Stylizing Contemporary Post-colonial African Poetry: The Rhetoric of Boasts and Curses

Abstract

Described by Biodun Jeyifo as a revolution in poetry and by Funso Aiyejina as poetry in “(alter)-native” tradition, contemporary Nigerian (African) poetry, also called third generation poetry, is marked by a distinct stylistic “shift from the obscurantism and eurocentricism of most of the first generation of modern Nigerian poets”(Aiyejina). This assertion portends a stylistic shift in subject matter as well as focus on general communicative language that thrives on simple diction and direct addresses. This stylistic shift has not only branded a new identity for this group of poets but has bolstered the whole argument of post-coloniality towards achieving what Achebe terms ‘other’ perspective in the ‘story of the hunt.’ In line with some of these new trends in post-colonial dialogue, this paper explores the use of the linguistic genres of boasts and curses as stylistic devices in selected poems of Obiora Udechukwu, Chin Ce, Remi Raji and Niyi Osundare.