to be more impressive than ever. In this context, it is indeed relevant to mention about Dr. Tanure Ojaide – one of the most prominent and powerful literary geniuses that the continent has produced.

Dr. Ojaide is a Fellow in Writing at the University of Iowa who travels wide and far almost round the year to deliver the inherent message of Africa along with the enrich culture and tradition of her society and people. He has a humble upbringing in an Urhobo household across the typical marshy landscape of the Niger Delta. After finishing the local school, he attended the Federal Government College in Warri and thereafter, he moved to the University of Ibadan, to receive his bachelor's degree in English. Finally, Dr. Ojaide got his master’s in creative writing and Ph.D. in English from the Syracuse University.

The Nigerian poet in Dr. Ojaide has penned a number of poetry books till this date. Some of his most famous works in the context include Labyrinths of the Delta, The Fate of Vultures, The Blood of Peace, The Tale of the Harmattan, Waiting for the Hatching of a Cockerel, The Beauty I Have Seen, and Love Gifts, etc.

Apart from a gifted poet, Dr. Ojaide is a powerful writer, a captivating author and a talented creative genius. In spite of all these facets, his identity as a sharp and sensitive socio-economic observer cannot be underestimated anyhow.

Dr. Tanure Ojaide’s Books Revealing Political Dimensions of Nigeria & Its Government like Nothing Else

An increasing number of scholars and students across the world, who are interested about Africa, and Nigeria in particular, are categorically opting for the works of Dr. Tanure Ojaide. As such, Dr. Ojaide’s works are being considered as the most relevant on Africa, her people and their unique culture, in the contemporary times. Dr. Ojaide is the most prominent poet, author and a socio-political observer that the continent has produced in the recent times. Some of his best known books include Delta Blues & Home Songs, I Want to Dance and Other Poems, Labyrinths of the Delta, The Urhobo Language Today, God’s Medicine Men and Other Stories, The Tale of Harmattan and others.

Dr. Ojaide’s books on Nigerian politics andgovernment are indeed revelations for many seasoned foreign office mandarins, dealing with the region. This prolific poet and literary genius was born and grew up in a humble environment on the background of the Niger Delta. Therefore, his sharp and intellectual mind had the privilege to coming across unadulterated reality about the African way of life. Moreover, he has travelled extensively, mingling with innumerable foreign cultures and societies. These opportunities have helped him to extend his horizon.

As such, Dr. Ojaide is the most powerful poet and author who represents Africa to his ever expanding readers in a complete different way. His unique style of writing is both captivating and enthralling to his readers. As it seems from his dedication to his work, his life is devoted to reveal the enriched heritage and culture of Africa to the global community.

This hugely talented African writer is the most notable Urhobo literary genius. He keeps touring almost the whole world throughout the year to attend various literary meets and award ceremonies. Considering the packed travel schedule that Dr. Ojaide has to maintain all round the year, it is obvious that he is one of the most widely travelled literary geniuses in the world today. Dr. Tanure Ojaide is the most dependable window today for people across the globe to provide access to an unknown and unexplored Africa.

Changing Trends of African Literature & Some Famous Nigerian Poets

The continent of Africa consists of 55 countries, each of which possesses a vast wealth of culture along with literary history. As such, each of the 55 nations has indigenous languages and history. Therefore, the aspect of African poetry covers an extensive and complex topic. In addition to these factors, colonization of the continent has resulted in heavy popularity of French, English and Portuguese languages at certain regions of this landmass.

As such, it is justified by a section of scholars and academicians that modern African literature – poetry in particular – has a dual heritage, pre-colonial and Western or European. The list of famous Nigerian poets is certainly going to go on and on until an eternity. The fraternity of creative talents is dedicated enough about its work; their combined works have touched scores of lives through their sheer creativity. Their works reflect truly reflect the contemporary society in more ways than what one can imagine.

These people have certainly contributed heavily in making Africa along with its enriched culture and heritage more familiar to the outside world. Prior to the era of these outstanding poets and literary geniuses, the world knew Africa only as home to unbelievable wilderness. In fact, the larger world was, in a way, ignorant about to perennial stream of human feelings and emotions that existed in the continent across the ages. The works of these geniuses have certainly helped to upgrade the global society with realistic knowledge about the great continent.

Dr. Tanure Ojaide is one of the most distinguished names among the geniuses of post-colonial African literature. This creative genius is an exceptionally gifted author in one hand and a prolific poet in the other. Some of his more popular works include titles like New African Poetry: an Anthology, Stars of the Long Night, The Eagle's Vision, Poetic Imagination in Black Africa, I Want to Dance and Other Poems, etc. Apart from these, he has authored several stories, novels and fictions revolving around the continent’s history, heritage and contemporary society.
Dr. Ojaide has extensive exposure to foreign lands and cultures. He travels a lot around the world to keep his engagements of attending various literary festivals round the year.