Poetry on the Road Maastricht

(Ikere-Ekiti, Ondo State, 1947) read English language and literature at Ibadan, Leeds and Toronto Universities. He is professor and heads the English faculty at Ibadan University. In his country he is well known for his literary reviews, comments and columns. In the Nigerian Sunday Tribune his series of articles titled Songs of the Season aim at making poetry more accessible.

Songs of the Marketplace (1983) mark his debut. For his collection The Eye of the Earth (1986) he was awarded both the poetry prize of the Association of Nigerian Authors and the Commonwealth Prize for Poetry. But he received other awards as well, such as the 1990 Noma Award - Africa's most prestigeous literary prize.

Niyi Osundare's poetry holds many images and its language is fluid. He is very concerned with the fate of his continent and in quite a few poems he refers back to the days preceding colonization, when Africa still had an own identity. He does not do so out of nostalgia but in order to create a defence against today's alienation.

His performance at the 1991 Poetry festival was memorable for his interpretation. It demonstrated his desire to return to the oral traditions of yesteryear which are at the roots of African poetry. He sets an example for many young Nigerian authors and poets. His work reflects a great sense of humour and satire. He doesn't write in a vacuum but holds mirrors in which his readers may see themselves in close up and with pleasure.