Volume : 6, Issue : 6, June - 2017

Gabriel Okara's "Once Upon A Time": A Poem of Nostalgia

Showkat Hussain Dar

Abstract :

<p>&nbsp;<span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Okara&rsquo;s poems tend to reflect the problems that African nations face as they are torn between the culture of their European colonizers and their traditional African heritage. He also looks at the traumatic effect that colonisation and de-colonisation can have on the self and on one&rsquo;s sense of personal identity. As such, Okara often depicts characters suffering from &lsquo;culture shock&rsquo; as they are torn between these two irreconcilable cultures. On the other hand there is an important message about the loss of youthful idealism and the corrupting influence of age and money.&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:150%"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>