Gladys Nyaiburi Ogaro

Power Discourses in Post Colonial Writing: a Focus on Okot P'bitek's Poetry Gladys Nyaiburi Ogaro

This book explores how post colonial literature engages with the embodiment of power in the Acoli and Western cultural contexts: political power relations in post-independent African society and the paradoxes of sexual power within certain socio-cultural settings. By use of an eclectic approach, the author integrates genealogical ideas on power of and over bodies and feminism to posit that in all relations, there exists politics of power: political, economical, sexual, cultural, educational and family. With primary focus on Okot p?Bitek?s Song of Lawino, Song of Ocol, Song of Prisoner and Song of Malaya, Gladys observes that these texts are a display of power relations whereby the centres of power in the characters and their immediate socio-political environment are embodied. In this regard, this book argues that literature does not exist in a vacuum but rather is given impetus by the society itself. This book is highly recommended to researchers who are interested in the study of power discourses.