Book Review | Niyi Osundare: A Literary Biography | Literary Biography
Niyi
Osundare: A Literary Biography: An
X-ray
Book
Title: Niyi
Osundare: A Literary Biography
Author:
Sule E. Egya
Publisher:
SEVHAGE Publishers
Pages:
334
Year:
2017
Reviewer:
Paul Liam
The objective of biographical
writing is to concretize the achievements of a figure considered to have
excelled and attained greatness in a chosen endeavour and in life in general,
and who is perceived by its author to have affected the cause of humanity. Biographies
are often considered to be subjective and sycophantic in nature since its cardinal
precept is to patronize, propagate and accentuate the exploits of an
accomplished public figure.
A literary biography therefore is an artistic
reflection of the creative process and growth of a literary subject whose
artistic exploits have overriding effect on literary discourses and the society
at large. It is a celebration of a life of literary excellence and challenges.
Niyi
Osundare: A Literary Biography by Sule E. Egya is a grandiose
incursion into the life, successes and travails of one of Africa’s accomplished
literary legends, the cerebral poet, social crusader and erudite Professor of
Stylistics, Niyi Osundare. The book which is divided into ten chapters with
various subtitles, three hundred and thirty-four pages and beautifully packaged
by the new company, SEVHAGE Publishers through its Whiteline imprint is an
x-ray of the story of a rural farm boy from Ikere Ekiti who rose to
international acclaim on the dosage of wisdom received on his father’s farm and
whose creative texture is drawn from rustic memorabilia of childhood years characterized
by his interaction with nature and rural life.
Egya, in chapter one of this
epochal narration ushers the reader into the prophetic proclamations and
gifting of a fountain pen to the young Osundare by his father Aguutasoolo
Ariyoosu Osundare, a symbolic gesture which becomes the precursor to his greatness.
The author reports thusly: “I have brought this for you to use when you
have advanced in your education. It is a pen. I do not know how to use it, but
I know its power. I use the hoe to scratch the earth for a living; but you will
use the pen as your own tool. The way I see the world today, the future belongs
to those who are able to scribble black things on the white surface.” (1)
The narrator takes the reader
on a series of journey into the childhood experiences of the poet’s life, highlighting
the significant moments that defined path to glory such as the myth of the Osun
River believed according to the story to have been the precursor of existence.
The Osun myth is one of the most intriguing points in the book as every
positive or negative event in the poet’s life is either directly or indirectly
linked to Osun, the river of the river and giver of life.
The reader encounters in the
book a glowing rendition of the author’s account of the poet’s exceptionally
brilliant academic exploits from elementary to secondary schools and at the University
of Ibadan. The poet, the author informs graduated with one of the best results
at Amoye Grammar School from whence he went on to achieve the same feat at
Christ School.
However the author is not beclouded by his almost mythical personification
of the poet but balances his narration with some occasional realistic
reflections of his weaknesses as well, such as in this stance when he posits
thus: “From 1964 to 1966, the graduation
year, Osundare led the class in all exams, winning eight out of the nine
academic prizes plus the General Proficiency Award in 1965. However, his
weakest subject was Mathematics, in which he was barely average.”(39) Of
course the author also informs that Osundare graduated with a Second Class
Upper Degree from UI.
The book also draws its worth
from the author’s critical and perhaps scholastic disposition to literary
trends and this is manifested in his submission on the nexus and philosophical
praxis of the second generation of Nigerian poets. He opines that Tanure Ojaide
and Odia Ofeimun had been published and their presence registered on the
literary space before the emergence of Osundare’s first work, but that it was
Osundare who defined the literary precept of the second generation of Nigerian
poetry. He submits that “…it can be argued that Songs of the Market Place, Osundare’s
first title, drew more attention to the new phenomenon announced by Ojaide and
Ofeimun. In their poetic praxis, Ojaide and Ofeimun sought to distance
themselves from the existing tradition of Nigerian poetry in English characterized
by turgid metaphors and quasi-private engagement, a result of the influences of
Euro-American high culture.” (84)
And on the Marxist disposition
of Osundare, the author points that the poet’s exhibited early signs of one who
was poised for the cause of altruism even as a young man, who when at the verge
of entering the university had three offers of scholarships; one from Amoye Grammar
School, Christ School and the Federal Government. Amongst the three that of the
federal government was more enticing but he declined it and that Amoye Grammar
School opting instead for the one offered by Christ School. According to the
author, he decision to accept only one the three scholarships spews from the
fact that it was morally wrong for him to enjoy more than a single scholarship
where one sufficed to cater for his academic dream. “Osundare declined the
federal scholarship. In his judgment, it would be fraudulent to enjoy the two
scholarships at the same time.” (63)
He goes on to Osundare’s moral
virtues and impeccable character as well as his battles with the various
governments that continue to mislead the country. According to the author,
Osundare wrote several critical polemics on the affairs of the state,
critiquing and proffering solutions on how successive governments could serve
the humanistic purposes of bettering the lives of the common man. That he
rejected appointment from the federal government and survived threats and even
a murder attempt on him which left him in comma. In spite of it all, he
remained steadfast to his cause of speaking on behave of the voiceless against a
system that cripples its present and future.
There is also postulation on
the cerebral status of Sefi Atta and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. According to the
author, Osundare believes Sefi that Atta is an unsung writer while Adichie is
over-exposed and overhyped. The author
quote Osundare to have submitted thus: “Adichie has to watch out for the
dangers of over-packaging and overexposure (…). I cringe whenever I see Chimamanda
on bill boards planted by disingenuous bureaucrats from the REBRAND NIGERIA
section of the Ministry of information.” (266-267)
The most heart rendering and
emotionally stirring account in the work is the narration of the Poet’s
survival of Hurricane Katrina, an ugly episode in the poet’s life which is
likely to induce a tear or two from the emotionally sensitive reader. The
rending of this account is intrinsically detailed and creative portrayed in
such a way that it comes off as fiction. The story of a renowned global
professor and his wife becoming unknown or unidentified persons and denied
relief material in the midst of refugees and relying on the alms offered by
friends is psychologically traumatizing.
This account is found in chapter Eight
of the book. The book also touches on the poet’s writings and the contentions
surrounding them, his awards, scholarship and ends by suggesting him as the
possible next Nobel Laureate from Nigeria. It is rather an overambitious assertion
considering the fact that other equally very distinguished writers and scholars
in the Soyinka generation such as J.P Clark, Chinua Achebe and Ngugi Wa Thiong’o
are yet to win the Nobel several years after Soyinka. Ngugi has been a
consistent contender for the glory of the Nobel Prize, although he is yet to win.
Paul Liam is a Poet, Essayist, Literary
Columnist and Critic; he is co-editor of the Ebedi Review, of the Ebedi
International Writers' Residency, Iseyin, Nigeria. He is the author of two
poetry works; Indefinite Cravings (2012) and Saint Sha'ade and Other Poems
(2014). His essays are widely published in the nationally dailies and o nline.
He is also a creative writing mentor and former Assistant Secretary,
Association of Nigerian Authors, Niger State Chapter. He lives in Minna.
poulliam@ymail.com
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