Poetry and the Niger Delta Environment : An Eco-Critical Perspective

摘要

Poetry of protest is not uncommon in Nigeria literary landscape. It has a direct relationship and relevance to the sociocultural institution and serves as a medium of engagement. decrying neo-colonialism, cultural imperialism. socio-economic oppression and political tyranny. This paper explores the fore-grounding of nature-poetry. especially that from the Niger Delta of Nigeria. It examines how eco-poetry has brought national and international awareness to the realities of ecological imperialism and exploitation of the region. The poems that constitute the basic materials for this paper are adopted largely from selected works of Niger delta poets and critics like Gabriel Okara. J.P. Clark. Obi ware Ikiriko. Tanure Ojaide. Ken Saro-Wiwa and Nnimmo Bassey. etc. The paper adopts ceo-criticism theory to show the interface with postcolonial criticism which stresses 'cross-cultural interaction·. Findings reveal that the wanton exploitation and negligence of the Nigerian natural em ironment which has helped to degrade the land and dehumanise the people of Niger Delta is symptomatic of a macro-eco-cidal phenomenon. it is microcom: of global disaster that beset our common corporate humanity