Niyi Osundare


Niyi Osundare is a Nigerian poet, dramatist, linguist, and literary critic. Born on 12 March 1947, in Ikere-Ekiti, Nigeria, his poetry is influenced by the oral tradition 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

Osundare gained degrees in English at the University of Ibadan, the University of Leeds, and York University, Canada. Previously professor and Head of English 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.

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.

Publications

Songs from the Marketplace Village Voices The Eye of the Earth A Nib in the Pond Moonsongs Songs of the Season Waiting Laughters Niyi Osundare: Selected Poems Midlife Seize the Day Thread in the Loom: Essays on African Literature and Culture The Word is an Egg Pages from the Book of the Sun: New and Selected Poems The State Visit Early Birds: Poems for Junior Secondary, Book One, Book Two, Book Three Two Plays Tender Moments: Love Poems Days City Without People: The Katrina Poems Random Blues Only If the Road Could Talk Snapsongs: Homegroans and Foreignflares Green: Sighs of Our Ailing Planet -

Documentary

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. 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.

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 : 29-40.
  • Okunowo, Yomi. "Proverbs as Aesthetics of Meaning in Osundare’s Poetry." The Criterion 3.1:1-21,.
  • Oloko, M. Jamiu and Alfred A. Fatuase. "Textuality as Interpretative Paradigm in Niyi Osundare’s The Politician’s Two Mouths." International Journal of Humanitatis Theoreticus Vol. 4. 75-83. 2020