Traditional Poetry in Contemporary Senegal: A Case Study of Wolof Kasak Songs

Lo addresses Wolof kasak songs in Senegal. He examines the contextual frame in which they are performed, the system of values they convey, and aesthetic qualities embedded in them. This essay examines changes in poetic form as well as factors that have contributed to the contemporary diminishment of this genre in Wolof society. Lo claims that this traditional poetic culture, despite the disappearance of the cultural institution that gave birth to it, is being transformed, revived, and recuperated in novel forms informed by modern urban realities.