Poetry
Africa Sings
Dennis Osadebay · 1952
Synopsis
About a hundred pages of verse, written for the most part in the columns of the Lagos newspapers before being collected. The poet asks whoever wishes to buy his thoughts, pleads the cause of young Africa, speaks of hunger, illness and what foreign domination undoes; elsewhere he speaks of himself, of his twenty-five years and of the age that is coming. One piece switches to pidgin to tell what the black man endures.
Context
The volume appeared at Ilfracombe, from Arthur Stockwell, a small English vanity press, one hundred and four pages. The pieces had first appeared in the West African Pilot, the daily founded by Nnamdi Azikiwe, and in a few other papers: their author was known as a newspaper poet before being known as a poet. Eight years earlier he had founded, with Azikiwe, the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons. Critics regard the impersonal pieces as the best in the collection, and note the fidelity of the verse to modern English rhythms.
Who it is for
A hundred pages of verse in English, with no French version. The form is classical and reads easily. One piece in pidgin requires a little attention.
Prizes and reception
The first collection of Nigerian poetry in English to appear in book form. The pidgin piece opened the way for the vernacular experiments of the poets of later generations.