Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Tanure Ojaide, Frank Porter Graham Professor of Africana Studies, has received a one-year Fulbright Fellowship to conduct a comparative study of the Udje dance songs of the Urhobo of Nigeria, African-American Greek step show and battle rap, Afro-Caribbean calypso and Afro-Brazilian capoeira and jongo.
In addition, his poem collection “Love Gifts” was published by African Heritage Press. A poetic rendering of the relationship between minstrel and muse over a long period, “Love Gift” centers on the relationship of the two personages to investigate the human condition; the work deals with dreams, desires, frustrations, hopes, contentment and seeking meaning in life.