Authors want use of simple languages by poets
Poetry
By Collins Yakubu-Hammer
Abuja, March 22, 2018 (NAN) Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) has called on poets to use simple words and languages in their works to enable them gain acceptance.
Malam Abdullahi Denja in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday said using simple words and languages would make their works comprehensive and acceptable.
Denja said that, the major challenge of poet and poetry was acceptability adding that most people tend towards drama, folk tales and novel.
According to him, poetry is all about using words and sounds to convey message in which some poets use words that readers finds it difficult to comprehend.
“However, we have seen poetry coming up for good usage in terms of using it to talk about environment and issues that are very important in the society.
“Nevertheless, poets should make their language accessible to the readers so that readers can easily get what they are talking about and the message they are sending.
“Poetry should have a popular language; it is not that poetry is aliened to us; we have oral poetry even in our own traditional society, where we address issues,
“Written poetry can also copy from that oral background with words that people can easily decipher and follow.
“However, it has to confirm to some forms, because poetry is poetry; make it poetry in terms of forms and condensing the language,’’ Denja said.
The ANA president said that, for poetry to gain acceptability, it had to be popularised in the society, stressing that it could be for children or specific target audience.
He said `News Poetry’ can be use to narrate a story or events that could instigate economic or political actions to bring about better life for the people.
He explain that aside using poetry to entertain readers and listeners in spoken word poetry, it could also be use to enhance economic development by focusing of economic issues.
Denja advocated for poetry to be used as methodology in teaching children in schools across the country.
“Children love poetry and words at the formative age; such can be use as a teaching methodology to impact knowledge in the little ones.
“It can be use to teach other languages; we have tried it before; we have done workshop on that before and it is practicable.
“So it is for us to use it more and more in schools as mythological tool to teach our children,’’ Denja said.
World Poetry Day is celebrated annually on 21 March.
It was declared by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in 1999.
The purpose was to promote the reading, writing, publishing and teaching of poetry throughout the world. (NAN)
CMY/EAL/EAL
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Edited by Ekemini Ladejobi