| dc.description.abstract | Taban Lo Liyong is one of Africa's most prolific
literary writers and arguably, the most controversial.
He is one writer whose works have baffled most
literary critics specifically because of his
iconoclastic ideas as well as modes of expression.
This study identifies existentialism as the principal
philosophical theory which has influenced and shaped
the artistts subject matter and style. The study,
therefore, discusses Taban's short stories and poems
against this philosophical theory.
The 'introduction' traces the background to the
writer in order to show how he became influenced
by existentialism. An attempt is made to shed light
on what the philosophy is all about. The section, also
discusses and appreciates sr.JTIe of the views expresaed
by literary critics of Taban's works and reviewers of
his books.
Chapter one discusses the subject matter of
Fixions and The Uniformed Man , The chapter attempts
to show that Taban Lo Liyong emerge an existentialist as
in his short stories. He pleads for freedom of the
individual person and demonstrates that superpersonal
forces such as social conventions, moraL values and
traditional prctices are agents which deny the
individual the expression of his authentic freedom
the existentialist idea of the conflict between
"Existence" and "Essence''
Chapter two examines aspects of form and style
in Taban's short stories. The chapter studies such
key macro-stylistic features as plot, point of view
and introduction of allegorical devices. Microstylistic
features such as the writer's syntax, lexical
choices arid phonological resources are also examined e
An observation is made that the writer urges for freedom
in a style which manifests or enhances his existentialist
ideas. His style tends to go against literary
conventions.
In chapter three, the themes of Taban's poetry
are discussed. The works dealt with here include,
Frantz Fanon's Uneven Ribs, Another Nigger Dead, Ballads
of Underdevelopment and the three sets of politicophilosophical
verses found in Thirteen Offensives Against
Our Enemies. The chapter sees parallels between Taban's
thematic concerns and the subject matter of
Jean-Paul Sartre's idea of committed literature or
what the French existentialist refers to as, ''La
litterature engagee''. The poet. emerges as one who
shuns conservatist tendencies of certain Africa's of
traditional cultural institutions. He urges for
Africa's freedom from the fetters of such traditions.
It seems he is pre-occupied with and urges for the
existentialist for notions of change, adaptation action
and involvement. The poet also pleads for
synthesism or miscegenation of the world's races.
He urges for a situation where all people are free
from racial prejudices. To such an extent, he appears
to plead for Friedrich Nietzsche's 'Superman,The
chapter also notes that the Poet's preoccupation with
personal idiosyncracies, feelings of anguish and se e
of futility are all suggestive of his existentialist
influences.
Chapter four studies the artistic modes of Taban ! s
poetry. The chapter investigates such aspects as the
structure of Taabn's books of poetry,
and the micro-stylistic elements such as sound effects,
lexical choices and semantics. Taban's tendency
to write 'concrete poetry has parallels with the
existentialist idea of putting emphasis on the concrete
being and situation as the ab..odes of authenticity •
Like in the second chapter, his tendency to defy the
confines of literary conventions is suggestive of the
existentialist's idea that every person is master of
his life, the author of his own values.
The last section contains summary and concusion
to the study. The study concludes that Taban Lo Liyong
is passionately concerned with Africa and the whole
world's destiny. He urges for man's freedom in his
works. His concerns bear definite parallels with the existentialist philosophical theory
web runs through all his works to the extent that
any reader or critic who does not acknowledge
it, invariably, misses Taban's message and fails
to adequately appreciate his artistic modes | en |
