OLD WINE IN NEW BOTTLES: REDISCOVERING TRANCULTURALISM IN AFRICAN POETRY

Abstract

The new postmodernist wave of transculturalism described as the hybrid out-growth of two preexisting cultures distinct in form and process from both multi and inter culturality in that it supposes a peaceful and lasting mien, has taken over as the most topical cultural and literary focus of study. It succeeds postcolonial studies and literature in contemporary and popular canonizations. Incidentally, despite its touted position as a new field by contemporary scholars, this study attempts to prove that transculturalism has been present in texts from Africa, especially poems. By studying a few selected verses of African poetry, this paper shows that literary transculturalism is a common feature in texts decades old and is not as avantgarde as we are made to believe.