INSTANCING POETIC SUBSTANTIATION THROUGH LINGUISTIC REFRACTION IN THE POETRY OF MUAZU MAIWADA

Abstract

Expressivist poetics dictates the primacy of the apprehension of the author’s emotions, feelings and observations about life as these find expression in his or her artistic composition. It does this without prejudice to the importance of the text as a singular entity sometimes to be critically viewed and assessed irrespective of the author’s opinion of it. In a bid to show their angst, to showcase their feeling of deep anxiety and dread over the dissatisfying and disaffected state of affairs in their nation, poets resort to use of strong images and language with such force that the reader has no option but to look again at the text to see what is informing this strong condemnation. This shocking experience, this jolting to wakefulness, on the part of the reader underscores the poet’s success for there lies his intention – to arrest the reader’s attention. Muazu Maiwada’s singular collection of poetry State of the Anus is typical of these poetic texts. Indeed from the very title one is mesmerized, stupefied would have been preferable here, into either going through with unconventional poetic experience or gets instantly repulsed and toast the book aside as one of those documents recounting the existential angst of the privileged elite through disgusting images. This paper takes the former stance and discusses the rare convolution of language to express an attitude to issues that were otherwise portrayed in a more acceptable form in other genres.