Abstract: | This paper concentrates on significant trends in West African literature in the 1980s, such as the consolidation of Sierra Leonean literature and the emergence of a powerful new breed of female novelists. It also deals with drama in West Africa, which continued to be a rich and vibrant genre during the eighties, and with poetry, for which this period was a most exciting decade. A large part of the paper is devoted to three poets: Kofi Anyidoho from Ghana, whose versatility, use of styles and language make him one of the most important of modern African poets; Tanure Ojaide from Nigeria, a poet who combines the modern with the traditional; and Syl Cheney-Coker from Sierra Leone, who of the three has been the most susceptible to Western influences. Ref. |