Includes bibliographical references (pages 273-282) and index.

Contemporary Africa and the politics in literature -- Homecoming : African literature and human development -- Defining Niger Delta literature : preliminary perspective on an emerging literature -- After the Nobel : Wole Xoyinka's poetic output -- Chinua Achebe's Things fall apart in world literature -- An unusual growth : the development of Tijan M. Sallah's poetry -- An insider testimony : Odia Ofeimun and his generation of Nigerian poets -- Reviving modern African poetry : an argument -- The perils of a culture-less African literature in the age of globalization -- The imperative of experience in poetry : an African perspective -- Indigenous knowledge and its expression in the folklore of Africa and the African diaspora -- Policy studies, activist literature, and pitching for the masses in Nigeria -- Traditional Izon court and modern poetry : Christian Otobotekere's contribution -- Personally speaking : on the beauty I have seen -- Revisiting an African oral poetic performance : Udje today -- Performance, the new African poetry, and my poetry : a commentary -- Two tributes : Chinua Achebe and Kofi Awoonor -- The politics of African literature : production, publishing, and reception.