The Political Economy of Book Publishing: A Critical View of Eco-Poetics and National Consciousness
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The publishing of·poetry are far below that of other genres of literature. The reluctance of Nigerian
book publishers to ·'accept'po'etry as its medium of discourse arid consequent dearth of1poetry text
is eith'er by design or ori purpose: the 'bias ·against poetry cannot be ''unconnected;'with the
underc.urrent .of commercial .motives by publishers. Nigerian publishers 'give pri~rity to the
publication of course books like ·pre-primary, primary 'and secondary texts. At best, they consider
popular narratives and drama with lighter themes of love, humour;- comedy that entertain the
r~aders. They neglect the grave and delicate issJes like hunger, poverty and wanton·e
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xploitation
and destruction of the natural environment which is of global concern. No rigorous attempt has
been made to study and analyze the intrinsic qualities embedded in poetic discourse: The invaluable
contribution of poetry to social change and worl.d emiironme'ntal sustainability thus· remained
unharnessed. \ ..
This pape~ intends to look at the place of natur~-poetry and book publishing. Through ecocritical
discourse i.t intends to look at the ideological and social relevance of poetry a,nd project
viable reasons why publishers should · give poetry a fresh place, focus and due recognition . It will
also. look at the views of poets on what poetry is and its intrinsic and extrinsic value to humanity and . I ,
society. Through poetry, contemporary Nigeri~. n poets foreground the fight again~t wanton
dislocation of Nigeria ecosystem; · and ithrough ~a me reveal the evil of exploitation· of Nigeria
natural environment. This paper will examine t~e way nature-poets like Tanure Ojaide and Niyi
Osundare have used poetry 'to promote a healthy' and sustainable environment.
Keywords
JA Political science (General), PE English