The man Sir Gabriel Okara

Gabriel Okara's poetry collection

Gabriel Imomotimi Okara (born 24 April 1921) is a Nigerian poet and novelist who was born in Bumoundi in Yenagoa ,Bayelsa State, Nigeria. The first Modernist poet of Anglophone Africa, he is best known for his early experimental novel, The Voice (1964), and his award-winning poetry, published in The Fisherman's Invocation (1978) and The Dreamer, His Vision (2005).

 In both his poems and his prose, Okara draws on African thought, religion, folklore and imagery, and he has been called "the Nigerian Negritudist". was born in Bomoundi in the Niger Delta in 1921. He was educated at Government College Umuahia , and later at Yaba Higher College .

 He studied journalism at Northwestern University in 1949, and before the outbreak of the
Nigerian Civil War (1967–70) worked as Information Officer for the Eastern Nigerian Government Service.

After leaving school Okara wrote plays and features for radio, and in 1953 his poem "The Call of the River Nun" won an award at the Nigerian Festival of Arts. Some of his poetry was published in the literary magazine Black Orpheus , and by 1960 he had won recognition as an accomplished literary craftsman, his poetry being translated into several languages.One of his most famous poems is "Piano and Drums". Another popular poem, "You Laughed and Laughed and Laughed ", is a frequent feature of anthologies. Okara is very concerned with what happens when the ancient culture of Africa is faced with modern Western culture , as in his poem "Once Upon a Time",my last post on the blog.

Photo : Brilliant students

In addition to his poetry and fiction, Okara has also written plays and features for broadcasting.