He(Art) of the Metre: Poetry in the ''Vernacular''

Abstract

The historical rise of African literature in Europhone languages, particularly English and French, as a social and disciplinary practice directed at the recuperation of the fractured African persona and world view following centuries of (mis)representation in Western-authored texts, has conferred on it an adversarial tone that is generally viewed as the archetypal character of African literature that is productive of other categories of ethnic/national literatures including those in the indigenous languages of Africa. Protest (commitment) or agit(ation) prop(aganda) as this category of litera­ture is variously called is more often than not seen as the hallmark of African literature irrespective of its linguistic orientation. Framed against the broad backdrop of the counter-hegemonic claims of postcolonial theorisation, this article discusses theme in lronu Akewi (Thoughts of a Poet) and Emi in mi Emi in re [My Love Your Love] respectively by Olanrewaju Adepoju and Olatunbosun Oladapo, arguably two of the most prominent of contemporary Yoruba poets. Implicit in the article's explora­tive concerns is the repudiation of the displacement (marginalisation) of African­language literatures, their denigration in the academy and consignment to a second­order cadre vis-a-vis African literature in European languages. Such writing "back to the Empire", such reinscription of the indigenous and questioning of a master discourse conforms with the postmodernist blurring of the space between the "high" and the "low". the global and the local - indeed the written and the oral. The article makes the point that the overtly political preoccupation of African literature - English and French - is neither a given of contemporary African literature nor was it the originary character of the literatures, particularly poetry, of pre-colonial Africa.

Opsomming
Die historiese opkoms van Afrikaliteratuur in die Eurofoniese tale, veral Engels en Frans, as ·n sosiale en dissiplinere praktyk wat gerig is op die herstel van die ge­broke Afrikapersona en -wereldbeskouing wat eeue se wanvoorstelling in Westers­geouteerde tekste volg, het 'n antagonistiese klank daaraan toegeken wat oor die algemeen as die argetipekarakter van Afrikaliteratuur beskou word wat produktief van ander kategoriee van etniese/nasionale literature is, insluitende die wat in die inheemse tale van Afrika geskryf is. Protes (toewyding) of agi(tasie) prop(aganda), soos wat hierdie kategorie dikwels genoem word, word as die waarmerk van Afrika­literatuur gesien, ongeag sy linguistiese orientasie. Teen die bree agtergrond van die kontrahegemoniese aansprake op postkoloniale teoretisering, bespreek hierdie artikel die tema in lronu Akewi [Gedagtes van 'n digter] en mi in mi Emi in re [My liefde jou liefde] deur onderskeidelik Olanrewaju Adepoju en Olatunbosun Oladapo, wat stellig twee van die mees prominente kontemporere Yoruba-digters is. lmplisiet in die artikel se ontdekkende aard is die ontkenning van die ontheemdheid (margina­lisasie) van Afrikaliteratuur, hulle verguising in die akademie en oorlewering as 'n tweedeorde kader vis-a-vis Afrikaliteratuur in Europese tale. Sulke skryfwerk "terug na die empire" -sulke herinskrywing van die inheemse en die bevraagtekening van 'n meesterdiskoers konformeer met die . postmodernistiese siening wat die ruimte verdof tussen die "hoog" en die "laag", die globale en die plaaslike -inderdaad tussen die geskrewe en die verbale. Hierdie artikel voer aan dat die openlik politiese preokkupasie van Afrikaliteratuur in Engels en Frans nie 'n gegewe van kontem­porere Afrikaliteratuur of die oorspronklike karakter van die literature, veral digkuns van pre-koloniale Afrika, is nie.