Famous African Poets
01. Breyten Breytenbach
Breyten Breytenbach was born in September 16, 1939. He is an South-African writer. Besides
writing he is good at painting. He won Anisfield-Wolf Book Award. His famous works are- A veil
of footsteps, All one horse (1990), Dog Heart: A Memoir, Mouroir(1984) etc.
02. Chinua Achebe
He was born in November 16, 1930, Ogidi, Anambra, Nigeria. His first work Things Fall Apart
becomes successful. He was not only a poet but also a novelist. For his outstanding literary
work he won Man Booker International Prize. His famous work are- Things Fall Apart ,No
Longer at Ease, A Man of the People, Arrow of God ,Anthills of the Savannah.
03. Christopher Okigbo
Christopher Okigbo was born in Okigbo was born on 16 August 1930. He is an postcolonial
poet. He is the founder member of African Authors Association. He died in the independence
of Biafra.Path of Thunder, Dance of the Painted Maidens, Lament of the Masks these are the
famous works of Christopher Okigbo.
04. Dambudzo Marechera
The poet who was born in Zimbabwe and became famous for his literary works is Dambudzo
Marechera. He was born in June 4, 1952, Rusape, Zimbabwe. He won Guardian Fiction Prize.
Black sunlight ,The House of Hunger ,The black insider and Cemetery of mind are his famous
literary works.
05. David Wright
David Wright was born in February 23, 1920, Johannesburg, South Africa. He was the student
of Oriel College, Oxford. His notable poems are- An Agnostic Gets A Shave In Pakistan, The
Teacher's Reward, Making the Most of What We Have, Spring and I are Restless, A Santa Fe
Storm.
06. Dennis Brutus
Dennis Brutus was a south African poet who was born in November 28, 1924, Harare,
Zimbabwe. He was also known as a journalist. His famous works are: Simple Lust, Stubborn
hope, Still the Sirens/Poems, Salutes & censures, Remembering, Leaf Drift.
07. Ingrid Jonker
Many of her poetry is translated into other languages. This great woman was born in
September 19, 1933, Northern Cape, South Africa. She is also considered south African Sylvia
Plath. Her famous poems are- The child is not dead, Ontvlugting ,Ek herhaal jou, The Face of
Love, My omhelsing het my verdubbel, Ek herhaal jou (I repeat you), This journey, Begin
Summer, L’Art poetique and 25 December.
08. Keorapetse Kgositsile
Keorapetse Kgositsile was an South African poet who is known as "Bra Willie". He was born in
September 19, 1938, Johannesburg, South Africa. When the clouds clear, o the Bitter End,
This Way I Salute You these are his famous literary writings.
09. Kofi Awoonor
Whose writings depicted the culture of Ewe people and their religion is Kofi Awoonor. He was
born in March 13, 1935, Gold Coast; so he is an Ghanaian poet. His remarkable writings are
The African predicament, Comes the voyager at last and The Promise of Hope.
10. Wole Soyinka
Wole Soyinka is an Nigerian poet who was born in July 13, 1934 (age 80), Abeokuta, Nigeria.
He is the first poet who won Nobel Prize for Africa in Literature. Ake, The Interpreters, King
Baabu, The Beatification of the Area Boy are his famous writings.
11. Leopold Sedar Senghor
Leopold Sedar Senghor was born in October 9, 1906, Joal-Fadiouth, Senegal. He is not only a
poet but he is the first president of Senegal. His famous books are The collected poetry,
Oeuvre poetique, Poems of a black Orpheus and Selected Poems of Leopold Sedar Senghor.
12. Kwame Dawes
Kwame Dawes is an Ghanaian poet who is actually not only a poet but also an actor, musician
and editor. He was born in July 28, 1962. He got Guggenheim Fellowship for Creative Arts, US
& Canada. His famous works are: Bob Marley: Lyrical Genius, Shook foil, Natural mysticism
and Impossible Flying: Poems.
13.Phillis Wheatley
Wheatley was seized from Senegal, when she was about seven years old. This African poet
was born in May 8, 1753. She started her early life in slavery and throughout her life she had
to struggle against poverty. She believes in the power of literature especially in the power of
poetry. Her notable works are-On Imagination, An Hymn To The Morning, One Being Brought
From Africa To America, On Being Brought from Africa to America, A Farewell To America to
Mrs. S. W., On The Death Of A Young Lady Of Five Years, An Hymn to Humanity, An Hymn
To The Evening, Ode To Neptune, On Recollection, On, Virtue, A Rebus and so on.
14.Nikki Giovanni
Nikki Giovanni was an African-American poet and born in June 7, 1943, Knoxville, Tennessee,
United States. Not only she writes poems but also was known as a commentator. Her notable
works are- Bicycles: Love Poems, Cotton candy on a rainy day, Quilting the black‐eyed pea,
Ego-tripping and other poems for young people etc.
15. Guy Butler
Guy Butler was born in January 21, 1918. He is a South African poet and critic. He completed
his education from Oxford University. His notable books are Demea, Karoo morning and
Pilgrimage to Dias Cross.
Top 15 Ballad Poems
01. The Lady of Shalott
This ballad was first published in 1842 which represents
a difference between art and life. Lady of Shalott here is seen to lock in a
room and is not allowed to look outside the window. But Lancelot one of the
members of Arthur's round table attracts him and this temptation caused her
cursed and leads her to death.
02. Barbara Allan
It is a traditional ballad which is first referred by
Pepys in 1666. In this poem or ballad poem Sir John's love for Allan is
described. Sir John accuses that the reason of his sickness is his love for
her. But on the contrary Barbara Allan always refuses to love him.
03. The Host of the Air
This is an old ballad of English version. The bread and
wine symbolizes Jesus where The Host of the Air indicates bread and wine. In
this ballad a man is seen to dream about his newly married wife who has been
stolen by a young man when he is card games and eating bread as well as
drinking wine.
04. The Ballad of East and West
This ballad poem is about an Afghan warrior and an
English colonel whose horse is seized by Kamal, the Afghan warrior. The phrase-
"East is East and West is West'' tells that these two parts of the word
are not subject to meet until the day of judgement comes. But the main
characters Kamal and the colonel's son proves that each territory can mix up if
they keep aside their racism, religion and approach with their nobility and
bravery.
05. The Ballad of Reading Gaol
This poem is first published in 1987. Just after become
free from prison Oscar Wilde composed this ballad where he describes about
prisoned life and his struggle in the prison. The harsh realities of prisoned
life as well as the life of execution is revealed in this poem.
06. The Ballad of Moll Magee
This is one of the famous ballads of W.B. Yeats where the
protagonist tells her story to the children that once she killed her little
child just after returning from outside. She tells her poverty is one reason
for the death of her child and that why her husband leaves her but she has no
feeling for her husband rather than she always thinks about her dead child.
07. The Elfin Knight
There are a lot of supernatural elements in The Elfin
Knight which is recognised as traditional ballad. It is also reachable to
the children. It is the story of a maiden who summons the Elfin Knight into her
bedroom but when the Knight tells he has wife and children in his house she
rejects him and the Knight disappears.
08.The Ballad of the White Horse
This poem was first published in 1911. Here in this
ballad poem the speaker describes how the Danes are defeated in the battle of
Ethandum by Alfred. It is the struggle between Christianity and pagan religion.
09. The Cruel Mother
This ballad refers to the story of a mother who
randomizely kills her children. After giving birth a child every time she kills it and buries in
in the forest. But interestingly this woman feels some love for other children
playing in the street but she is mocked by those children for her heinous deed.
10. The Three Ravens
It is a folk ballad and was first published in 1611. The
ballad tells the story about three birds who is seen to discuss where and what
they should at that moment. One suggests that they should eat the body of
recently dead knight. Finally they were unsuccessful to see the knight to be
buried.
11. The Demon Lover
This ballad poem tells about the story of two lovers;
love between Mrs. Drover and a soldier. To keep his promise the soldier again
returns to Mrs. Drover during the world war ii. After reading the letter when
Mrs. Drover rushes to the country house she discovers that the taxi driver is
the soldier himself.
12. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
The ancient mariner tells his life story to a wedding
guest. On the time of his youth how he killed an Albatross and brought bad luck
to the crew. It seems a sin to the crew to kill the albatross thats why they
cursed the ancient mariner. Finally after a lot of sufferings the ancient mariner
realizes that showing respect to all the creatures means showing respect to
God.
13. Lord Randal
Lord Randal tells the story of a unlucky lover
who is killed or poisoned by his beloved. After returning from her beloved, his
mother asks her where he was. The Lord tells he was in the forest for hunting
and had the dinner with his beloved. Lord Randal gradually becomes sick as he
was poisoned by his sweetheart during the dinner.
14. The Twa Sisters
In this ballad the younger sister is killed by her own
elder sister because she was jealous of her younger sister's fair skin and
handsome suit. The corpse of the younger sister is found by a musician whose
musical instrument helps him to find out the murderer.
15. The Wife of Usher’s Well
It is the story of a mother who sends her sons in the sea
but very soon she hears that all of them died. After mourning some time using
her magical power she gets back her sons for a night. In the morning the sons
again goes away where they have come from.
Works Cited:
http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/thematic_poems/ballad_poems_4.html
http://www.readbookonline.net/readOnLine/47550/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ballad_of_Reading_Gaol
http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/eng/child/ch084.htm
http://www.readbookonline.net/readOnLine/3942/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Three_Ravens
https://betterknowachildballad.wordpress.com/2012/10/15/child-10-twa-sisters/
15 Notable American Poets
Critical Analysis of Kamala Das' Poetry
Kamala Das, as a confessional poetess opens a new arena where the feelings of a female, her dreams, hopes and sufferings are openly depicted in her poetry. Confessional poetry deals with private experience of human beings. Hemanta Singh in “Kamala Das a Confessional Poet: A Quest for Identity/Self” argues that, “In such a poetry, the self is a primary concern which is treated with utmost frankness and lack of restraint, written in ordinary speech and using open forms.” (141). The confessionalism is one kind of techniques for the writers for searching the “Self” of human being. According to Hamanta Singh:
Top 15 Poets in English Literature
01. William Shakespeare
Characters in Look Back in Anger