ABSTRACT
This chapter examines modern African poetry to locate futuristic themes that indirectly and directly explore the African poet's role as an interpreter of life, beliefs, and world images as seen through African lenses. I argue that modern African poets are obsessed with detailing philosophical views on life and the various ways myths, technology, class structure, and development impact modernity in the city and the villages. Using poems addressing issues such as racism, inequality, social justice, and moral/ethical statements on life as fillers for life lessons, I identify and discuss key features in modern African poetry that foreground the argument that the “future,” whether addressed directly or indirectly, is a regular theme that features in the works of modern African poets examining the certainty of life as a cyclical process.
