The Developmental Trajectory of Written Igbo Poetry (1975–2015): The Influence of the Missionaries and the Birth of the Igbo Oriented Poetry

Abstract

Written Igbo poetry (henceforth, W.I.P.)(1) is generally known to have begun with the publication of Akpa Uche (An Anthology) in 1975. Recent evidence reveals that W.I.P. started in 1934, with the publication Akwukwo Ukwẹ n’Asusu Ibo by the Church Mission Society (C.M.S.). Igbo scholars have chronicled the development of Igbo prose and drama, but the historical trajectory of W.I.P. is yet to be explored in literature. To this end, this paper presents an account of the developmental journey of Igbo poetry from its oral form to its present written state, taking into consideration all the factors that contributed to its growth and metamorphosis. The study claims that the missionaries laid the foundation for the birth of W.I.P. in 1975. The study also finds that, since the final debut of W.I.P. in 1975 through 2015, a period that commemorates four decades of the existence of W.I.P in Nigeria, W.I.P. has grown tremendously in terms of quantity.