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Ewì, Yorùbá Modernity, and the Public Space

This paper clarifies the sense in which ewì, a genre of poetry that straddles written and oral media, constitutes a tradition among the Yorùbá. It argues that ewì exemplifies the dynamism of Yorùbá popular culture in its openness, its innovative spirit, and its capacity to appropriate facilities that define the modern. It then demonstrates the sense in which ewì’s tendency to integrate experimentation on the part of its practitioners is crucial to defining its character as an open form. The study pays particular attention to major milestones in the development of ewì and the works of selected practitioners in theorizing the genre on its own terms.