Books published by Kraft Books

A concern for social regeneration stands as the factor that animates Soyinka's life-long involvement in social and political activism, leading to hid incarceration for two years during the civil war, and his having to flee into exile during the period of Sani Abacha's dictatorship. Soyinka expresses this same concern for social regeneration in his writings, using difference metaphors. The focus of this work lies in the exploration of the articulations of social regeneration in the works of Wole Soyinka. The first past focuses on the dramatic works, and the argument of the author is that the metaphor adopted by Africa's foremost playwright in articulating his vision of social regeneration is that of ritual. Attention shifts in part two to Soyinka's two novels; and here, Bello goes to the roots of Yoruba metaphysics to fetch a metaphor which describes a creature with contradictory personality; which at once is committed to the regeneration of the social order while at the same time retaining a vindictive, vengeful nature.

Death and the King,s Grey Hair and Other Plays is a collection of three plays, ,Death and the King,s Grey Hair,, ,Truce with the Devil,, and ,Fringe Benefits,, which are all experimental plays from the early period of the writing career of Denja Abdullahi, who is presently renowned as a poet of populist expressions. ,Death and the King,s Grey Hair, examines the use and misuse of absolute power based on an ancient Jukun myth of young kings and short reigns. ,Truce with the Devil, is a satire on the later abandonment of the creed of Marxism by its adherents, a kind of mockery of turncoat revolutionaries in the grip of practical social realities. ,Fringe Benefits,, a radio play, is an expose of the happening in Nigeria,s ivory towers, seen from the eyes of a participant-observer.

Oyebode is a Nigerian poet and doctor, living in the UK - factors evident in this selection of his poems, many of which deal with issues of home and exlile, and the poet's place. His root society is his Yoruba homeland. He lives and writes in the foreign culture and belongs to, and is alienated from, aspects of both societies at the same time. His poetic longing is for the root culture - his exile has made the desire to keep the dream of home alive inevitable. On arrival, and England, he writes, 'a malarial lyricism/exiled and unaccompanied by song/arrived on this hostile shore.'The poems are selected, introduced and discussed at length by fellow Nigerian poet and academic, Onookome Okome.