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Full-Text Articles in African Languages and Societies
This Was A Man: A Memorial Tribute To Felix Emeka Okeke-Ezigbo, Chukwuma Azuonye
This Was A Man: A Memorial Tribute To Felix Emeka Okeke-Ezigbo, Chukwuma Azuonye
Chukwuma Azuonye
A memorial tribute to one of the leading members of the the Biafran war generation of Nsukka poets. Dr. Felix Emeka Okeke-Ezigbo, October 14, 1944 to June 25, 2012.
The Muse Of Nigerian Poetry And The Coming Of Age Of Nigerian Literature, Chukwuma Azuonye
The Muse Of Nigerian Poetry And The Coming Of Age Of Nigerian Literature, Chukwuma Azuonye
Chukwuma Azuonye
No abstract provided.
‘The Mystic Drum’: Critical Commentary On Gabriel Okara’S Love Lyrics, Chukwuma Azuonye
‘The Mystic Drum’: Critical Commentary On Gabriel Okara’S Love Lyrics, Chukwuma Azuonye
Chukwuma Azuonye
Structurally, Okara’s love lyric, “The Mystic Drum,” evinces a tripartite ritual pattern of initiation from innocence through intimacy to experience. By comparison to the way of Zen as manifested in the experience of Zen Master, Ch’ing Yuän Wei-hsin, this pattern resolves itself into an emotional and epistemological journey from conventional knowledge (born of innocence) through more intimate knowledge (born of closer apperception of reality) to substantial knowledge (born of experience). The substantial knowledge born of experience empowers the lover to understand that beneath the surface attractiveness of what we know very well (such as the women we love) may lie …
'Clearing The Forest': Critical Commentary On Gabriel Okara’S Postwar Ode, ‘The Dreamer’, Chukwuma Azuonye
'Clearing The Forest': Critical Commentary On Gabriel Okara’S Postwar Ode, ‘The Dreamer’, Chukwuma Azuonye
Chukwuma Azuonye
The present essay is essentially a preliminary exploration of a previously unexplored territory of postcolonial, modernist African poetics—Gabriel Okara’s venture into the appropriation of the signs of the classical and latter-day European ode as a vehicle for both a satirical interrogation of the performance of the postcolonial civilian and military elite the dysfunctional Nigerian federation after its war against Biafra and for an understanding of the possibility of heroic regeneration in the face of the depth of , bordering on existentialist , into which the nation has been reduced by the post-civil war triumph of disorder in the hands of …
‘The Monstrous Anger Of The Guns’: Critical Commentary On The War Poems Of Gabriel Okara, Chukwuma Azuonye
‘The Monstrous Anger Of The Guns’: Critical Commentary On The War Poems Of Gabriel Okara, Chukwuma Azuonye
Chukwuma Azuonye
Throughout the Biafran War of Independence from Nigeria (1967-1970), Gabriel Okara remained a committed Biafran. But he was neither an iconoclastic secessionist (determined to wantonly wreck any well-founded order, including the subaltern state of Nigeria) nor a romantic revolutionary (dreaming of a postcolonial African utopia rising like a phoenix from the ashes of the failed postcolonial state of Nigeria), he was a Biafran at a higher level of philosophical and humanist reasoning as eloquently argued throughout his war lyrics discussed in the present paper, whose themes include: commitment, nationalism and pacifism as they pertain to his Biafran experience; modern warfare …
Christopher Okigbo’S Intentions: A Critical Edition Of A Previously Unpublished Interview By Ivan Van Sertima, Chukwuma Azuonye
Christopher Okigbo’S Intentions: A Critical Edition Of A Previously Unpublished Interview By Ivan Van Sertima, Chukwuma Azuonye
Chukwuma Azuonye
This is a critical edition with emendations of lacunae from indelible inkblots and termite activity of an interview with Christopher Okigbo conducted in the mid-1960s by Ivan van Sertima, the distinguished Caribbean-American anthropologist, linguist, literary critic, Afrocentric historiographer, and founding-editor of The Journal of African Civilizations (New Brunswick, NJ), who passed away on May 29, 2009, at the age of 74. It was discovered in January 2006 among Okigbo’s unpublished papers, which I catalogued at the invitation of the Christopher Okigbo Foundation, in Brussels, Belgium, now part of the UNESCO Memory of the World Register.
'The White Man Laughs': Commentary On The Satiric Dramatic Monologues Of Gabriel Okara, Chukwuma Azuonye
'The White Man Laughs': Commentary On The Satiric Dramatic Monologues Of Gabriel Okara, Chukwuma Azuonye
Chukwuma Azuonye
Examined in the present article are two early satiric lyrics of Gabriel Okara—“Once Upon a Time” and “He Laughed and Laughed and Laughed”—which are the products of the postcolonial cultural war environment in which the issues of modernity, alterity (otherness or difference) and afro-authenticity implicated in Achebe’s ripostes on the bigotry of the colonialist critic were central. The tone of this discourse amongst leading African intelligentsia was set in the 1930’s and 1940’s by four fellow south-eastern Nigerian writers in their semi-autobiographical blueprints for African cultural emancipation—Renascent Africa ((1937)) by Nnamdi Azikiwe (1904–1996); British and Axis Aims in Africa (1942) …
‘Up These Hills To The Mountain Top’: Memories Of 'The Golden Sun' In Michael Echeruo's War Poems (Distanced), Chukwuma Azuonye
‘Up These Hills To The Mountain Top’: Memories Of 'The Golden Sun' In Michael Echeruo's War Poems (Distanced), Chukwuma Azuonye
Chukwuma Azuonye
One of the leading voices among the first generation of post-independence African modernist poets of the twentieth-century, Michael J. C. Echeruo's second collection of poetry, Distanced (1975), is, unlike his better-known first collection, Mortality (1968), characterized by direct phrasing and open accessibility—in terms of imagery and other signifiers—to the general reader. Composed within the first four years (1970-74) after the end of the Biafran war of independence of 1967-1970, the nineteen lyrics that make up this collection look back with extraordinary candor and passion into the future of the Biafran experience, especially with regard to the problems of reintegration into …
The African Roots Of Michael Echeruo’S Poetry: A Close-Reading Of ‘Sophia’, Chukwuma Azuonye
The African Roots Of Michael Echeruo’S Poetry: A Close-Reading Of ‘Sophia’, Chukwuma Azuonye
Chukwuma Azuonye
This paper argues that, contrary to widespread opinion, the poetry of first generation, postcolonial, modernist Nigerian poet, Michael J. C. Echeruo, draws some of its core and defining tropes from indigenous African system of thought and symbolism. The much maligned early poem "Sophia" is subjected to line-by-line close-reading to illustrate this argument. The analysis suggests that, as a matter of fact, "Sophia" can be read as a portal to Echeruo's poetic corpus as a whole.
Achebe's Igbo Poems: Oral Traditional Resources And The Process Of ‘Deschooling’ In Modern African Poetics, Chukwuma Azuonye
Achebe's Igbo Poems: Oral Traditional Resources And The Process Of ‘Deschooling’ In Modern African Poetics, Chukwuma Azuonye
Chukwuma Azuonye
The present paper examines the diction, imagery and other features of language and style in Chinua Achebe's two Igbo poems ("Uno Onwu Okigbo" and "Akuko Kpulu Uwa Iru"). Disposing of charges of plagiarism levied on Achebe on account of his modeling of the poems on well-known Igbo folk songs, the paper argues that what is rather involved in the compositional process is a process of "deschooling" from the strictures of European or Eurocentric conventions of versification. It concludes that a process of "deschooling" of this kind is one way in which African writers can begin their journey back with undivided …
Ogbuu-Kay! The "After Laugh" Lingers On (Memorial Tribute To Ogbu Uke Kalu, 1942-2009), Chukwuma Azuonye
Ogbuu-Kay! The "After Laugh" Lingers On (Memorial Tribute To Ogbu Uke Kalu, 1942-2009), Chukwuma Azuonye
Chukwuma Azuonye
No abstract provided.
Remembering Adiele Afigbo (Memorial Tribute To Professor Adiele Ebereegbulam Afigbo), 1938-2009, Chukwuma Azuonye
Remembering Adiele Afigbo (Memorial Tribute To Professor Adiele Ebereegbulam Afigbo), 1938-2009, Chukwuma Azuonye
Chukwuma Azuonye
Memorial tribute to Professor Adiele Eberegbulem Afigbo(born 22 November 1937; died 9 March 2009) focussing on his achievement as a postcolonial historian and historiographer, tutored by the legendary pioneer in the field, Professor Kenneth Dike, whose applications of the tools of oral historiography opened new vistas in the study of the history of the Igbo and their neighbors
Literature: Modern Poetry, Chukwuma Azuonye
Christopher Okigbo International Conference: A Multidisciplinary Celebration Of Okigbo’S Legacy, September 19-23, 2007: An Illustrated Sourvenir Program, Chukwuma Azuonye
Christopher Okigbo International Conference: A Multidisciplinary Celebration Of Okigbo’S Legacy, September 19-23, 2007: An Illustrated Sourvenir Program, Chukwuma Azuonye
Chukwuma Azuonye
An illustrated sourvenir program of the 2007 Christopher Okigbo conference with introductory remarks on its theme, abstracts of the papers presented and historic photographs of Okigbo, his family, friends and a heavily edited manuscript of one of his poems.
Christopher Okigbo At Work: Towards A Pilot Study And Critical Edition Of His Previously Unpublished Poems, 1957-1967, Chukwuma Azuonye
Christopher Okigbo At Work: Towards A Pilot Study And Critical Edition Of His Previously Unpublished Poems, 1957-1967, Chukwuma Azuonye
Chukwuma Azuonye
The objectives of the present paper are two-fold. The first is to produce a critical edition of the complete corpus of the previously unpublished papers of Christopher Okigbo (1930-1967), who is today widely acknowledged as by far the most outstanding postcolonial, Anglophone, African, modernist poet of the 20th century. The second is to offer a pilot critical interpretation of the previously unknown poems in the corpus and to ascertain their place in the Okigbo canon. In 2007 these papers became the first corpus of unpublished works to be nominated and accepted into the UNESCO Memory of the World Register. The …
Gabriel Okara In Conversation With Professor Azuonye, Chukwuma Azuonye
Gabriel Okara In Conversation With Professor Azuonye, Chukwuma Azuonye
Chukwuma Azuonye
No abstract provided.
Feminist Or Simply Feminine? Reflections On The Works Of Nana Asma’U, A 19th Century West African Woman Poet, Intellectual & Social Activist, Chukwuma Azuonye
Feminist Or Simply Feminine? Reflections On The Works Of Nana Asma’U, A 19th Century West African Woman Poet, Intellectual & Social Activist, Chukwuma Azuonye
Chukwuma Azuonye
No abstract provided.
Igbo, Chukwuma Azuonye
Igbo, Chukwuma Azuonye
Chukwuma Azuonye
A comprehensive survey of Igbo folklore and folklife against the background of competing hypotheses of Igbo origins and of Igbo cultural diversity and receptivity to change
Joshua, This Is Your Story: Tribute To Joshua Uzoigwe, 1946-2005 (With Three Poems By The Deceased From Nsukka Harvest, 1972), Chukwuma Azuonye
Joshua, This Is Your Story: Tribute To Joshua Uzoigwe, 1946-2005 (With Three Poems By The Deceased From Nsukka Harvest, 1972), Chukwuma Azuonye
Chukwuma Azuonye
No abstract provided.
Igbo Folk Idioms In Caribbean Phrase, Chukwuma Azuonye
Igbo Folk Idioms In Caribbean Phrase, Chukwuma Azuonye
Chukwuma Azuonye
This paper analyses a corpus of phrases from Jamaican and other Caribbean folk speech with a view to ascertaing their possible Igbo provenance. There seems to be an overwhelming match in terms of morphology and meaning between these Jamaican phrases and some common Igbo idioms. It is however worthy of note that the matching of Igbo and Caribbean or Black American idioms, no matter how persuasive the results may be, cannot produce conclusive evidence of Igbo presence in any particular area or among any particular population sample. Studies of mother-tongue interference in various African Englishes and comparative studies of the …
Ijelè: Welcoming The King Of Modern African Letters To Massachusetts, Chukwuma Azuonye
Ijelè: Welcoming The King Of Modern African Letters To Massachusetts, Chukwuma Azuonye
Chukwuma Azuonye
No abstract provided.
Enu-Nyili-Mba: An Episode From The Ameke Okoye An Episode From The Ameke Okoye Epic As Performed By Jeveizu Okaavo Of Aguleri, Chukwuma Azuonye, Obiora Udechukwu
Enu-Nyili-Mba: An Episode From The Ameke Okoye An Episode From The Ameke Okoye Epic As Performed By Jeveizu Okaavo Of Aguleri, Chukwuma Azuonye, Obiora Udechukwu
Chukwuma Azuonye
No abstract provided.
Igbo As An Endangered Language, Chukwuma Azuonye
Igbo As An Endangered Language, Chukwuma Azuonye
Chukwuma Azuonye
At first sight, the question "Is Igbo an endangered language," would appear to be grossly misplaced, since the survival of the language seems to be well guaranteed by its status both as one of the three main languages of Nigeria and one of the major languages of literature, education, and commerce in Africa. Furthermore, with its well over 25 million native speakers who live in one of the most densely populated areas of the world with an exceptionally high fertility rate and a traditional world view and culture that promote the raising of large families, it would appear that there …
"Preface," The Hero In Igbo Life And Literature, Chukwuma Azuonye, Donatus Nwoga
"Preface," The Hero In Igbo Life And Literature, Chukwuma Azuonye, Donatus Nwoga
Chukwuma Azuonye
No abstract provided.
The Archetypal Hero In Igbo Oral Narratives (Chapter 2), Chukwuma Azuonye
The Archetypal Hero In Igbo Oral Narratives (Chapter 2), Chukwuma Azuonye
Chukwuma Azuonye
No abstract provided.
"Introduction," The Hero In Igbo Life And Literature, Chukwuma Azuonye, Donatus Nwoga
"Introduction," The Hero In Igbo Life And Literature, Chukwuma Azuonye, Donatus Nwoga
Chukwuma Azuonye
No abstract provided.
The Types Of The Hero In Representative Texts Of Ohafia Igbo Oral Epic Songs, Chukwuma Azuonye
The Types Of The Hero In Representative Texts Of Ohafia Igbo Oral Epic Songs, Chukwuma Azuonye
Chukwuma Azuonye
No abstract provided.
The Meaning Of The “Meaningless” Refrain In Igbo Folksongs And Storytelling Events, Chukwuma Azuonye
The Meaning Of The “Meaningless” Refrain In Igbo Folksongs And Storytelling Events, Chukwuma Azuonye
Chukwuma Azuonye
In this chapter, 'Chukwuma Azuonye...considers possible meanings of the “nonsense” refrains from Igbo folk songs that audiences sing during storytelling events in southeastern Nigeria. He classifies the refrains into eight categories, and concludes (and convinces the reader) that the “meaningless” description given to these refrains is erroneous. Each sound has a definite connotation, symbolic value, or specific meaning' (De Vos, Gail, 2001, Review of Traditional Storytelling Today: An International Sourcebook, ed. Margaret Reed Macdonald, Journal of American Folklore, Volume 114, Number 454, Fall, p. 503).
Igbo Stories And Storytelling, Chukwuma Azuonye
Igbo Stories And Storytelling, Chukwuma Azuonye
Chukwuma Azuonye
A classification and discussion of the main forms and contexts of Igbo storytelling and the poetics of their oral performance, illustrated with a text recorded in the context of the oral performance
The Igbo Folk Epic, Chukwuma Azuonye
The Igbo Folk Epic, Chukwuma Azuonye
Chukwuma Azuonye
This article discusses the types of heroic narrative poetry that have been found to exist in Igbo culture and that, on the basis of the most universal and inalienable features of the genre, cannot but be recognized as folk epics. The admission of these forms as epics will no doubt have important implications for the comparative understanding of the nature of the genre and its future definition.