Grief, resurrection, and the Nigerian Civil War in Isidore Diala’s The Lure of Ash

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DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17159/tl.v58i2.6793

Keywords:

grief, resurrection, Nigerian Civil War, third generation Nigerian poetry, Isidore Diala

Abstract

As part of the third generation of Nigerian poetry, Isidore Diala’s The Lure of Ash focuses on the Nigerian Civil War experience of 1967–1970, the grief associated with it, and the resurrection of the Biafran agitation. Being a collection that is derived from the rural world of the Igbo cosmology, Diala’s The Lure of Ash portrays the Nigerian Civil War in a sensuous and emotive tone. It accounts for the poet’s belief in the regeneration of the lives of the dead Biafran soldiers. The symbols of fire and ash are significant for interpreting the poet-speaker’s grief in the collection. The collection also succeeds in painting a picture of the Nigerian Civil War experience where the bitter memory of the war resonates, while representing poetry as the healer of the pain and wounds of the war.

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Author Biography

Solomon Awuzie, Edo State University Uzairue, Iyambo, Nigeria

Solomon Awuzie is a senior lecturer in the Department of English, Faculty of Arts, Management and Social Sciences, at Edo State University Uzairue, Iyambo, Nigeria.

References

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Published

2021-06-21

How to Cite

Awuzie, S. (2021). Grief, resurrection, and the Nigerian Civil War in Isidore Diala’s The Lure of Ash. Tydskrif Vir Letterkunde, 58(2), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.17159/tl.v58i2.6793

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Research articles