ABSTRACT
Studies have so far given general hints on pidgin poetry as an emergent poetic tradition and concentrated on a few individual poets without a cohesive critical aggregation of the motifs and techniques of the poems. Such previous studies are of Afejuku, Asik, Ayodabo, Okoye and Ezeji. However, Ezenwa-Ohaeto is a much all-embracing study which focused on the leit motif of pidgin poetry in Nigeria and its nature. Nevertheless, since that study is 25 years old and newer poets have emerged, there is a need to extend the critical enterprise to embrace the new voices and the sensibilities they embody. This study attempts to examine the pidgin poetry tradition from the Niger Delta with a view to not only engage its themes and techniques, but also identify its characteristics and locate it as an emergent and distinct poetic tradition.
