Social advocacy and linguistic inventiveness in selected poems of Joe Ushie

Abstract

The literary voice remains unwaveringly rooted in its quest for social advocacy. This is evident in the poetic ingenuity of Joe Ushie where  he takes up the responsibility of passing a piercing commentary on the sociopolitical misconducts that threaten to ravage the Nigerian  (African) society. In doing this, the poet stands with the common man who is relegated by the political bourgeoisies to the fringes of  society. From three of Ushie‟s collections—Eclipse in Rwanda (2004), A Reign of Locusts (2004) and Lambs at the Shrine (2005), the  analysis is conducted under the theoretical anchorage of New Historicism and Marxism, and draws richly from the outlining principles of  Stylistics to effectively explore the poet‟s depiction of the sociopolitical fate of the postcolonial Nigerian nation (and continental Africa).  By evoking elements of history, the contemporary, religion, socio-moral conditions and politics, the poet gives a crystal-clear picture of a  society in fast decline, and in need of moral reclamation. Also, it analytically surveys devices of style such as symbolism, allusion, indigenous linguistic forms, etc. and how they enhance the effective reflection of society. It is demonstrated, in the end, that through a  creative manipulation of literary and linguistic elements, the poet gives a farreaching outcry against social and political wrongs. His poetic  oeuvre thus becomes a reliable channel for the repair of social and political excrescences.