ABSTRACT

Abstract

The realities of African poetic imagination and the quest for identity pervade the landscape of Black diaspora poetry. The poems of four diaspora writers: Edward Braithwaite, Audre Lorde, Carolyn Rodgers, Sonia Sanchez and Nicolas Guillen, are purposively selected to trace and establish the the oral roots, African poetic expressions and the use of Africa as a trope within the body of Black American and Caribbean literature. Texts from selected poems are subjected to descriptive and detailed analysis to reveal the presence of Africa and her poetic imagination. Black Aesthetic theoretical approach is favoured because it seeks to promote a black aesthetics, which is unique and revolutionary in its opposition to the dominant one, and which embraces black communities, black identities as well as their proud heritage. This paper concludes that in their quest for identity and visceral reconnection, diaspora Black writers have appropriated their African roots and cultural heritage in their works.

Key words:Poetry; identity; Africa; black; diaspora