Songs of the Marketplace

Winner of the Commonwealth Poetry Prize for 1986, Niyi Osundare is one of Nigerias most prominent younger writers. This first collection of his poetry is the expression of a critical awareness in its exploration of the social situation in contemporary Nigeria. In an introduction, Biodun Jeyifo remarks that his distinctive voice is attributable to the fact that his verses confront both poetry of revolution and a revolution of poetry, in terms of forms and techniques. Thirty-five poems are included.