Alter-Native Press: Implicating Subaltern Discourse in Ogaga Ifowodo’s Ecological Poetry

Abstract

As need to overcome the failure of mainstream press to represent the challenges, anxieties and dedications of subaltern groups, alternative media as protest press provide radical and concentrative perspectives on autochthonous experiences and give voice to subordinated group members. Using an eclectic methodological approach that involves Rob Nixon’s Theory of Slow Violence, Herman and Chomsky’s Propaganda Model, and Critical Discourse Analysis, this paper is focused on how Ogaga Ifowodo appropriates axes of environmental experiences of the Niger Delta area of Nigeria as information content in his poetry, and evaluates the effectiveness of the various discourse strategies he devises to communicate the lachrymal experiences of dwellers in the micro-minor niche to a broad mass of the people. Through a pragmatic reading of linguistic notations, significant discourse choices this poet makes are correlated with extra textual anxieties and dedications of the Niger Delta communities as subaltern group. Analysis of texts show that although poetry is art form traditionally valued for its intrinsic motivation, Ifowodo’s eco-poetry functions as info-activism and advocacy media which draw attention to environmental rights challenges in the area through deliberate selection of content, rhetorical features and discourse framing that provide counter-hegemonic information fit for instant global reportage .

Key words: alternative press, critical discourse analysis, eco-poetry, Ogaga Ifowodo,
subaltern discourse.