Poetic Art and Politics in E.E. Sule's Naked Sun

Abstract

Among the new poetic voices that have recently emerged in Nigeria, E.E. Sule, a radical contemporary poet stands out with a number of significant collections of poetry. However, he has received little critical attention in spite of the technical depth and power of his writing. The attempt here is to negotiate a literary space for him, and in particular, to locate his collection of poems in Naked Sun within the context of the ongoing discourse on political poetry. In the poems, Sule reflects on Nigeria's political history. He writes about the years under military regime and the disillusionment that resulted from that experience. Adopting the "Alternative" Marxist perspective, he focuses on the socio-political malady that characterized the despotic and tyrannical nature of military rule in Nigeria and urges for a national rebirth.