Publisher's Synopsis
Starting with the premise that literature and the arts are cultural productions, Tanure Ojaide finds using Western literary theory to judge African literary works to be missing the point. Using udje dance songs of Nigeria's Urhobo people as an example of Africa oral poetic performance, he argues that the main objective of these works of literature is to provoke laughter. He then relates his theory to the Africa diaspora, examining if African-American battle rap, Caribbean Calypso, music, rhetoric and other artistic productions exhibit the same features.
