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Papers by Joseph O . Babalola

Social Science Research Network (SSRN), 2023

Over the years, modern African poets have consciously or subconsciously come up with poetics in r... more Over the years, modern African poets have consciously or subconsciously come up with poetics in response to the multidimensional realities of their immediate world and the globe at large. Through the thematic and stylistic thrusts of their poetic compositions and productions, they have been able to not only delve into the social, political, and economic occurrences that permeate their world, but also into deeply personal issues emanating from what obtains in the local and global environment.

In view of this, this essay investigates the new poetics that have emerged in response to recent global and local realities. An attempt is made to define what ‘new’ means in the context of this study, and how it is related to ‘contemporary’ poets who wrote in the last two to three decades. While this study recognizes the existence of emerging and enriching poetics like Individualism/individuality—a tendency towards increased preoccupation with self, almost in the tradition of the confessional poets; Queerness—interrogations around sexuality and body; Eroticism—preoccupation with erotic experiences and sensuous worship of the body; this study preoccupies itself with the examination of the poetics of Ecological consciousness and Hybridity.

The choice of these two poetics is informed by how ‘matured’ they are in contemporary African poetry compared to the earlier mentioned ones still in the maturity phase. Also, the two selected poetics are explored from the angle of their thematic foci and stylistic thrusts, drawing illustrations from poetry collections across the African continent.

Social Science Research Network (SSRN), 2022

The black diasporan literature is a broad term applicable to literatures that revolve around the ... more The black diasporan literature is a broad term applicable to literatures that revolve around the diverse experiences of Africans who share a peculiar history of dispersal, and other blacks of African descent in the diaspora. The Black diaspora has been conceived as being primarily a product of the dual factors of slavery and colonialism of the blacks. In view of this, the black diasporan literature consists of two literary traditions, the African-American and Caribbean literary traditions. African-American literature developed from the verbal modes of vernacular/oral traditions of storytelling, slave work songs and spirituals, all of which heavily impacts its written modes. The Caribbean literary tradition, on the other hand, centres on the dynamic peculiarities of the lives of the millions of Africans and others who were brought to the Caribbean islands between the 15th and 19th centuries.

This study therefore attempts an analysis of six selected texts across important periods in the history of the two literary traditions, with a focused examination of the aesthetics of representations and identity in the black diaspora. From the African-American literature, Olaudah Equiano's The Interesting Narrative of Olaudah Equiano, Or Gustavus Vassa, An American Slave Written by Himself is analysed, alongside Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man and Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God. From the Caribbean literary tradition, the analysed texts include Derek Walcott's "The Schooner Flight" poem, V. S. Naipaul's A House for Mr. Biswas, and Samuel Selvon's The Lonely Londoners.

The study finds that the issues of representation and identity are evident in Olaudah's slave narrative, as he tries to scale from the point of being objectified to being 'subjectified'. In Ellison's challenging novel, the quest for identity is at the core, with the invisible man's loss of identity and his desperate attempts to discover or 'invent' his true self. In Hurston's masterpiece, the black Jezebel stereotype indirectly informs the changing selves of the black female characters. From the other side of the coin, Walcott's poetry portrays the paradox of hybrid inheritance in the Caribbean through the persona Shabine. Also, in Naipaul’s insightful novel, the issues of representation and identity are driven home by the effects of dislocation, rootlessness and culture clash. In Selvon’s representative novel, othering and misrepresentation is found to be the factor behind the issues around the complex identity of Caribbean migrants in black London.

Hence, the study concludes that at different points in the history of the black diaspora, the issues of identity and representation are pertinent, thereby justifying their strong influence in the texts of the black diasporan literature.

Best "New" African Poets 2018 Anthology, Dec 29, 2018

Social Science Research Network (SSRN), 2023

Over the years, modern African poets have consciously or subconsciously come up with poetics in r... more Over the years, modern African poets have consciously or subconsciously come up with poetics in response to the multidimensional realities of their immediate world and the globe at large. Through the thematic and stylistic thrusts of their poetic compositions and productions, they have been able to not only delve into the social, political, and economic occurrences that permeate their world, but also into deeply personal issues emanating from what obtains in the local and global environment.

In view of this, this essay investigates the new poetics that have emerged in response to recent global and local realities. An attempt is made to define what ‘new’ means in the context of this study, and how it is related to ‘contemporary’ poets who wrote in the last two to three decades. While this study recognizes the existence of emerging and enriching poetics like Individualism/individuality—a tendency towards increased preoccupation with self, almost in the tradition of the confessional poets; Queerness—interrogations around sexuality and body; Eroticism—preoccupation with erotic experiences and sensuous worship of the body; this study preoccupies itself with the examination of the poetics of Ecological consciousness and Hybridity.

The choice of these two poetics is informed by how ‘matured’ they are in contemporary African poetry compared to the earlier mentioned ones still in the maturity phase. Also, the two selected poetics are explored from the angle of their thematic foci and stylistic thrusts, drawing illustrations from poetry collections across the African continent.

Social Science Research Network (SSRN), 2022

The black diasporan literature is a broad term applicable to literatures that revolve around the ... more The black diasporan literature is a broad term applicable to literatures that revolve around the diverse experiences of Africans who share a peculiar history of dispersal, and other blacks of African descent in the diaspora. The Black diaspora has been conceived as being primarily a product of the dual factors of slavery and colonialism of the blacks. In view of this, the black diasporan literature consists of two literary traditions, the African-American and Caribbean literary traditions. African-American literature developed from the verbal modes of vernacular/oral traditions of storytelling, slave work songs and spirituals, all of which heavily impacts its written modes. The Caribbean literary tradition, on the other hand, centres on the dynamic peculiarities of the lives of the millions of Africans and others who were brought to the Caribbean islands between the 15th and 19th centuries.

This study therefore attempts an analysis of six selected texts across important periods in the history of the two literary traditions, with a focused examination of the aesthetics of representations and identity in the black diaspora. From the African-American literature, Olaudah Equiano's The Interesting Narrative of Olaudah Equiano, Or Gustavus Vassa, An American Slave Written by Himself is analysed, alongside Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man and Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God. From the Caribbean literary tradition, the analysed texts include Derek Walcott's "The Schooner Flight" poem, V. S. Naipaul's A House for Mr. Biswas, and Samuel Selvon's The Lonely Londoners.

The study finds that the issues of representation and identity are evident in Olaudah's slave narrative, as he tries to scale from the point of being objectified to being 'subjectified'. In Ellison's challenging novel, the quest for identity is at the core, with the invisible man's loss of identity and his desperate attempts to discover or 'invent' his true self. In Hurston's masterpiece, the black Jezebel stereotype indirectly informs the changing selves of the black female characters. From the other side of the coin, Walcott's poetry portrays the paradox of hybrid inheritance in the Caribbean through the persona Shabine. Also, in Naipaul’s insightful novel, the issues of representation and identity are driven home by the effects of dislocation, rootlessness and culture clash. In Selvon’s representative novel, othering and misrepresentation is found to be the factor behind the issues around the complex identity of Caribbean migrants in black London.

Hence, the study concludes that at different points in the history of the black diaspora, the issues of identity and representation are pertinent, thereby justifying their strong influence in the texts of the black diasporan literature.

Best "New" African Poets 2018 Anthology, Dec 29, 2018