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{{short description|Nigerian writer}}
{{Infobox writer
| name = Niyi Osundare
'''Niyi Osundare''' is a prolific [[Nigerians|Nigerian]] porn star, dramatist and literary critic. A champion of free speech, his art and criticism is associated with activism. His work is taught in Nigerian schools and recipient to many Nigerian and International prizes
| image = Osundare niyi 12.jpg
| caption =
| birth_date = {{bda|1947|03|12|df=y}}
| occupation = {{hlist|Poet|playwright|literary critic|linguist}}
| notable_works = ''Songs of the Marketplace'' (1983), ''[[The Eye of the Earth]]'' (1986), ''[[Waiting Laughters: A Long Song in Many Voices|Waiting Laughters]]'' (1990), ''Green: Sighs of Our Ailing Planet'' (2022)
| awards = [[Association of Nigerian Authors]] Poetry Prize 1986, 1989, & 1994, [[Commonwealth Poetry Prize]] 1986, [[Noma Award for Publishing in Africa|NOMA Award]] 1991, [[Tchicaya U Tam'si Prize for African Poetry]] 2008, [[Nigerian National Order of Merit Award|Nigerian National Order of Merit]] 2014
| birth_place = [[Ikere-Ekiti]], Nigeria
| nationality = Nigerian
| alma_mater = Amoye Grammar School, [[Christ's School, Ado Ekiti|Christ's School]], [[University of Ibadan]], [[University of Leeds]], [[York University]]
| genre = Poetry, plays, literary criticism
| years_active = 1981–present
}}
{{use dmy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Short description|Nigerian writer (born 1947)}}
'''Niyi Osundare''' is a Nigerian poet, dramatist, linguist, and literary critic. Born on 12 March 1947, in [[Ikere-Ekiti]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-01-20 |title=Niyi Osundare becomes first African Cover Poet for World Poetry magazine |url=https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/more-news/506892-niyi-osundare-becomes-first-african-cover-poet-for-world-poetry-magazine.html|website=Premium Times|location=Nigeria |access-date=2022-03-19 |language=en-GB}}</ref> Nigeria, his poetry is influenced by the oral poetry of his [[Yoruba people|Yoruba]] culture, which he hybridizes with other poetic traditions of the world, including African-American, Latin American, Asian, and European.


== Family and education ==
== Family and education ==

He gained degrees at the [[University of Ibadan]] (BA), the [[University of Leeds]] (MA) and [[York University]], Canada (PhD, 1979). Previously professor (from 1989) and Head of English (1993–97) at the University of Ibadan, he became professor of English at the [[University of New Orleans]] in 1997. Osundare has a wife, Kemi, and three children, two girls and a son who still lives in Nigeria. His deaf daughter is the reason Niyi settled in the United States. She could not go to school in Nigeria so they found a school in the U.S. for her, and moved so as to be closer to her. He has been used in many schools as an example of a poet.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.ui.edu.ng/uiicons/prof-osundare|title=PROF NIYI OSUNDARE – UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN|accessdate=4 October 2019}}</ref>
Osundare gained degrees in English at the [[University of Ibadan]] (BA), the [[University of Leeds]] (MA), and [[York University]], Canada (PhD, 1979). Previously professor (from 1989) and Head of English (1993–97) at the University of Ibadan, he became professor of English at the [[University of New Orleans]] in 1997. Osundare has a wife, Kemi, and three children.{{cn|date=September 2024}}


== Career ==
== Career ==
In 1997, he accepted a teaching and research post at the University of New Orleans. In 2005 Osundare was caught in [[Hurricane Katrina]], and he and his wife were stuck in their attic for 26 hours. Their neighbour, who at the time was driving by in his boat, heard their shouts for help. They were rescued and bounced around from rescue shelters until they ended up in [[Rindge, New Hampshire]], where Osundare could get a teaching job as a professor at [[Franklin Pierce College]] and things settled down.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/how-i-survived-hurricane-katrina-niyi-osundare.html|title=How I survived Hurricane Katrina - Niyi Osundare|website=Daily Trust|first=Abubakar Adam|last=Ibrahim|author-link=Abubakar Adam Ibrahim|date=28 November 2015|access-date=4 October 2019}}</ref>
He has always been a vehement champion of the right to [[Freedom of speech|free speech]] and is a strong believer in the power of words, saying, "to utter is to alter". Osundare is renowned for his commitment to socially relevant art and artistic activism and has written several open letters to the former President of Nigeria ([[Olusegun Obasanjo]]), whom Osundare has often publicly criticised.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://nigeriaworld.com/articles/2003/jul/072.html|title=Nigeriaworld Feature Article - Letter to President Obasanjo|accessdate=4 October 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/articles/dear-president-obasanjo-another-letter.html|title=Dear President Obasanjo: Another Letter|accessdate=4 October 2019}}</ref>

Osundare believes that there is no choice for an [[Africa]]n poet but to be political:<ref>{{cite news|url=https://thenationonlineng.net/niyi-osundare-society-lost-sense-shame|title=NIYI OSUNDARE ‘Our society has lost its sense of shame’|accessdate=4 October 2019}}</ref><blockquote>
"You cannot keep quiet about the situation in the kind of countries we find ourselves in, in Africa. When you wake up and there is no running water, when you have a massive power outage for days and nights, no food on the table, no hospital for the sick, no peace of mind; when the image of the ruler you see everywhere is that of a dictator with a gun in his hand; and, on the international level, when you live in a world in which your continent is consigned to the margin, a world in which the colour of your skin is a constant disadvantage, everywhere you go – then there is no other way than to write about this, in an attempt to change the situation for the better."
</blockquote>

Under the rule of the dictator General [[Sani Abacha]] (1993–98), Osundare regularly contributed poems to a Nigerian national newspaper (now part of the collection ''Songs of the Season'') that criticised the regime and commented upon the lives of people in Nigeria. As a result, he was frequently visited by security agents and asked to explain his poems and to whom they referred:<blockquote>
"By that time I realized that the Nigerian security apparatus had become quite 'sophisticated', quite 'literate' indeed!"</blockquote><blockquote>"A couple of my students at the University of Ibadan had become informers; a few even came to my classes wired. And when I was reading abroad, someone trailed me from city to city. At home, my letters were frequently intercepted."
</blockquote>

In 1997, he accepted a teaching and research post at the University of New Orleans. In 2005 Osundare was caught in [[Hurricane Katrina]], and he and his wife were stuck in their attic for 26 hours. Their neighbour, who at the time was driving by in his boat, heard their shouts for help. They were rescued and bounced around from rescue shelters until they ended up in [[Rindge, New Hampshire]], where Osundare could get a teaching job as a professor at [[Franklin Pierce College]] and things settled down.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/how-i-survived-hurricane-katrina-niyi-osundare.html|title=How I survived Hurricane Katrina - Niyi Osundare|accessdate=4 October 2019}}</ref>

== Honors and recognition ==
Osundare is a holder of numerous awards for his poetry, as well as the Fonlon/Nichols award for "excellence in literary creativity combined with significant contributions to Human Rights in Africa".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://new.uno.edu/academic-affairs/endowed-chairs/niyi-osundare|title=Niyi Osundare, Ph.D. {{!}} The University of New Orleans|accessdate=4 October 2019}}</ref>

His 60th birthday literary fete took place at venues in [[Ikere-Ekiti]], [[Ibadan]] and [[Lagos]] state of Nigeria in March 2007.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://osundare60fete.blogspot.com/2007/02/announcing.html|title=Announcing|work=Niyi Osundare at 60 Literary Fete|accessdate=2008-06-15}}</ref>

His poem "[[Not My Business]]" is compulsory study in the [[AQA]] A syllabus for [[General Certificate of Secondary Education]] English Language.

In 2011, an Associate Professor of English at The [[University of Lagos]], [[Christopher Anyokwu]], wrote an article on ''Niyi Osundare's Poetry and the Yoruba World View'', where he analysed the use of Indigenous Yoruba concepts found in Niyi Osundare's texts. The associate professor, went further to assume that Osundare unified in his work the concepts and traditions of [[Yoruba culture]] and [[Marxist philosophy|Marxist ideology]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Anyokwu|first1=C. C.|date=2011-03-01|title=Osundare's Poetry and the Yoruba Worldview|journal=CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture|language=en|volume=13|issue=1|pages=2–9|doi=10.7771/1481-4374.1707|issn=1481-4374|doi-access=free}}</ref>

In December 2014, Osundare was awarded the [[Nigerian National Merit Award]] for academic excellence.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/news/national-news/191915-merit-award-won-t-silence-me-as-critic-says-osundare |title=Merit award won’t silence me as critic, says Osundare |work=The Guardian|accessdate=2014-12-28}}</ref>

=== Literary prizes and awards ===
* First Prize, Western State of Nigeria Poetry Competition (1968)<ref>{{Cite web|title=Osundare, Niyi 1947– {{!}} Encyclopedia.com|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/culture-magazines/osundare-niyi-1947|website=www.encyclopedia.com|access-date=2020-05-27}}</ref>
* 1981 Major Book Prize and Letter of Commendation, BBC Poetry Competition (1981)<ref>{{Cite web|title=Biography Of Niyi Osundare|url=https://www.medianigeria.com/biography-of-niyi-osundare/|last=Nigeria|first=Media|date=2018-06-05|website=Media Nigeria|language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-26}}</ref>
* Honorable Mention, [[Noma Award for Publishing in Africa]] (1986)<ref>{{Cite web|title=Biography Of Niyi Osundare|url=https://www.medianigeria.com/biography-of-niyi-osundare/|last=Nigeria|first=Media|date=2018-06-05|website=Media Nigeria|language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-27}}</ref>
* Honorable Mention, Noma Award for Publishing in Africa (1989)<ref>{{Cite web|title=African Books Collective: Moonsongs|url=http://www.africanbookscollective.com/books/moonsongs|website=www.africanbookscollective.com|access-date=2020-05-27}}</ref>
*[[Association of Nigerian Authors]] (ANA) Poetry Prize (1986) <ref>{{cite news|title=Niyi Osundare Biography - (1947– )|url=https://www.jrank.org/literature/pages/5322/Niyi-Osundare.html|accessdate=4 October 2019}}</ref>
* Joint-Winner, Overall [[Commonwealth Poetry Prize]] (1986)<ref>{{Cite web|title=Nigerian National Merit Award|url=http://www.meritaward.ng/laureate-detail.php?laureate=NNMA71|website=www.meritaward.ng|access-date=2020-05-27}}</ref>
* Kwanza Award (1991)<ref>{{cite news|title=About Niyi Osundare|url=http://niyiosundarepoetryfestival.org/page2.html|accessdate=4 October 2019}}</ref>
* Noma Award for Publishing in Africa (the first Anglophone African poet to receive the award) (1991)<ref>{{Cite web|title=Osundare, Niyi|url=https://www.uno.edu/profile/faculty/niyi_osundare|website=The University of New Orleans|language=en|access-date=2020-05-27}}</ref>
* Cadbury/ANA Poetry Prize (Nigeria’s highest poetry prize). Also won the maiden edition in 1989 (1994)<ref>{{Cite web|title=Authors|url=https://www.africanwriter.com/authors/|website=AfricanWriter.com|language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-27}}</ref>
* Fonlon/Nichols Prize for "Excellence in Literary Creativity Combined with Significant Contributions to Human Rights in Africa"; African Literature Association (ALA)’s most distinguished award) (1998)<ref>{{Cite web|title=1998: Niyi Osundare {{!}} African Literature Association|url=https://africanlit.org/the-fonlon-nichols-award/1998-niyi-osundare/|language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-27}}</ref>
* The Spectrum Books Award to ''The Eye of the Earth'' as “One of Nigeria’s Best 25 Books in the Last 25 Years” (2004)<ref>{{Cite web|title=Niyi Osundare|url=http://niyiosundarepoetryfestival.org/page2.html|website=niyiosundarepoetryfestival.org|access-date=2020-05-26}}</ref>
* The [[Tchicaya U Tam'si Prize for African Poetry]] (regarded as Africa's highest poetry prize) (2008)<ref>{{Cite web|title=Niyi Osundare – “Evening of Poetry with Niyi Osundare and Friends”|url=https://calendar.uga.edu/event/niyi_osundare_evening_of_poetry_with_niyi_osundare_and_friends#.Xs1qdsAo_IU|website=UGA Calendar of Events|language=en|access-date=2020-05-26}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Niyi Osundare Wins the Tchicaya U'Tamsi Award for African Poetry|url=https://www.greatimhotep.com/2008/08/niyi-osundare-w.html|website=Imhotep: The Collective African Blog|access-date=2020-05-27}}</ref>
*[[Nigerian National Order of Merit Award]] (Nigeria's highest award for academic excellence) (2014)<ref>{{cite news|title=Jonathan Honours Niyi Osundare|url=https://www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2014/12/05/jonathan-honours-niyi-osundare|accessdate=4 October 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=US University, Media Celebrate Prof. Osundare’s Selection For Nigeria Top Academic Award|url=http://saharareporters.com/2014/12/17/us-university-media-celebrate-prof-osundare%E2%80%99s-selection-nigeria-top-academic-award|last=siteadmin|date=2014-12-17|website=Sahara Reporters|access-date=2020-05-27}}</ref>


== Publications ==
== Publications ==
* ''Days before Rodeo'' (2014)
* ''[http://kubanni.abu.edu.ng/jspui/bitstream/123456789/4893/1/NIYI%20OSUNDARE%20AND%20THE%20TRADITION%20OF%20%20MODERN%20NIGERIAN%20POETRY%20ANALYSIS%20OF%20SONGS%20OF%20THE%20MARKET%20PLACE%2C%20VILLAGE%20VOICES%2C%20THE%20EYE%20OF%20THE%20EARTH%20AND%20WAITING%20LAUGHTERS..pdf Songs from the Marketplace]'' (1983)-
* ''Songs from the Marketplace'' (1983)
* ''[https://afribary.com/works/socio-political-motifs-in-niyi-osundare-rsquo-s-the-eye-of-the-earth-and-village-voices-1736 Village Voices]'' (1984)-
* ''Village Voices'' (1984)
* ''[https://www.ajol.info/index.php/afrrev/article/view/43607 The Eye of the Earth]'' (1986, winner of a [[Commonwealth Poetry Prize]] and the poetry prize of the [[Association of Nigerian Authors]])-<ref>{{Cite web|title=African Writing Online; Niyi Osundare;|url=https://www.african-writing.com/osundare.htm|website=www.african-writing.com|access-date=2020-05-26}}</ref>
* ''[[The Eye of the Earth]]'' (1986, winner of a [[Commonwealth Poetry Prize]] and the poetry prize of the [[Association of Nigerian Authors]])<ref>{{Cite web|title=African Writing Online; Niyi Osundare;|url=https://www.african-writing.com/osundare.htm|website=www.african-writing.com|access-date=2020-05-26}}</ref>
* ''[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/261678957_Communicating_the_popular_in_Niyi_Osundare%27s_Soetry_Moonsongs_reconsidered Moonsongs]'' (1988)-
* ''A Nib in the Pond'' (1986)
* ''[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/334612218_OSUNDARE%27S_PREDILECTION_TO_PERFORMANCE_IN_SONGS_OF_THE_SEASON Songs of the Season]'' (1999)-
* ''Moonsongs'' (1988)
*Waiting Laughters'' (1990, winner of the [[Noma Award]])-<ref>{{Cite web|title=Throwback Thursday: The Noma Award for Publishing in Africa|url=https://www.jamesmurua.com/throwback-thursday-noma-award-publishing-africa/|last=Murua|first=James|date=2017-04-06|website=James Murua's Literature Blog|language=en-GB|access-date=2020-05-26}}</ref>
* ''Selected Poems'' (1992)-
* ''Songs of the Season'' (1999)
* ''[[Waiting Laughters]]'' (1990, winner of the [[Noma Award]])<ref>{{Cite web|title=Throwback Thursday: The Noma Award for Publishing in Africa|url=https://www.writingafrica.com/throwback-thursday-noma-award-publishing-africa/|last=Murua|first=James|author-link=James Murua|date=2017-04-06|website=Writing Africa|language=en-GB|access-date=2024-05-12}}</ref>
* ''Midlife'' (1993)-
* ''Thread in the Loom: Essays on African Literature and Culture'' (2002)-
* ''Niyi Osundare: Selected Poems (Heinemann African Poets)'' (1992)
* ''The Word is an Egg'' (2002)-
* ''Midlife'' (1993)
* ''Seize the Day'' (1995)
* ''[https://www.academia.edu/8935532/Corruption_and_Social_Protest_in_Niyi_Osundares_The_State_Visit The State Visit]'' (2002, play)-
* ''Pages from the Book of the Sun: New and Selected Poems'' (2002)-
* ''Thread in the Loom: Essays on African Literature and Culture'' (2002)
* ''Early Birds'' (2004)-
* ''The Word is an Egg'' (2002)
* ''Pages from the Book of the Sun: New and Selected Poems'' (2002)
* ''Two Plays'' (2005)-
* ''The Emerging Perspectives on Niyi Osundare'' (2003)-
* ''The State Visit'' (2002, play)
* ''Early Birds: Poems for Junior Secondary, Book One, Book Two, Book Three'' (2004)
* ''Not My Business'' (2005)-
* ''Tender Moments:Love Poems'' (2006)-
* ''Two Plays'' (2005)
* ''Tender Moments: Love Poems'' (2006)
* ''[https://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/12/city-without-people-the-katrina-poems/ City Without People: The Katrina Poems]'' (2011)-
* ''City Without People: The Katrina Poems'' (2011)
* ''Random Blues'' (2011)
* ''[https://www.academia.edu/25498917/The_poet_as_a_historian_Contemporary_Nigeria_in_Niyi_Osundare_s_Random_Blues Random Blues]'' (2011)-
* ''Only If the Road Could Talk'' (2017)
* ''Snapsongs: Homegroans and Foreignflares'' (2021)
* ''Green: Sighs of Our Ailing Planet'' (2022)- (a sequel to ''The Eye of the Earth'', 1986)


==Documentary==
==Documentary==
In 2016, Osundare, along with his lifelong friend, the [[Sierra Leone|Sierra Leonean]] poet [[Syl Cheney-Coker]], was the subject of a documentary called The Poets, by director Chivas DeVinck. <ref>[http://icarusfilms.com/if-poets The Poets Documentary] at Icarus Films.</ref> The film follows Osundare and Cheney-Coker on a road-trip through [[Sierra Leone]] and [[Nigeria]] as they discuss their friendship and how their life experiences have shaped their art.
In 2016, Osundare, along with his lifelong friend, the [[Sierra Leone]]an poet [[Syl Cheney-Coker]], was the subject of a documentary called ''The Poets'', by director Chivas DeVinck.<ref>[http://icarusfilms.com/if-poets ''The Poets'' documentary] at Icarus Films.</ref> The film follows Osundare and Cheney-Coker on a road-trip through [[Sierra Leone]] and [[Nigeria]] as they discuss their friendship and how their life experiences have shaped their art.


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}

==Relevant literature==
* Ayinuola, Fortress Isaiah, and Onwuka Edwin. "Yoruba eco-proverbs in English: An eco-critical study of Niyi Osundare's midlife and horses of memory." ''Journal of Literary Society of Nigeria'' 6 (2014): 29-40.
* Okunowo, Yomi. "Proverbs as Aesthetics of Meaning in Osundare’s Poetry." ''The Criterion'' 3.1:1-21, (2012). [https://www.the-criterion.com/V3/n1/Yomi.pdf Online access]


==External links==
==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080819203046/http://english.uno.edu/faculty/osundare.cfm Niyi Osundare] at the [[University of New Orleans]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080819203046/http://english.uno.edu/faculty/osundare.cfm Niyi Osundare] at the [[University of New Orleans]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060625101011/http://africaresource.com/war/vol4.1/ogoanah-osundare.html "I am a Humanist"]: An Interview with Niyi Osundare
* [http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2005-10/2005-10-07-voa67.cfm After Katrina, Nigerian Poet Starts New Life in New England] (VOA News): Niyi Osundare survives [[Hurricane Katrina]]
* [http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2005-10/2005-10-07-voa67.cfm After Katrina, Nigerian Poet Starts New Life in New England] (VOA News): Niyi Osundare survives [[Hurricane Katrina]]
* Kọ́lá Túbọ̀ṣún, [https://brittlepaper.com/2017/10/niyi-osundare-literary-biography-review-kla-tubun/ Review of '' Niyi Osundare: A Literary Biography''] by Sule E. Egya. ''Brittle Paper'', 9 October 2017.
* Kọ́lá Túbọ̀ṣún, [https://brittlepaper.com/2017/10/niyi-osundare-literary-biography-review-kla-tubun/ Review of '' Niyi Osundare: A Literary Biography''] by Sule E. Egya. ''[[Brittle Paper]]'', 9 October 2017.



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[[Category:People from Ekiti State]]
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[[Category:York University alumni]]
[[Category:University of Ibadan faculty]]
[[Category:Nigerian academics]]
[[Category:Nigerian poets]]
[[Category:University of New Orleans faculty]]
[[Category:Yoruba poets]]
[[Category:Nigerian literary critics]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:1947 births]]
[[Category:1947 births]]
[[Category:20th-century Nigerian writers]]
[[Category:20th-century Nigerian writers]]
[[Category:21st-century Nigerian writers]]
[[Category:21st-century Nigerian writers]]
[[Category:Academic staff of the University of Ibadan]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of Leeds]]
[[Category:English-language writers from Nigeria]]
[[Category:English-language writers from Nigeria]]
[[Category:Yoruba academics]]
[[Category:International Writing Program alumni]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Nigerian expatriate academics in the United States]]
[[Category:Nigerian expatriate academics in the United States]]
[[Category:International Writing Program alumni]]
[[Category:Nigerian literary critics]]
[[Category:Nigerian poets]]
[[Category:People from Ekiti State]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Nigerian National Order of Merit Award]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Nigerian National Order of Merit Award]]
[[Category:University of Ibadan alumni]]
[[Category:University of New Orleans faculty]]
[[Category:York University alumni]]
[[Category:Yoruba academics]]
[[Category:Yoruba poets]]

Latest revision as of 16:58, 10 October 2024

Niyi Osundare
Born (1947-03-12) 12 March 1947 (age 77)
Ikere-Ekiti, Nigeria
Occupation
  • Poet
  • playwright
  • literary critic
  • linguist
NationalityNigerian
Alma materAmoye Grammar School, Christ's School, University of Ibadan, University of Leeds, York University
GenrePoetry, plays, literary criticism
Years active1981–present
Notable worksSongs of the Marketplace (1983), The Eye of the Earth (1986), Waiting Laughters (1990), Green: Sighs of Our Ailing Planet (2022)
Notable awardsAssociation of Nigerian Authors Poetry Prize 1986, 1989, & 1994, Commonwealth Poetry Prize 1986, NOMA Award 1991, Tchicaya U Tam'si Prize for African Poetry 2008, Nigerian National Order of Merit 2014

Niyi Osundare is a Nigerian poet, dramatist, linguist, and literary critic. Born on 12 March 1947, in Ikere-Ekiti,[1] Nigeria, his poetry is influenced by the oral poetry of his Yoruba culture, which he hybridizes with other poetic traditions of the world, including African-American, Latin American, Asian, and European.

Family and education

[edit]

Osundare gained degrees in English at the University of Ibadan (BA), the University of Leeds (MA), and York University, Canada (PhD, 1979). Previously professor (from 1989) and Head of English (1993–97) at the University of Ibadan, he became professor of English at the University of New Orleans in 1997. Osundare has a wife, Kemi, and three children.[citation needed]

Career

[edit]

In 1997, he accepted a teaching and research post at the University of New Orleans. In 2005 Osundare was caught in Hurricane Katrina, and he and his wife were stuck in their attic for 26 hours. Their neighbour, who at the time was driving by in his boat, heard their shouts for help. They were rescued and bounced around from rescue shelters until they ended up in Rindge, New Hampshire, where Osundare could get a teaching job as a professor at Franklin Pierce College and things settled down.[2]

Publications

[edit]
  • Days before Rodeo (2014)
  • Songs from the Marketplace (1983)
  • Village Voices (1984)
  • The Eye of the Earth (1986, winner of a Commonwealth Poetry Prize and the poetry prize of the Association of Nigerian Authors)[3]
  • A Nib in the Pond (1986)
  • Moonsongs (1988)
  • Songs of the Season (1999)
  • Waiting Laughters (1990, winner of the Noma Award)[4]
  • Niyi Osundare: Selected Poems (Heinemann African Poets) (1992)
  • Midlife (1993)
  • Seize the Day (1995)
  • Thread in the Loom: Essays on African Literature and Culture (2002)
  • The Word is an Egg (2002)
  • Pages from the Book of the Sun: New and Selected Poems (2002)
  • The State Visit (2002, play)
  • Early Birds: Poems for Junior Secondary, Book One, Book Two, Book Three (2004)
  • Two Plays (2005)
  • Tender Moments: Love Poems (2006)
  • City Without People: The Katrina Poems (2011)
  • Random Blues (2011)
  • Only If the Road Could Talk (2017)
  • Snapsongs: Homegroans and Foreignflares (2021)
  • Green: Sighs of Our Ailing Planet (2022)- (a sequel to The Eye of the Earth, 1986)

Documentary

[edit]

In 2016, Osundare, along with his lifelong friend, the Sierra Leonean poet Syl Cheney-Coker, was the subject of a documentary called The Poets, by director Chivas DeVinck.[5] The film follows Osundare and Cheney-Coker on a road-trip through Sierra Leone and Nigeria as they discuss their friendship and how their life experiences have shaped their art.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Niyi Osundare becomes first African Cover Poet for World Poetry magazine". Premium Times. Nigeria. 20 January 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  2. ^ Ibrahim, Abubakar Adam (28 November 2015). "How I survived Hurricane Katrina - Niyi Osundare". Daily Trust. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  3. ^ "African Writing Online; Niyi Osundare;". www.african-writing.com. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  4. ^ Murua, James (6 April 2017). "Throwback Thursday: The Noma Award for Publishing in Africa". Writing Africa. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
  5. ^ The Poets documentary at Icarus Films.

Relevant literature

[edit]
  • Ayinuola, Fortress Isaiah, and Onwuka Edwin. "Yoruba eco-proverbs in English: An eco-critical study of Niyi Osundare's midlife and horses of memory." Journal of Literary Society of Nigeria 6 (2014): 29-40.
  • Okunowo, Yomi. "Proverbs as Aesthetics of Meaning in Osundare’s Poetry." The Criterion 3.1:1-21, (2012). Online access
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