SOURCE: "Poet as Martyr: West Africa's Christopher Okigbo, and His Labyrinths: With Path of Thunder," in Studies in Black Literature, Vol. 7, No. 1, Winter, 1976, pp. 10-14.

In the following excerpt, Stanton describes how events in Okigbo's life seem to have informed his poetry and influenced his poetic style.

Okigbo claims the following:

I don't think that I have ever set out to communicate a meaning. It is enough that I try to communicate experience which I consider significant. [African Writers Talking, 1972]

This rejection of giving "meaning" to his poetry denies us the use of logical analysis to interpret his work. He is known to be influenced by the French Symbolists, especially by Mallarme who also wrote poetry without regard to logical meaning. Symbolic poetry is a poetry which strives to create a mood. Such poetry is a presentation of a particular state of mind.

Another possible influence upon the...